Spring 2014

SPRING 2014 FREE

PENINSULALiving & visiting on the Mornington Peninsula

The face of the Mornington Racing Club • The art of making good coffeeMessenger of the Music, Ron Vincent • Josh Brnjac, 12 year old photographer

Dance and Ballet... the essence of life • Mornington Railway - 125th AnniversaryThe Rush is on to Tubbarubba • Hinterland Scarecrow Festival 2014

2 | PENINSULAEssence

A WAVE OF THRILLS

HITTING THE PENINSULA

SPORTINGBET PENINSULA CUP DAY SUN 2 NOV

• Feel the thrill of The Spring Racing Carnival in Mornington

• Glam it up at the Bayside Shopping Centre Fashions on the Field

• Book trackside Cider Marquee tickets for live music, drinks and canapés

Get back on track & PRE-PURCHASE TICKETS at RACING.COM

MADE IN NORWAY

THE INNOVATORS OF COMFORT™


VISION SHAPE CREATE

Phone: 1300 21 21 228 - 10 Dalkeith Dve, DROMANA

[email protected]

SPECIALISTS IN ALUMINIUM FABRICATION

■ PRIVACY SCREENS■ DECORATIVE SCREENS■ OUTDOOR FURNITURE

PENINSULAEssence | 5

Feature WriterMelissa Hodge

DesignEvan StampeMaria Mirabella

PhotographyYanniGary Sissons

PublisherCameron McCullough

All material is copyright, and may not be reproduced without the express permission of Mornington Peninsula News Group, or the original copyright holder in the case of contributions. Copyright of contributed material rests with the contributor. Disclaimer: The authors and publisher do not assume any liability to any party for any loss, damage or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident or any other cause.

This publication is not intended as a substitute for the medical advice of physicians. The reader should regularly consult a physician in matters relating to health and particularly with respect to any symptoms that may require diagnosis or medical attention.

Peninsula Essence is produced quarterly. 30,000 copies (mix of home delivery and bulk dropped across an extensive network of outlets across the peninsula).

Proudly published by

AdvertisingRicky Thompson0425 867 [email protected]

General [email protected]

Registered address 2/1 Tyabb Road Mornington 3931

Phone: 5973 6424Cover Photo: Rye Pier. Photography by Yanni

9017 3780thenaturalroom.com.au

Mon to Sat: 10 -52/206 Governor Road, Braeside

www.peninsulaessence.com.au /peninsulaessence


7

Some angels do have tattsJames Brown talks about his work with Sea Shepherd

Events on the Mornington Peninsula

If I could talk to the animalsConfessions of an animal communicator

The luck of the IrishFace of the Mornington Racing Club, Caitrin O’Rourke

Making it happenCaitrin O’Rourke getting ready for the big day

The fine art of millineryMelissa Hodge talks with Annette Sanfilippo, milliner

The art of making coffeePete and Trish Roberts of Little Rebel Coffee talk about coffee

The fifth elementMark and Cherie Poulter of Veraison Restaurant talk about food and wine

Tempura batter recipeA Veraison Restaurant speciality

If you build it, they will comeAlan Woollard of Bike Safe talks about safety

The market of marketsLouise Gamon of Craft Markets Australia

Messenger of the musicRon Vincent talks Cat Stevens

The magic of ManyungManyung Gallery owner and director David Wemyss-Smith

Eyes like a shutter, mind like a lens12-year-old photographer Josh Brnjac talks about his passion for photography

Aladdin’s cave of treasures awaitsMarlene of Marlene Miller Antiques, Sorrento

Dance is Life16 year old dancer Alexandra Dellaportas talks ballet and dance

Pardon me, boy, is that the Moorooducky Choo-ChooMike Hast writes about the Mornington Railway Preservation Society

Friendship to last a lifetimePaul Thompson tells about the bond between the schools of Penbank in Moorooduc and Wugularr Primary School in the Northern Territory

A walk through timeHighlights from Mornington Heritage Walk, a booklet produced by Mornington & District Historical Society.

Peninsula Essence Photography Competition

Master of wineKate McIntyre of Moorooduc Estate and her passion for wine

Highlights from the Hinterland Scarecrow Festival 2014A pictorial spread by Essence photographer Yanni

Spring stormsNature’s spectacular light show

The rush is on to TubbarubbaPeter McCullough looks at a historic peninsula gold rush

Seaton FarmA sneak peek of the garden

Macro in the backyardPhotographer Yanni doesn’t have to venture far to capture amazing wildlife photos

Dunns Creek EstateOpen Garden November 22 and 23

2616

5650

42

78

cont

ents

7

101316

1820

26

32

3436404246

50

54

5660

64

68

707276

7882869094


Bring full-theatre HiFi sound toyour TV with PLAYBAR.

Simple to Set UpPLAYBAR connects to your TV with a single optical cable, making set-up quick and easy.

Go from Streaming radio to Spotify to iTunes to everything else you love.

All the Music on EarthHiFi Sound for your TV

1263 Pt Nepean Road, Rosebud ph: 59 86 5544 facebook.com/Barkieshomeappliance

SEA SHEPHERD FEATURE

By Melissa Hodge Photography: Yanni

continued next page...

When James Brown sets his mind to something, you better look out because this Rye tattoo artist is a man on a mission.

James is coordinator of the Mornington Peninsula chapter of Sea Shepherd, and with just 12 months since it started, he and its de-voted members have already had a massive impact on our precious Port Phillip Bay and its sea life.

“I told my parents I wanted to be a tattoo artist at the age of 11, and Bon Scott sealed it for me. I knew I couldn’t sing so tattooing was the next best thing,” says James.

When you think of a stereotypical tattooist, you might think tough, bearded, bikie kind. Well James might be tough and well over 6 foot (183cm), but he is a gentle giant when it comes to his passion for Sea Shepherd and helping our bay.

Some Angels Do Have Tatts


Known as the guardians of the ocean, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is an organisation of like-minded people getting together to find ways to protect the ocean and beaches.

“My vision for Sea Shepherd on the peninsula is coming to frui-tion,” says James from his Rye home. “We are just over 12 months old and are already raising money to get our own vessel down here on the peninsula.”

James started the peninsula chapter after spending time as a crew member aboard the society’s ship Steve Irwin four years ago.

“I was involved in Operation Kimberley Miinimbi, a successful cam-paign that stopped the building of a gas hub north of Broome, which has the world’s largest humpback whale population,” says James, who had spent a lot of time on Port Phillip as a child. “The bay has a senti-mental value to me. My mum always had us down here on the water and I have loved everything to do with the sea since I was a kid. The water, inground trampolines and Rosebud carnival are all part of my earliest memories.”

These days the waters around the peninsula and Gippsland now have an even stronger tie for James.

“My mum’s ashes are scattered in Port Phillip and dad’s in Lake King. Both these bodies of water have the only known groups of the Bur-runan dolphin, which is one of the species we must strive to protect from extinction. There are only 100 left in Port Phillip and 50 in the lake,” says James. “The bay will also be my final resting place when the time comes and I will want to rest in peace, so we have to do the work now.”

Sea Shepherd is a direct action marine conversation group that works in conjunction with the United Nations charter for nature and, as such, has the right to intervene in illegal operations.

“We are most famous for our Antarctic and Southern Ocean cam-paigns but there is so much here to do on the peninsula,” says James, who believes education is the number one priority.

“It is not our environment. It is the whales, dolphins and seals. We are just visitors.”

Never one afraid of a challenge, James was determined to get a vessel for the peninsula from the time he started the local chapter.

“Working as a tattoo artist for the past 27 years, I knew I had to earn a living but wanted badly to make a difference to our bay, so I devote every spare moment to the Sea Shepherd organisation, much to my wife’s dismay sometimes. Our current goal is getting a boat in the bay and we are about a third of the way through the fundraising process. The $60,000 boat is a Stabicraft, which we have organised through My Marine in Dromana, and we expect to have it in the water by Summer,” says James.

The craft will help volunteers educate tourists and residents on boat-ing and jet ski rules, which is a major problem on the peninsula.

“We will be educating people on jet skis in regards to the legal dis-tance they have to stay away from dolphins, seals and whales in the bay. There are legal requirements for boat owners and jet skiers and there is a 300-metre exclusion zone around these creatures,” says James. “So it is an education process. The craft operators know the legal re-


Design for life.C

A. DishwasherB. 90cm OvenC. RangehoodD. Electric CooktopE. 60cm Wall OvenF. Coffee MachineG. Condensor DryerH. Washing Machine I. Dishwasher

AB

D

E F

G H I

Your local Miele agent

1263 Pt Nepean Road, Rosebud ph: 59 86 5544

SEA SHEPHERD FEATURE

quirements but some of them ignore it, which is sad. Jet skiers are seasonal operators who often become over-excited on seeing marine creatures and want to get closer.”

James says that what jet skiers and boat operators need to realise is that their vessels are distressing to creatures like dolphins.

“The sound of jet skis is terrifying to a mother and calf and makes them lose their communication. The calf (baby dolphin) cannot dive for extended periods of time and has to resurface on every breath, which means they are susceptible to blunt strike injuries and propeller strikes. The noise of a jet ski in particular is incredibly distressing as it means they can’t communicate with each other,” says James, who will also have ground crew manning boat ramps.

“We will be filming those doing the wrong thing and taking it to the relevant authorities for prosecution.”

For James and his members, everything is falling into place. The local response to Sea Shepherd and its mission has been overwhelming, and continues to grow. Government and fishing authorities are encour-aging about launching a vessel in the bay. They even have philanthropist and Australian of the Year 2007 Phillip Wollen supporting their plight.

“Phillip is an animal liberator and vegan advocate who is based in Melbourne. He has put $5000 towards the craft and is a major supporter of the project.”

James, who turns 50 this year, says there is still so much to do and he will not rest until Port Phillip is clean and safe.

“The amount of work needed to protect and clean our bay is insurmountable even though we do have an impact by filming everything we do and educating the world about taking care of our ocean. Once the oceans die, we perish. The ocean can live without us, but we cannot live without the ocean.”

Check out Sea Shepherd and its latest campaigns at www.seashepherd.org.au


U6/42 HARTNETT DRIVE SEAFORD PH: 9770 4011

Peninsula FireplaceCentre

W: www.peninsulafireplace.com.au E: [email protected]

7 FACTORIES OF NEW & USED FURNITURENEW TO OLD, ANTIQUE TO RETRO

That special piece is waiting

for you!

Sofas & loungesDining settingsBuffetsDisplay cabinets TV unitsBookcases Chest of drawers Bedside tablesPantriesLinen cupboardsWardrobes

Crystal CabinetsCoffee & sofa tablesBeddingMirrorsOffice furniture& plenty more!

FRANKSTON AUCTION MART 42-54 New St, Frankston • Ph 9783 9613Open Mon-Fri 8.30am-5.30pm, Sat 8.30am-4pm www.frankstonauctionmart.com.au

Furnish your house cheaper with some of the finest

pieces instore.

Eventsmornington peninsula

Heronswood Spring FestivalNovember 8 and 9

There’ll be free gardening workshops, garden tours, fresh herb tea and wine tastings, gourmet barbecue, music, kids’ activities and more.

The Diggers Club 105 Latrobe Parade, Dromanawww.diggers.com.au

Christmas CarolsThroughout December

All major towns on the peninsula hold Christmas Carols so come along, bring a blanket and your voice to celebrate Christmas.

www.mornpen.vic.gov.au/Whats_On/Events

Christmas Festival of LightsSaturday November 29Enjoy a night of entertainment, fun and fantasy with Santa and Mrs Claus. Tree lighting ceremony, fireworks display, free live entertainment and children’s activities. Free entry.Corner of Davey and Young Streets, Frankstonwww.visitfrankston.com

Peninsula Cup DaySunday November 2Feel the thrill of the Spring Racing Carnival locally. Enter or watch fashions on the field and witness quality racing and enjoy a great day out.

Mornington Racing ClubRacecourse Road, Mornington

Halloween FestivalFriday October 31, 6.30-10pm

Open community event. Activities include apple bobbing, face painting, hair colouring, fancy dress competition, barbecue and more.

Hillview Community ReserveBoundary Road, Dromana

Moonah Links Pro-AmFriday November 14

Jarrod Lyle, fresh from his return to the US PGA Tour, will host the event and is certain to encourage a few of his famous friends to join in the fun on the Open course.

www.moonahlinks.com.au

Arthurs Seat ChallengeSunday November 9, 8.30-10.30am

The Arthurs Seat Challenge is a 6.7km run/walk held annually since 2002 to promote the profile of the Fit to Drive (f2d) program.

Point Nepean Rd to Seawinds, Arthurs Seatwww.arthursseatchallenge.com.au

2014 Archibald Prize exhibitionUntil November 16Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery is proud to be the only venue in Victoria presenting the Archibald Prize in 2014. Don’t miss out on seeing this vibrant exhibition.Civic Reserve, Dunns Road, Morningtonwww.mprg.mornpen.vic.gov.au



The Boneo Maze is an outstanding family

entertainment and eco-tourism complex

situated on the gorgeous Mornington

Peninsula, boasting wholesome family

fun in the great outdoors!

Enjoy nature walks, bird watching or a garden picnic while you

are surrounded with 25 acres of manicured gardens and winding

boardwalks through the mysterious wetlands!

Discover your families strengths exploring in our mazes or test your

brain with our MEGA garden games – suitable for the whole family!

Be sure to check out the Antique Carousel

Take up the great golfing challenge with our Pro Mini Golf course with

scorecards and tailored clubs for all sizes!

Events @ Boneo Maze!

• New Year’s Eve with nature light show

• Corporate Christmas Parties

• 12 Days of Christmas celebration

• Melbourne Cup Racing Week

• HalloweenAsk about hosting your

next event @ Boneo Maze

NEWAdventure Zone:

• Jumping castles • Bungee Tramps

• Giant Inflatable Dragon Slide

• Rock Climbing Wall • Zip Line

• MEGA Games inc. Chess & Connect4

• PLUS OUR BRAND NEW CAMBRIDGE PUNT BOATS!!

OUR LOCATION695 Limestone Road, Fingal Victoria

(Only a 5 minute drive from Rosebud, down Boneo Rd)Melways: 252 H4

CONTACT DETAILSPhone: +61 3 5988 6385

Email: [email protected]


Talk to the AnimalsIf I could

Confessions of an animal communicator


Kerrie Searle talks to animals. That’s not unusual you say but the difference is they talk back to her. Right now

you might be thinking she must be crazy, or at the very least be skeptical. So did the peninsula resident when she first heard her dog “talk” more than 10 years ago.

“It started when we were driving one day. I stopped at traffic lights and was looking at a German shepherd. Then I heard a voice from the back seat say ‘Yes I see him, too’. I looked in the back where my dogs were and thought I was going mad,” says Kerrie, who soon realised she could communicate with both her dogs, Darcy and Sam.

“I thought I could just have conversations with my own dogs but then a wasp clinched it. A couple of weeks later I was sitting outside a cafe with Darcy, and received this message: ‘Look at the funny person coming down the street’. It didn’t sound the way Darcy and I talk to each other so I didn’t look up but looked at Darcy who was sitting at my feet. He looked right at me and told me it wasn’t him. I was almost scared to look around but then saw a wasp sitting on an empty soft drink can and again got the message ‘Look down the street at that funny person’. I looked at Darcy and then the wasp and thought I was going mad. Could I be hearing a


TALK TO THE ANIMALS

wasp now? After hearing it the third time, I reluctantly asked the wasp was it talking to me. It flew right into my face and eye-balled me and said, ‘Yes, look up’. As I looked up I saw this person dressed as a clown coming down the street. The wasp said, ‘See, I told you they were dressed funny!’

Whether Kerrie liked it or not, she could no longer deny the fact she could hear animals talk and soon began her career as an animal communicator.

The former primary school teacher turned police detective had fi-nally found her destiny after retiring from 17 years in the police force.

“Working as a detective I had witnessed some stressful situations and embarked on a healing path of self-discovery. It was during that time of reconnecting with my heart I discovered my ability to communicate with all species of animals,” says Kerrie. “I find they communicate through words, pictures, tastes and smells.”

Kerrie explains that, just like humans, not all animals have mon-umental things to say.

“A lot of them just say hello,” she says with a laugh. “But one of the biggest messages animals keep passing on is that we are quite backward. By that they mean we are not all that smart when it comes to priorities. We make things harder than they need to be.”

Kerrie believes we can learn a great deal from our four-legged friends and other species. In fact, they have wisdom beyond our human selves.

“I do a great deal of consulting for people who are worried about their pets. I had one client whose dog was scared to go outside. It told me that it was dumped and left on a street corner as a puppy and was waiting for its owners to show up. It turns out the puppy had been a rescue dog and was abandoned,” says Kerrie who has myriad stories like this from London horses acting like divas to rottweiler-pitbull crosses with depression. “Our animals choose us. They come into our lives at a time when we need them. They are not only a companion but also we can learn so much from them if we open our hearts.”

Animal communication is something we are all capable of ac-cording to experts like Kerrie.

“As a child we all have the ability to hear animals but once we get to school we shut down. We start to learn that communication is only verbal but it’s not,” says Kerrie, who hears words telepathically.

Apart from doing sessions counselling animals, Kerrie’s focus is spreading a message on behalf of the animals.

“Animals are so much more intelligent than we could hope to be. Like children, they see and hear things that adults don’t. They have a great deal to say about how we should live our lives, and they carry emotional burdens for us. I witnessed this when I was still working as a police detective after 9/11. The police dogs in New York were being used to locate body parts in the rubble and their handlers said they almost seemed depressed. I had started talking to animals again and realised that the energy humans couldn’t cope with was being absorbed by the dogs. After that, the depart-ment implemented a program to deal with the emotional state of the dogs and they saw a marked improvement.”

Kerrie says at the moment animals are pushing for human beings to have more connection with themselves.

She uses bush flower essences to help animals and humans heal anxiety, depression and other ailments.

“I completed my Bach Flower training in the UK and have com-pleted Australian Bush Flower Courses in Australia, and am cur-rently work closely with Ian White to bring the healing power of Australian Bush Flower Essences to animals through workshops around Australia and internationally. I prescribe certain essences to each animal for healing. A friend who was a homeopath put me onto bush essences and they saved my life. That’s why I can understand and empathise with each animal as it is coming from the heart.”

So if Kerrie can ask animals how they are feeling, it begs the question: how do they feel about being in a zoo or aquarium?

“Animals all have a soul code and some were born to be in places like zoos so don’t mind it. Others do not cope with captivity at all and will suffer tremendous emotional and physical trauma,” she says.

Everyone knows of Dr Doolittle, the famous fictional character who could talk to the animals, but the truth is animal communi-cation dates back as far as the early 1200s with St Francis, one of the first humans in recorded history to speak of animals as equals, preaching to birds and animals and conversing with the wolf who then came to live in his village.

So next time your canine companion rests their head in your lap when you’re feeling low or your precious kitty seems anxious or depressed, look into their eyes and realise they might have some-thing important to say.

Kerrie Searle is available for animal communication consultations on 0450 784 350 or www.animal-communicator.com.au

I do a great deal of consulting for people who are worried about their pets



The Luck of the Irish

By Melissa Hodge. Photography: Gary Sissons

Irish beauty Caitrin O’Rourke is this year’s Face of the Mornington Racing Club and no stranger to a racecourse.

A nurse from the Emerald Isle, 29-year-old Caitrin moved to Aus-tralia two years ago and has always had a keen interest in horse

racing.“My dad and brothers had shares in horses in Ireland and I have been do-

ing show jumping and racing since I was a lass. While I was putting myself through uni I rode track work for trainers to earn extra money,” says Caitrin who lives next to Mornington Racecourse with her partner, racecourse vet Eoin Kelly.

Caitrin arrived in Melbourne exactly two years ago on Peninsula Cup Day and spent her first seven days at seven different race meetings.

“In my first week here I spent all my time at Moonee Valley and then Morn-ington Racecourse. While I was waiting for my nursing registration I worked for Pat Carey in Mornington and Gai Waterhouse at Randwick doing track work. I have ridden races in Ireland and some charity races and still do work around the racecourse,” says Caitrin, who loves everything about racing and Mornington.

“I was attracted to Mornington because that’s where Eoin is based and have loved making it my new home. I can understand why so many people from Ireland and England have moved here.”

As a paediatric nurse at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Caitrin says racing and fashion provides a great outlet.

“I love getting dressed up for the races and am looking forward to represent-ing the community. I like to shop locally and support peninsula boutiques and milliners like Annette Sanfilippo and Fiona’s of Mornington,” she says.

“Although I have competed in a few of Fashions on the Field, this is the first


72-74 Mt Eliza Way, Mt Eliza 9775 40225/59 Barkly St, Mornington 5976 16331180 High St, Armadale 9509 063375 Mitchell St, Bendigo 5442 1569

TUZZIDAVID POND

SABATINIGERRY SHAW

LS COLLECTIONJOSEPH RIBKOFF

DRAMASANDRA STEINER

JADOREANNARITA N

ANNETTE GORTZBLUE BLANC RANGE

CAP FERRATDENNY ROSE

ISABEL DE PEDROBRAX

GAUDICREA CONCEPT

TALBOT RUNHOF

CATERING FORSPECIAL OCCASION DRESSINGMOTHER OF THE BRIDE/GROOM

MON-SAT 9am-6pm SUN 1pm-5pm

time I have applied for anything like this and can’t wait to start attending functions and putting outfits together.”

Caitrin says when it comes to fashion it is best to stick with what works for you.

“Style is a very individual thing and it’s important to stay with what suits you. This Spring carnival we will see bold floral prints, bold colours like bright yellows and acid orange as well as prints like houndstooth. My personal style is classical with nice dresses and I like to wear pearls. The most important thing is to wear what you feel comfortable and confident in. If you have a long day at the races, make sure your shoes fit well and are comfortable, perhapes wedges instead of stilettos,” she says.

As the new Face of Mornington Racing Club, Caitrin receives a cache of prizes including a 12-month modelling and management contract with AMG, pampering and style packages, $500 cash and more. She will have the opportunity to attend key fashion and race day events, and be in-volved in on-stage interviews and hosting events, trophy presentations, media interviews and Fashions on the Field competitions.

Having fought off tough competition from 10 other finalists, judges felt Caitrin’s experience of horse racing worldwide, dedication to learn-ing the ropes, savvy fashion sense, outgoing personality and natural beauty meant she was the perfect candidate to front the promotion of the Mornington club.

“Caitrin wowed us with her extensive experience and extreme passion for horse racing, not only in Victoria but also throughout the world, and has a keen eye for racing fashion, which will be a huge asset in her new role at Mornington,” says Mornington Racecourse manager Angela Cleland.

Caitrin’s first key appearance in her new role is at the Sportingbet Peninsula Cup Day on Sunday November 3.


Making it HappenGetting ready for the big day Photography: Gary Sissons

Lorna of Zumay Salon creates an exquisite hairstyle for Caitrin’s photo shoot.

Millinery by Annette Sanfilippo frames Caitrin’s face as Lea blends a seamless lip colour.

Sudari Cosmetic’s Lea puts the final touches to Caitrin’s makeup for camera-ready perfection.


Looking every bit the part in La Bella Haute Couture, Caitrin

shines for the camera.

Even stylish in silks, the Face of the Mornington Racing Club is a winner.

Caitrin is at home in the studio or on the racecourse.

Caitrin loves horses and raceday fashion.


The Fine Art of Millinery


Annette Sanfilippo is truly an artistic soul, creating incre-dible millinery pieces that are more like works of art than

hats from her quirky village shop in Tyabb. And this racing season is no different, with headpieces of all shapes and siz-es, all colours and textures displayed around the shop to give fashionistas a taste of what’s in store this Spring.

“Everything is always in fashion; it’s what you do with it,” says the stylist and milliner, whose background in art and design shines through in each individual headpiece. “I could take the same dress each year and style it with different elements to create a completely unique result.”

The best news is that ladies don’t have to spend a fortune to look amazing. As Annette explains, it’s all about sustainability and refresh-ing the look.

“I do many renovations on hats and headpieces, keeping the same base and adding different elements. Soft and feminine aspects blend-ed with organic elements brings the piece to another level by adding

a feather spine, beaded elements, florals and materials from nature,” says Annette. “Pretty much anything goes.”

A constantly evolving process, millinery art continues to use inno-vative new products, including industrial materials like wire.

“Basically we are using anything you can contort,” says Annette, who knows of milliners who have used woven placemats as the base for their headpiece. “Shape and texture is big at the moment, taking a product and contorting it to reflect the silhouettes we see in fash-ion. I liken it to Ikebana flower design, a Japanese floral arrangement based on asymmetrical applications.”

With one of the current fashion trends being asymmetrical dress-ing in panelled sleeves, shoulder shapes and skirt shapes, the Ikebana style of headpiece design is the perfect complement to the look.

“This asymmetrical look is both androgynous and sexy,” she says, pointing out that it’s about attaining an overall look. “It is about balance with every piece of clothing and accessory whether that is jewellery, the millinery, shoes or bags.”

By Melissa Hodge. Photography: Yanni


Your local stores: Mornington 901 Nepean Hwy | Sorrento 131 Ocean Beach Rd Victoria store locations: Fitzroy | Malvern | Cheltenham | Geelong

or shop online at www.swimweargalore.com.au

Hampton Stripe Balconette $129.95 Skirt Pant $84.95

At Swimwear Galore we pride ourselves on stocking over 90 brands and catering for

every shape & size!

SWIMFOR EVERYBODY!WEAR

Show this ad in store to receive a 10% discount or use the code MPESS14 online at the checkout. Valid until 30/11/14

Get social with us!


Holistic Counselling for People and ParrotsHello and Welcome! I am a qualified and experienced Holistic Counsellor & Bird Behaviourist and am here to really listen to you!! And your Bird!!

We all need someone to talk to, someone we can trust and who can genuinely listen to us and not judge our emotions or our thoughts. Everyone needs someone who can empathise and respectfully understand what we are privately desiring to get ‘off our chest.’ I am here for you.

I have many professional, personal/life and health experiences and totally understand how these can mildly or severely affect our emotional, physical and spiritual wellbeing, e.g. chronic fatigue, allergies, food intolerances and depression. I can guide and help resolve problems for teenagers/ adults of all ages, so you may follow your dreams, discover your skills and innate talents.

Companion Birds, similarly share with humans, the need for holistic wellbeing, love, respect and empathy from all people. General education of bird behaviour is rare in Australia. In addition to my overseas and general bird studies, I am capable of communicating with your bird and ‘reading the signs’ of their emotional and physical conditions. Birds have been part of my family for at least 20 years. Highlighting and supporting their welfare is my life purpose and focus.

Appointments are available day and evening, 7 days a week. Sessions start from $85 per hour. Animal Behaviour Counselling/Healing is $10 per session. I am located in Mt Eliza on a very private and secure property, amongst tranquil and natural landscaped surroundings.

Contact: Paris Yves 0413 530 419 or email [email protected] My Freewill Journey www.myfreewilljourney.com Parrot Productions www.parrotproductions.org

• Holistic & Spiritual Counsellor• Relaxation Massage Therapist• Life & Business/Corporate Intuitive • Reiki & Intuitive Healing • Astrology, Crystal Therapy, Numerology, Feng Shui• Mediumship• Animal Behaviour Counselling/ Healing/Reiki for Parrots & any other AnimalsIssues may include: intimate relationships, family life, personal life challenges, health, work/ career issues, challenging parrot/ animal relationships.

‘Your freewill is to choose your life as you know and feel it is right for you’

THE FINE ART OF MILLINERY

Encapsulating the enigmatic artist, Annette explains that millinery is a fluid process. Like sculpting, you shape a piece until it takes on a life of its own.

“Often I will sit there surrounded by ribbons, jewels, flowers, wire and feathers and then I’ll just start building my piece from there. There are two distinct styles happening at the moment, with a strong signature of minimalism – a sharp clean look with few ele-ments that make a statement. And on the other side, the overdone, with graphic prints, beaded and embellished pieces full of colour and texture,” she says. “Floral is making a resurgence with key ele-ments being cherry blossom and berries.”

As for hints on how to put the perfect outfit together, Annette says it is about getting every element right.

“It’s how you balance the outfit. Everything has to come together like a good meal. Your hairstyle has to suit your headpiece. Long hair will suit certain headpieces that coiffured hair styles won’t. The wonderful thing is that the average woman can easily do her own hair now with a hair donut for a sleek look or a more messy bun and web-like hairstyle.”

It’s clear this is where a good milliner and stylist comes into the picture, offer-

ing helpful advice about creating the total package.

“I do top to toe for clients. They come to see me completely lost and leave feeling

exhilarated about their new look. Lots of girls know what they want but think it is unattain-

able on the peninsula. This is totally untrue. We have everything here at our fingertips, with the

best designers, milliners, stylists and international labels. You don’t need to go to the city to source that

perfect look any more,” she says. “And if you are willing to purchase from last season’s range, you will save a fortune

and still look amazing.”

Annette says another key trend for the Spring racing carnival is to take a block of colour and build on it to showcase a theme.

“You can use all white for example and build on it from there, finding the perfect shoe with a hint of colour that flows through the rest of your accessories. It’s not just about finding the matching bag and shoes. Achieving the perfect look is a more subtle blend of colours,” she says.

“It’s all about impact, walking into a room and making a state-ment,” says Annette, who believes milliners have been reinspired by Phillip Treacy who created the showstopping headpiece for Princess Eugenie at the Royal Wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince Wil-liam in 2011.

How you achieve that impact depends on your ability to balance your outfit and accessories, and Annette explains that one of the most important elements is shoes.

“I believe the right shoe is even more important than the head-wear,” says Annette who is not a fan of the wedge heel. “An elegant outfit needs an elegant shoe like a stiletto and this year heels with decorations and shape variations are popular. If you have spent so much time and energy creating the perfect look, don’t let yourself down with the choice of shoes.”


FITNESS

COACHING&

30 mINuTES IS All IT TAkES

FITNESS + MEAL PLANS + COACHING

OR

FITNESS FOR WOMEN COACHING AT EVERY WORKOUT RESULTS AT ANY FITNESS LEVEL WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM

30 MINUTESIS ALL IT TAKES

WITH A

CURVES COACHto teach and motivate.

curves.com.au /Curves AU NZ

CUR14441_FitnessCurvesComplete_A2Poster_AU_FA.indd 2 10/04/14 1:56 PM

MORNINGTON - 5975 5526Level 1,8 Spray St (off Main St via Elizabeth St)

The leading brands of mens, womens & childrens footwear under one roof.

Plus the largest bridal shoe range this side of Melbourne! Shoes, boots, orthotics, casual, school shoes, plus more!

103 Railway Pde, Seaford (cnr Clovelly Pde)

Ph: 9785 1887email [email protected]

FREEPARKING

AVAILABLE

BAYSIDE SHOE WAREHOUSE

Footwear Heaven!Have you been to Bayside Shoe Warehouse lately?

Take a visit, your feet will thank you.

As for gloves, for many race-goers it can be hit and miss. Annette says gloves are still very much in, but a way to ensure maximum impact is to create an eclectic look by mixing an asymmetrical print with a soft glove for instance.

And as for jewellery, her philosophy is simple – “Go hard or go down”.

“There’s no in between with jewellery with chunky pieces sure to make a statement. But re-member the golden rule – large necklace, small earrings and vice versa. Never do both.”

And one last hint, in line with Coco Chanel’s advice: Annette says before you leave home, look in the mirror. If something you are wearing jumps out too much, take it off. A girl’s instinct is always right.

Annette Sanfilippo is at Tyabb Art & Craft Village, 14 Mornington-Tyabb Rd, Tyabb, (behind Tyabb Packing House Antiques). Phone 0414 465 344 or check out Annette Sanfilippo Millinery Art on Facebook.


HELLOWORLD MORNINGTON CRUISE AND TRAVELADDRESS : 63 Main Street,Mornington VIC 3931EMAIL : [email protected] : (03) 5975 3355

SAVE UP TO $800* ON

EUROPE 2015WITH HELLOWORLD MORNINGTON

CRUISE & TRAVEL

PLUSReceive a bonus hop-on/hop-off London, Rome or Paris tour when you book your trip to Europe with helloworld Mornington

Cruise & Travel

Conditions apply: Please contact helloworld Mornington Cruise & Travel for details. TC2939


HELLOWORLD MORNINGTON CRUISE AND TRAVELADDRESS : 63 Main Street,Mornington VIC 3931EMAIL : [email protected] : (03) 5975 3355

SAVE UP TO $800* ON

EUROPE 2015WITH HELLOWORLD MORNINGTON

CRUISE & TRAVEL

PLUSReceive a bonus hop-on/hop-off London, Rome or Paris tour when you book your trip to Europe with helloworld Mornington

Cruise & Travel

Conditions apply: Please contact helloworld Mornington Cruise & Travel for details. TC2939


COFFEEMAKING

the art of

By Melissa HodgePhotography: Yanni

Coffee is big business nowadays and it’s a lot more com-plicated than just pouring an Aussie favourite white

with two from your instant coffee jar.Australians have well and truly embraced the coffee culture with

their double shot lattes, long blacks, flat whites and espressos, be-coming coffee connoisseurs along the way.

And we are lucky to have two of the best coffee-makers right here on the peninsula.

Pete and Trish Roberts own Little Rebel Coffee, a boutique cof-fee-making business operating from Epicurean in Red Hill where they roast two days a week.

As we chat, the duo pours loads of beans into a sparkling metallic machine, explaining that they need to be roasted at just the right temperature.

The McCrae couple is passionate about coffee and they started a coffee-making business when they purchased their roaster from Turkey four years ago.

“We started roasting coffee originally from our cafe in Mt Mar-tha, and now it has evolved into this peninsula-wide service, sup-plying coffee to about 17 cafes and restaurants locally,” says the couple who have managed to maintain their strong focus on per-sonal attention and unique blends.

“We are determined to run the business our way and will only supply our coffee to restaurants and cafes that have the same vision as us,. We’ve recently added Merricks General Store to our client list. We want to supply places that make good coffee, run by peo-ple who listen to their customers, and we are lucky enough to be a bit picky with who we supply to,” says Trish.

After being in hospitality for many years, Pete and Trish devel-oped a passion for food and wine, which then evolved into the coffee field.

“We love our wines, and found that the creative processes of wine and coffee have lots in common. Wines and coffee can both be blended or single and are sensitive to climate and conditions. You even do coffee tasting the same as wine tasting, working out whether to use it as a single bean or a mixed blend.”

Amusingly, their most popular blend is called ‘Black Sheep’, a Brazilian and El Salvadorean mix, which Pete says is inspired by his somewhat rebellious youth.

“It stood out as the black sheep of the family when we blended it and is now our main blend,” says Pete.

After just four years Little Rebel Coffee is already an award-win-ning business, picking up the International Coffee Award at the Melbourne International Coffee Expo in May.

“We also won Roaster of the Month at Three Thousand Thieves,” he says.

With no chance of slowing down, the couple is in the process of building their own facility to house yet another coffee-roasting machine, setting up a warehouse in Dromana.

“We are getting an even bigger roaster for the Dromana site where we can also do training, sales and coffee tasting,” says Trish, who personally has a very strong opinion of the perfect coffee.

“I know they are popular but I’m not a fan of coffee pods that so many people use these days. It is unnecessary when it is so easy to make a good coffee at home with a plunger or a pour over,” says Trish, who insists the best way to keep coffee fresh is to buy it in bean form. “Once you grind a coffee it oxydises within three minutes, which means all the goodness goes out of it. If you grind it fresh you will get a much tastier brew.”

How coffee is processed makes all the difference, too. Washed cof-fee is usually more acidic while naturally processed coffee is a lot sweeter.

The former latte drinkers, Pete and Trish agree that black coffee is the only way to go. “If a coffee is good and made properly, you shouldn’t need sugar or milk,” say the couple of their gradually acquired taste. “We remain committed to making the best possible coffee in the most ethical way, and will always endeavor to make as small a footprint on our environment as we can.”

If hard work and dedication account for anything, then people like Pete and Trish can’t go wrong and maybe, if we’re lucky, there’s a little rebel in all of us.

Check out Little Rebel Coffee at www.littlerebel.com.au


RitchiesM o u n t E l i z a


RitchiesM o u n t E l i z a

CAPE GRIM TUESDAYS $60

Buy two Cape Grim porterhouse steaks and RECEIVE A FREE BOTTLE OF

CAPE VINE WINE FROM MARGARET RIVER, WA.

Your choice of Chardonnay, Sauvingnon Blanc, Pinot Noir or Shiraz.

New Spring Menu by Executive Chef Patrick Bowring

1003 Point Nepean Road, Rosebud Ph: 5982 3200 • www.rosegpo.com.au

Tapas and Modern Bistro Menu

Breakfast 7 DAYS from 8am

Live Music Friday and Saturday’s

Book your Christmas Party now at GPO

NEW YEARS EVE Mojo Pearls Live

Two Course Dinner and Entertainment $75

Established 2008

1 Schnapper Point Drive, Mornington 03 5973 5599 www.therocksmornington.com.au

open 7 days we look forward to catering to

all your function need

function pricingcocktail function from $36ppsit down lunches from $35ppsit down dinners from $50pp

morning or afternoon teas from $20pp

celebrate your special occasion @ the rocks*mornington yacht club room hire may apply

30 | PENINSULAEssenceCNR NEPEAN HWY & DAVEYS ST FRANKSTON - 9783 7255

[email protected] | WWW.DAVEYS.COM.AU | WWW.FB.COM/DAVEYSHOTEL

W H A T ’ S O N A T . . .


CNR NEPEAN HWY & DAVEYS ST FRANKSTON - 9783 7255 [email protected] | WWW.DAVEYS.COM.AU | WWW.FB.COM/DAVEYSHOTEL

W H A T ’ S O N A T . . .

HeritageTavern & Restaurant

3059 Frankston Flinders Rd, Phone: 5983 2597 (Balnarring 3918 opposite the Balnarring Shopping Centre)

Email: [email protected] * Website: www.heritage3059.com.aulike us on facebook

and twitter

* Set on 2 acres of garden space in a 1930’s house, the Heritage Tavern embodies the ambience of a gentler era.

* Family friendly with space for the kids to play.

* Reasonably priced meals with plenty of slow cooked options.

* Featuring local produce, beers and wine.

* Live music Friday evenings and Sundays 3-6.

* Phone through for Take Away.

Shop / McLaren Place, Mornington(Across the car park from Mornington Central)

Ph: www.DenorHomewares.com.au

Heart Warming Disheswith Cookware from Denor Homewares

Personalised service + Generous loyalty program + Senior discounts + Free gift wrapping

32 | PENINSULAEssencePhone

03 5989 7081online bookings and vouchers

www.veraisonrestaurant.com.au

Find out why the locals are coming to...

• Open 7 days for lunch and Fri and Sat nights for dinner • Catering for all types of functions

• Weekday 2 course $39 and 3 course $49 menu for those people looking for value lunch

• Christmas is just around the corner... See the website for details of the very special menu we have planned - Don’t miss out, book now for an unforgetable Christmas!

269 Myers Rd, Balnarring VIC 3926

Melway: 163 A7

The Fifth Element . . . at VeraisonBy Melissa Hodge. Photography: Yanni


Mark Poulter sure knows how to create delicious cui-sine, and his wife, Cherie, understands the importance

of providing a friendly, welcoming environment for guests. That’s probably why the couple’s Veraison Restaurant at Blue-stone Lane Vineyard in Merricks North has been number one on TripAdvisor for two years in a row.

Having recently returned from a sojourn to Japan to discover more about Asian-influenced cuisine, head chef Mark will be introducing an “East meets West” theme to their restaurant this Spring.

“Our menu is based on French influence as in all cooking French is the basic foundation. Over the past few years we have been intro-ducing different themes. Last year we created dishes with an Italian slant and this season it will be Asian-inspired,” says Mark, who is particularly keen to incorporate umami into his dishes.

“Umami is a relatively new ingredient in Australia but has been in Japan for 500 years. It comes from dried seaweed and is the fifth flavour,” explains Mark, “the other four flavours being sweet, sour, salty and bitter.”

Mark says that creating the perfect dish is all about balance.

“It’s about balancing the perfect flavours and this is the whole basis of cooking. Tastebuds work in such a way that if you balance your food you can please all tastes. It’s about flavour pairing and balance

to create the perfect dish,” says Mark, who has been a chef for 28 years.

Like any food connoisseur, Mark explains umami poetically.

“Umami is like fulfillment. It fills out everything and naturally enhances other flavours. We make stocks out of it, and add it to sauces and broths. It is not a specific flavour you will recognise but it is distinct because of its enhancement of a dish.”

As with all of Mark’s ingredients, he only chooses the best from each region, whether local, interstate or international.

“Certain places produce the best ingredients and we will not ac-cept second best, which is why we import our umami from Japan, our icecream ingredients from Italy, our fresh fish and vegetables from the peninsula, and some items from interstate like Tasmanian salmon,” he says.

Veraison’s new menu will include produce now in season, and the best pickings from each area.

“This season, asparagus is flourishing and of excellent quality so I will definitely be using this in my dishes.”

Mark also uses authentic soy sauce from Japan, stored in 100-year-old barrels, and kombu from the north island of Hokkaido.


Phone

03 5989 7081online bookings and vouchers

www.veraisonrestaurant.com.au

Find out why the locals are coming to...

• Open 7 days for lunch and Fri and Sat nights for dinner • Catering for all types of functions

• Weekday 2 course $39 and 3 course $49 menu for those people looking for value lunch

• Christmas is just around the corner... See the website for details of the very special menu we have planned - Don’t miss out, book now for an unforgetable Christmas!

269 Myers Rd, Balnarring VIC 3926

Melway: 163 A7


With the light, delicate flavours of Japanese cuisine blended with a French infusion, Veraison will be creating dishes like Matcha Green Tea Tiramisu, homemade sushi, and Mark’s own tempura vegetables and seafood.

“A way to create the perfect tempura is by using a gastronome gun, incorporating a new technique to create the lightest, fluffiest batter and paper-thin tempura,” says Mark, who will be using it for sashimi and sea bream sliced finely with tempura asparagus, served with a umami dipping sauce.

Evolving and keeping up with current trends is an important as-pect of modern restaurants but Mark says it is also important to keep traditional dishes as well.

“It is very much about customer feedback. We want to keep our

loyal customers happy as well as offer new and innovative dishes for first-time visitors,” he says.

Cherie couldn’t agree more and this is where front-of-house service is so important.

“We always want our guests to feel at home here, and leave having had a great experience,” she says. “I make sure I only employ the best staff, who are knowledgeable and friendly. We want all our custom-ers to feel like royalty, but we also don’t have that stuffy feel. Veraison is fine dining in a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere.”

Veraison Restaurant at Bluestone Lane Vineyard is at 269 Myers Road, Merricks North. Phone 5989 7081. www.veraisonrestaurant.com.au

TEMPURA BATTER

INGREDIENTS300gm flour100gm corn flour3 whipped egg whitesIce water for desired consistency of batter

METHODSift flours together.Add ice water to desired consistency of end batter.Fold in whipped egg whites.Pour into gastro gun, charge with canister.

Chef Mark Poulter used asparagus in the dish in the photo.


www.hellohastings.com.au /pages/Hello-Hastings/590431511040005


IF YOU BUILD IT... THEY WILL COME

When Alan Woollard saw the great work Bike Safe had done on the Surf Coast, Bellarine Peninsula and Gee-

long areas – he decided it had to be brought to the Mornington Peninsula. This was three years ago and since then Alan and his volunteers have been working to create a safer environment for cyclists on the peninsula.

As president of Bike Safe Mornington Peninsula and an avid cyclist for 35 years, Alan says it is imperative that motorists and cyclists learn to share the road safely.

“Anyone who drives a car or rides a bike knows there are a lot of haz-ardous areas that cause conflict between both groups. We have been advertising our ‘Share the Road’ message on billboards, trailers, buses and in local newspapers. Victoria Police have been very supportive of our efforts. There has been some improvement in Rosebud with green surface treatment highlighting bicycle lanes, and this year collabora-tion between VicRoads and Mornington Peninsula Shire to finally resurface a three-kilometre section at Rye and Blairgowrie. However there is still so much more to do,” says Alan, who at age 65 cycles around 250km a week.

The warmer weather and the Christmas holidays bring more cyclists and motorists to the peninsula, and one of the big issues, explains Alan, is the opening of car doors onto cyclists.

“It is a matter of drivers becoming more aware of cyclists around them and vice versa. Cyclists and motorists need to ride and drive with respect and courtesy. One of the main complaints from motorists is that cyclists don’t stay in bike lanes. Cyclists have to contend with many hazards such as potholes, glass, sand and stones in cycle lanes but unfortunately it would appear motorists are often unaware of con-ditions in bike lanes,” he says. “One of the key factors in reducing cy-cling accidents is to sweep bike lanes and road shoulders where cyclists ride. VicRoads managed to do this on the other side of Port Phillip.

If debris was removed from bike lanes by road sweeping, it would be much safer for all – attracting even more cyclists to our beautiful Mornington Peninsula. Build it and they will use it.”

Bike Safe’s goal is to improve awareness by drivers and cyclists with the Share the Road message. It is printed on the jerseys they ride in.

Alan is one of the many cyclists on the peninsula who ride thousands of kilometres each year, enjoying the stunning scenery the area has to offer. “There are so many beautiful places to cycle. Two of my favou-rites are Point Nepean and the hinterland in the Red Hill area,” says Alan. “We live in a stunning part of the world.”

For Alan and thousands of other cyclists, bike riding is a great way to meet new and interesting people and, of course, keep healthy.

“You see all sorts of people out cycling – from parents with young children to teenagers and couples as well as older riders like me,” he says with a laugh.

Bike Safe Mornington Peninsula is a non-profit association started by peninsula cyclists to improve bicycle safety on roads in response to the increasing number of accidents involving cyclists and motorists in the region. Its aim is to actively pursue programs that will improve on-road cycling safety, helping existing cyclists and encouraging in-creased participation in cycling as well as improving road conditions for cyclists and motorists.

A 2010 survey, “Mornington Peninsula Bicycle Strategy RideSafe”, revealed that the 159 casualty crashes involving cyclists represented 7.7 per cent of all crashes recorded on the peninsula, a significantly higher number than other regions and only 1 per cent less than met-ropolitan Melbourne.

Check out the website to see what is happening in other areas at www.bikesafe.com.au

Sales. Service. Parts.

In a dealership built on a tradition of passion, performance and a strong commitment to customer service, it is with great excitement that we introduce Aaron Cosstick as the new General Manager of Mornington BMW.

Come and visit Aaron and his team for a coffee and to experience the dynamic new BMW range, including the all new BMW M3, BMW M4 and BMW X4, and let us help you find the Ultimate Driving Machine perfect for your lifestyle.

Experience the Ultimate in BMW on the Peninsula at Mornington BMW today.

EXPERIENCE THE ULTIMATE AT MORNINGTON BMW.MEET OUR NEW TEAM.

Mornington BMW 181 Mornington Tyabb Rd, Mornington. (03) 5970 5970. morningtonbmw.com.au LMCT 7674







Mornington BMW

SalesFinanceServiceParts







Mornington BMW

SalesFinanceServiceParts








Peninsula Bulk Meats

18 Henry Wilson Drive, Rosebud T: 5982 2688Open 7 days • www.peninsulabulkmeats.com.au

The Mornington Peninsula’s Largest Wholesaler and Retail Butcher Shop.

A family owned and operated business, our friendly and experienced staff look forward to welcoming you to a fine shopping experience.

CHECK ONLINE FOR

OUR REGULAR IN STORE

WEEKLY SPECIALS

Take advantage of purchasingbulk meat at wholesale prices.

All full pieces purchased by you can be cut to your specifications

by our butchers FREE. We also stock a full range of cheese and dairy products.

RETAILRETAILPeninsula Bulk Meats have been

supplying meat, cheese and dairy products throughout Victoria

for many years. Our customers range from local cafes, large

pubs, vineyards to award winning Melbourne restaurants.

WHOLESALEWHOLESALE


For an appointment call

1300 230 430Suite 6, Upper Level

38a Main Street, Morningtonwww.diamondcoco.com.au

Rings, Earrings, Pendants & MoreWholesale prices

direct to the public

Buy Direct from the Trade

and Save!

Eyewear As Individual As You Are

MainStreet Eyecare57 Main St, Mornington

5975 3235

YUM CHA dailyTake Away

Licensed & BYO wine only

Open 7 daysLunch 12-3pm Dinner from 5.30pm

Upstairs 25a Main St, Mornington

5975 5311www.restaurantsoy.com.au

Two cafes better than one

Rosebud icon Blue Mini Cafe has evolved and expanded after eight years in business and the owners couldn’t be happier.

“We are still in Point Nepean Road but have also opened a bigger cafe and emporium in Colchester Road,” says owner Tracey. “Our original cafe is now called The Corner Cafe and Catering, has a new look, a new name but the same friendly staff and chefs.”

The Blue Mini Cafe Eatery and Emporium in Colchester Road brings its clever and quirky take on informal dining to the old Rosebud Bowling Alley, which closed in 2013.

Fully renovated throughout, the cafe is a bright and spacious provedore and function venue that offers visitors to the Mornington Peninsula a unique experience.

Using recycled timbers and innovative design, the new Blue Mini has re-tained the retro look and feel of the bowling alley, breathing new life into the old building, while offering a relaxed, modern dining experience that captures the spirit and flavours of the peninsula.

Tracey has been in the hospitality industry for many years, running hotels and clubs, and managing Portsea Golf Club for many years, so she has always had a finger on the pulse.

But she is so much more than this, and proof that you can’t keep a good woman down occurred just two years ago when she and the family was devas-tated when her husband Arthur suffered a massive aneurysm at just 55 years of age.

“That was the worst phone call I have ever received. We were just about to leave for a holiday in Thailand, in the process of setting up our second business, the kids were off at uni and it was finally our time. Then Arthur had an aneurysm, died once and suffered two strokes,” says Tracey. “We spent the next four months in hospital, got home and now two years later have opened our new cafe.”

Tracey and Arthur are the real deal, proof that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

So determined was the couple to not let the episode them, they decided to marry on the one-year anniversary of Arthur’s aneurysm.

“We had been together for years but never married and decided we didn’t want our boys to think of this date as the day that dad had his aneurysm but rather the day we got married,” she says.

While Tracey runs the businesses, Arthur works behind the scenes and is on the road to recovery.

Check out the new Blue Mini Cafe Eatery and Emporium at 2 Colchester Road, Rosebud West or The Corner Cafe and Catering at 1455 Point Nepean Road, Rosebud. Phone 5982 1455. www.bluemini.com.au


The Market of Markets

It’s Sunday morning, the sun is shining, coffee is brewing and what better way to spend your day off than wandering

around a craft and produce market? There’s nothing more re-laxing than strolling around a weekend market, checking out luscious fresh produce, homemade jams and other goodies, and taking in the life and colour of a community.

Like all events that seem effortless, there’s a whole lot that goes on behind the scenes to make markets a hit, as I discovered when talking to Craft Markets Australia manager Louise Gamon.

A business that has grown enormously since its inception in 1974 when four couples at a dinner party shared a romantic idea of open-ing a market for local people to barter or sell their seasonal produce, Craft Markets Australia now has more than 1500 stallholders on its database and manages eight markets across Victoria.

“My parents, Carole and Kevin, along with Cathy and David Thompson were the original directors and it has remained a family business for all these years,” says Louise, who remembers going to the first Red Hill market as a child. “They are all in their 70s now but still have a say in the big decisions of the business.”

For Louise, weekends are rarely relaxing, with market organisation starting in the wee hours of the morning.

“If we are doing a market at Flemington, we leave around 5.30am, and it’s pretty full-on during the week with lots of administration to be done,” she says. It’s rare to have a weekend off with no market but it all comes together because of our amazing staff who are all know-ledgeable and professional local women.”

Operating from the head office in Mornington, all company vehi-cles and equipment are transported to each market first thing in the morning, leaving the Satu Way factory before sunrise.

“A lot of our equipment is needed to make the event safe for pa-trons and stallholders. We carry a lot of signage, market day office lists, radios and high visibility vests – everything needed to ensure an event runs smoothly. Because of the large number of people at-tending, we have a duty of care to all, and make sure we have the equipment and background to back them up,” says Louise. “Gone are the days when you just popped up a tent and sold your macramé. Now you have to be aware that there are a lot more regulations in the past five years with OH&S.”

For Louise and her loyal staff, it takes about three hours of pre-event preparation on the day, getting stallholders on the correct site, sorting out territory issues, and ensuring compatibility be-tween stallholders.

“We have a strict rule of no car movement half an hour before trading. Once the CMA girls have sorted out where everyone, is we do a roll call, do tent safety checks, and nominate fire wardens to all the different zones. We collect market fees, do audits and make sure stallholders are selling what they say they are,” says Louise, who explains there can be a bit of negotiation and facilitating between stallholders. “Luckily the girls are all very diplomatic so we usually don’t have any dramas.”

The success of Craft Markets Australia, according to Louise, is based on the fact they have so many talented stallholders.

“It still amazes me how we have such talented people who can pro-duce these incredible pieces. We have stallholders who make the most creative things – there’s a real wow factor that keeps people coming back to our markets,” she says. “It can be a real juggling act deciding who to have at the markets. We have a certain percentage of perma-nent stallholders and a percentage of casuals who eject new life into markets. It’s a relentless task but the variety keeps you interested and we are constantly surprised by the variety of applications.”

She says that a key factor in their success is to support local com-munities.

“We have markets on the peninsula – at Red Hill, Mornington and Portsea – and across Victoria at Flemington, Yarra Glen, Lardner Park (between Drouin and Warragul), Queen Vic Melbourne, and Hanging Rock. Whatever area we are in, we do our best to give the locals a chance to display their wares. Nobody has exclusive rights to a product,” says Louise. “We also offer a community site for free, which is ideally for charities, schools, sporting groups and other groups.”

Craft Markets Australia has always remained faithful to its original philosophy of selling only homemade and handmade products.

“We’ve stuck to the same criteria from day one, which is handmade and homemade produce and crafts, so we are a combination of farm-ers’ market and craft market, with plants but also sewing and craft making us a little bit left of centre,” says Louise, who employs five full-time people as well as casual employees for market days.

It would be an understatement to say the market business is more complicated than when Louise’s family started out in September 1975 with 28 enthusiastic stallholders in the Red Hill Mechanics Hall. Advertising consisted of posters nailed to trees, and everything from chooks in pens to horse manure was on sale.

“These days it is more involved as markets have taken off across the peninsula and Victoria. We even have to decide on strategies of


Award winning Opening RoofsLouvre systems & external venetians,

control the sun at the touch of a button.www.louvretecmelbourne.com.au

PROUD SUPPLIER FOR THE BLOCK GLASSHOUSE

The Market of Markets

For Bookings Call 5987 2011

Office Hours Mon-Fri 9am – 3.30pmwww.neptours.com.auNeptours

WHATS ON AT NEPTOURS

Coming in 2015Book Now!

Louise Gamon, manager of Craft Markets Australia.

where to place stallholders and which stallholders to have at each location. We now run about 52 events each year, and started at the Queen Victoria Market this year,” she says.

“You also have to keep an eye on trends to see what’s new in craft and homemade goods. Shows like Better Homes and Gardens have reinvigorated people’s interest in home cooking and we sell lots of homemade pies, cupcakes, slices, peanut butter, jams, chutneys and reserves,” says Louise, whose markets are so authentic they don’t sell commercial drinks. “We sell a range of delicious homemade lemon-ade, cordial, iced tea and ginger beer, which are very popular.”

And so another market day ends and it’s time for Louise and her team to head home. The stallholders have packed up, the crowd has dispersed, signs and power boxes are safely back in the van, and the radios are switched off.

It’s just another day for the people in the market of markets but, truth be known, they have kept the dream of a generation alive and given joy to many visitors along the way.

For more information visit www.craftmarkets.com.au


Messenger of the music

By Melissa Hodge Photography: Yanni


There’s an old saying that some musicians look more like the artist whose songs they perform than the artist them-

selves. This could not be truer of Ron Vincent who happens to be the spitting image of Cat Stevens, with his wild dark mane, haunting voice and gentle demeanour. It’s hard to work out if this is intentional or just part of the cosmic relationship between Ron and the man himself.

Rosebud’s own Ron has had an affiliation with Cat Stevens for three decades, since being introduced to the 1970’s singer as a lad, and has made it his mission to create an authentic tribute show to the iconic singer–songwriter.

“I first picked up the guitar when I was 14 after hearing John Len-non’s Imagine on the radio and I was hooked. This was the start of a lifelong love affair with music that is just as strong today,” says Ron. “My dad and uncle introduced me to Cat Stevens’ music around the same age. I taped myself singing Cat Stevens and one day dad heard it and couldn’t believe how much I sounded like him and encour-aged me to pursue my dream of bringing his performance and music to people who never had a chance to hear him live.”

And so the first step was taken on the path to his show “Ron Vin-cent in Concert sings Cat Stevens”.

“The years in between have all led up to this point,” says Ron philo-sophically. “I went on to have professional singing lessons and in the mid-90s did voiceover work as the plant in The Little Shop of Horrors. I’ve played at heaps of venues across Melbourne and the peninsula in cover bands like Rendezvous. Flat Chat and Third Stone. But it was

always Cat Stevens’ music that was my first love,” says Ron, who has an innate emotional connection to the man and his music.

“I don’t even like to think of it as a tribute. I’m a messenger of his music.”

Anyone who sees Ron in concert is blown away by his unique, mellow renditions of all the Cat Stevens favourites. He even throws in a few that are not as well known. By the end of the concert, the audience is mesmerised. If they didn’t know much about Cat Stevens before, they are certainly fans now.

“I want to give audiences the experience of seeing a Cat Stevens show,” says Ron, whose own relationship to the music radiates at each performance. “I become immersed in the songs and let myself get swept up in the spirituality of the music.”

Spirituality and karma play a large role in his life, and he says it’s important to have faith no matter what is happening.

“Just like anyone, I have had some down times but always manage to stay positive and focused because I know this is what I am sup-posed to be doing. I wouldn’t exactly call it destiny but I know that everything has led me to this point.”

Ron says that every day is another adventure and audiences still manage to surprise him.

“Recently I did a concert where the audience started coming up really close to me. This was the first time that’s happened and it was great. They were feeling what I was through the music.”


“I first picked up the guitar when I was 14 after hearing

John Lennon’s “Imagine” on the radio and I was hooked.


WITH THE HAMILTON BEDHEAD AND FLINDERS BASE

NEPEAN HWY

BUNGOWER ROAD

Other sizes availableOther colours available

RON VINCENT FEATURE

Unlike other shows, Ron prefers not to talk too much during the performance, apart from the occasional jovial banter.

“I think it is important that the music speaks for itself. It is so powerful that you can sense how well people are responding to it and this is all that’s needed,” says the performer, who is completely devoted to creating a Cat Stevens experience through the many songs he plays.

“Whether playing solo or with my band, we usually have a song list but will stray away from it according to how the mood strikes and the reaction we get from the audience. That’s the beauty of being so familiar with the music. It’s not about playing each note perfectly; it’s about the soul connection with the music.”

As for the uncanny resemblance, Ron says it might be because they are both of Med-iterranean descent.

“Being of Maltese descendants, although I was born in Melbourne, I have the same look.”

Anyone who has seen Ron perform can sense it is so much more than that, as if he’s channelling Cat Stevens himself, transporting the audience to another time and place.

“I only have one dream and it’s quite simple – to be shown by someone with a torch to the stage, to sit there and play a full theatre, and be a messenger of the music.”

For more information on Ron Vincent go to www.ronvincentsingscatstevens.com


NEW CONTAINERS ARRIVING REGULARLY

2/1 Colchester Road, Rosebud

ph 5986 6778 [email protected]

Come in and visit us today to view some of our new stock or find us on NEW

INGTON AVE

BONEO RD

COLCHESTER ROADFACTORY

2

BONEO ROAD

OPEN 7 DAYS

■ INDOOR/OUTDOOR FURNITURE ■ HOMEWARES■ GIFTWARE ■ TABLES ■ CHAIRS

■ LOUNGES ■ BAR TABLES AND STOOLS■ SUN LOUNGES ■ MARKET UMBRELLAS

■ CUSHIONS, LAMPS, JEWELLERY, ARTWORKS AND MUCH, MUCH MORE

■ MASSIVE RANGE OF RATTAN



THE MAGIC OF MANYUNG



If you drive past Manyung Gallery Mt Eliza on any given day, don’t be surprised at what you might see as this iconic

gallery continues to challenge the mind and soul.

Perhaps this is why Manyung has stood the test of time as one of Melbourne’s oldest and largest contemporary art spaces, intent on offering breathing room for the spirit.

Gallery owner and director David Wemyss-Smith says it can be a challenge for a gallery approaching its half century to remain innovative after such a period of time but Manyung continues to thrive and grow.

“Our philosophy is to support not only our relationships with our established artists, but also emerging artists. We are approached by three or four artists a week because of our reputation as one of the largest privately owned galleries. We have 10 sub-galleries, court-yards and sculpture decks, and in each of these spaces we can pro-mote an artist or a theme. During September we celebrated ‘The Colours of Spring’ with works by Rebecca Cool, Ember Fairbairn, Nellie Zimmerman and Fran Furlong to name a few. We have also showcased work by Gillie and Marc Schattner,” says David.

Anyone who has noticed a big red dog sitting at the front of the gallery on Nepean Highway would know of Gillie and Marc’s work. The husband and wife team are Australian contemporary artists who collaborate to create art as one, applying the iconic imagery of the dog and human hybrid to celebrate the power-ful spiritual relationship that exists between human and animal. The sculptures are powerful, inspiring and challenging, just as any good work of art should be.

As you wander around Manyung Gallery, you realise the plethora of stories behind each piece of art, just as Gillie and Marc’s remark-able love story is played out in their works.

Attracting both local and interstate artists, you will always be inspired with a visit to Manyung, with David and his wife Sharyn remaining focused on offering a diverse and exciting mix of art in all forms.

“Manyung is an icon, and Sharyn and I are merely the custodians for the time we are here. There is something magical about this place and it will live on long after we are gone,” says David.


THE MAGIC OF MANYUNG

“We have had 100th birthdays here, Tibetan monks chanting, opera sing-ing, orchestras and myriad artists throughout the gallery.”

In the central courtyard stands the 160-year-old oak tree that captures atten-tion and enhances the calm, peaceful ambiance at Manyung.

“Here in the courtyard we hold our art classes and have a lovely variety of sculptures dotted throughout the gardens,” says David, who describes the gal-lery as an organic space. “Manyung is not a dormant, static space; it is forever evolving and organic in its nature.”

For David and Sharyn, discovering some of their artists has been an adven-ture in itself, often a process of serendipity.

“John Giese is one such artist who we discovered by chance on a holiday in Byron Bay. We saw his work in the Cape Gallery and tracked him down to a tin shed, took a bottle of wine and started a relationship with him. This was eight years ago and he continues to create the most ingenious paintings of brumbies, Spanish bulls and dogs.”

October sees the launch of a horse-themed exhibition, in keeping with the 2014 Chinese zodiac being the Year of the Horse.

“With more than 15 artists in the Year of the Horse exhibition, we will be displaying everything from paintings, sculptures, photography and drawings to beautiful bronzes and ceramic statues,” says David. “Artists include Trac-ey Keller, Helen Di Tomasso, Frank Miles, Pippa Chapman and John Giese with sculptures by Cristina Metelli, Stephen Glassborow and Dona Molloy Drum.”

Pablo Picasso famously said, “The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls”.

This is why places like Manyung Gallery will stand the test of time as part of the human experience, ingrained in the psyche, and why it is imperative that people like David and Sharyn Wemyss-Smith continue to bring us works of art, carefully selected Australia-wide and from our very own peninsula.

Manyung Gallery is at Sorrento, Malvern and Mt Eliza. www.manyunggallery.com.au Phone 9787 2953


Every month see over 350 new contemporary paintings and sculptures across the Mt Eliza and Sorrento galleries throughout Summer. Located at both the Northern and Southern gateways of the Mornington Peninsula, the Manyung Gallery Group offers visitors the opportunity to experience a broad range of high quality, Australian artworks arriving every three weeks during the Summer Season. A Mobile Gallery and hanging service operates out of the Sorrento, Malvern and Mt Eliza galleries and there is a licensed restaurant and art lessons on-site at Mount Eliza.

View 150 artists and 2000 original artworks online at www.manyunggallery.com.au For preview or purchase enquiries please contact us on 9787 2953 or by email [email protected]

Visit us at 1408 Nepean Hwy, Mt Eliza and 113A Ocean Beach Rd, Sorrento


EYES LIKE A SHUTTER, MIND LIKE

A LENS


Josh Brnjac is an artist in the truest sense of the word. His photographs evoke images of peace and tranquility. He has

won awards, exhibited in a pop-up gallery and recently sold one of his photographs of Dromana Pier.

What’s the big deal you might ask? Well, Josh is just 12, com-pletely self-taught, and first picked up a camera just 18 months ago.

The grade six pupil at Tyabb Primary School simply loves taking photographs, from the first time he picked up an automatic digital camera till today as he works towards his dream – a Canon 1DX.

“I got a point and shoot digital for my 11th birthday because I just wanted a camera to take on holidays. But I soon got bored with it and borrowed my parents’ Canon EOS 1000D,” says Josh from his home in Somerville. “I started taking photos of flowers in the backyard and birds in our aviary. It’s been pretty much trial and error since then, and spending hours researching on the internet.”

Josh’s mum, Kim, says life has never been the same since then.

“Every car trip, every cup of coffee, every landscape is a photo op-portunity,” says Kim. “We will be driving along and he will say ‘Stop the car, Mum’, squat down on the road and take a photograph. One day we were on a trip to Mansfield and Josh spotted a row of random letterboxes at the side of the road. He said he had to come back at sunset to photograph them.”

It’s hard to believe Josh is only 12, or “nearly 13” as he reminds me, and with the perfect combination of intelligence and creativity, this young man cannot put a foot wrong.

“When I take a photograph, I am trying to give life to the pho-to,” explains Josh of his creative thought process. “I usually have something in mind when I take a photograph and sometimes it turns out exactly as I expected, and sometimes it turns out differ-ently, even better.”

Josh is definitely doing something right, as in a few short months he has won first prize in the Heritage Bank Awards for his age cate-gory, 9–12-year-olds.

“I won it with my photograph of Dromana Pier, which also hap-pens to be my first sale,” says Josh, who was originally inspired by the work of peninsula artist Alex Wise.

“I saw his work on Flickr and it inspired my love of photographing landscapes, sunsets and sunrises, but I always try to do a photograph differently than anything I have seen before.”

His photograph of graffiti in Melbourne’s Hosier Lane scored him the runner-up prize in Australia’s Digital Photography magazine.

“My images have changed a bit over the past 12 months after some advice I was given by a judge at the Red Hill Agricultural Show,”

By Melissa Hodge


Photos: Josh Brnja


says Josh who had entered a few photographs. “He told me to edit the photographs less to achieve a more natural look. So straight away I went back through my 60 images, reset them all, and tried to keep them authentic. After about five days of redoing the photos I finally got it right.”

Others have taken note of Josh’s talent including Angie Baker, marketing and promotions manager at Western Port Chamber of Commerce.

“When Josh first approached me to display a couple of his pho-tographs in a Hastings pop-up shop, I was so impressed with his initiative and couldn’t believe the level of his work,” says Angie. “I thought he was incredibly talented, and suggested that he look at different ways of presenting his images.”

Within two months Josh had built his own website and set up an Instagram account. Now Angie is displaying four of his photo-graphs at “The Local Creative” pop-up shop in Hastings.

“He is a shy, humble kid who has an enormous talent for photog-raphy, and since then he has taken a heap of photos for the chamber of commerce to promote Hastings. We are also starting digital class-es, which Josh is going to be involved in.”

Josh says that for those interested in photography, it is important not to worry too much about the gear at first.

“You have to work with what you’ve got, look on the internet for different ways to take photos, and always be prepared to take advice from other people. I would also say it’s important not to replicate someone else’s image but to make it your own,” he says. “And learn-ing about filters and long exposure is a great tool, especially when photographing water.”

For Josh, taking photographs is a peaceful experience, and he is always on the lookout for the next good photo.

That’s why I love taking landscapes, and when the image is right I am so happy.


Make your friends and family envious with a new retractable roof over your alfresco area.

Perfect for homes, pubs, restaurants and over swimming pools.

Call Today to Explore the Possibilities.1800 LIBART (1800 542 278)

www.libart.com.au

Let there be light!PROUD SUPPLIER TO THE “BLOCK GLASSHOUSE”

Sorrento

Open Tues - Sun 11-5 www.boathousegallery.com.au

368 Nepean Hwy Frankston - opposite Officeworks

Sullivan Bay Julie Goldspink

Lyn Mellady New and featured artwork by

Julie Goldspink - Oct 7-31

Also Gary Laird, Robert Knight, Amber-rose Hulme, Lesley Barrett, Jacqueline Fowler, Lyn Mellady & more.

“That’s why I love taking landscapes, and when the image is right I am so happy. I do get a bit frustrated when it’s not right though,” he admits with a laugh. “Sometimes you take it but find when you get back to edit it’s not as good as you thought.”

He says one of the best things is being able to look at a photo and remember what he was feeling when it was taken. As for Josh’s parents, they couldn’t be more proud.

“Josh tends to be a perfectionist and we definitely encourage him with his passion but also want him to take it all in and enjoy these moments,” says his wise mum Kim, a school teacher.

It seems this young man is destined to follow his heart with his feet on the ground and head in the clouds, and I cannot wait to see what he comes up with next.

When Albert Einstein said, “The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious – the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science”, I have a feeling he was talking about people like Josh Brnjac.

You can see Josh’s photography on his website at www.joshbrnjac.com, at the pop-up gallery in High Street, Hastings, and at Mt Eliza North Primary School Art Show on October 24 to 26.


Aladdin’s Cave of Treasures AwaitsA s you wander along the glamor-

ous Sorrento shopping strip, you simply have to visit Marlene Miller An-tiques, an Aladdin’s cave of unique and unexpected treasures.

Marlene has owned antique shops since 1985, after earning her living as a law clerk in Melbourne, and longing for a sea change.

“We used to come here for holidays all the time and one year decided to restore an old building in the main street. We pretty much didn’t leave after that, ran art stores and soon antique shops,” says Marlene.

As soon as you walk into the shop, there is so much to see, with two storeys of antiques and bric-a-brac, from crystal, coach lamps and fine china to fur coats, hats, dining furniture, photographs and frames.

“Upstairs is a great range of antique books dating back to the 1700s. We even had a book from circa 1600. And our jewellery is stunning, with a selection from top Melbourne jewellers includ-ing Simon Kushnir, who is well known for his handmade rings and jewels of the finest quality, and very popular for engagement rings.”

When you wander inside, you will be amazed at what you can learn, as Marlene takes you through the enchanting world of old wares.

“We sell a lot of gold rush jewellery, which was actually made during the gold rush, with such intricate detail modern jewellers cannot im-itate,” says Marlene.

She has a large selection of mourning jewellery, beautiful and maca-bre pieces that were created to mourn the death of a loved one, which became popular in the 1800s.

“We have lockets with the person’s hair on one side and their photo on the other, rings with the hair intertwined in the design, and jet-

black enamel rings surrounded by pearls. The black signifies death and the pearls represent tears.”

Marlene Miller Antiques has a wonderful eclectic mix of English china, circa 1920s oil lamps, furniture by Jacob and Josef Kohn – established in 1849 – hat boxes, candles and Japanese room dividers.

“We have some items dating back 200 years, and it’s lovely having a link from the past to the future,” says Marlene, who has noticed more young people interested in antiques. “A lot of the young ones are interested in the old English china. The English aren’t making it anymore so it’s a lovely keepsake.”

With a large variety of treasures in her store, sometimes it is hard to let go of some items.

“You do become attached at times, especially when it’s something you know you will never see again, but there are always new pieces coming in.”

One special piece Marlene points out is a beautiful Mary Gregory vase. Mary Gregory glassware is a name used for glass that is easily identified with white figures, usually of children playing, painted on clear or coloured glass as the decoration. The first glass known as Mary Gregory was made about 1870.

Marlene Miller Antiques has been in Sorrento for 28 years but in a purpose-built building for the past four.

Marlene Miller Antiques, 128 Ocean Beach Road, Sorrento. Phone 5984 1762 or 0438 537 757.


CALL US TO ENQUIRE

1800 633 126

DREAMING OF APENINSULA RETIREMENT?

101 Pickings Road Safety Beachmarthacovevillage.com.au

101 Pickings Road Safety Beach101 Pickings Road Safety Beach101 Pickings Road Safety Beach101 Pickings Road Safety Beach101 Pickings Road Safety Beach101 Pickings Road Safety Beach101 Pickings Road Safety Beach101 Pickings Road Safety Beach101 Pickings Road Safety Beach

107 Bungower Road Morningtonbeleuravillage.com.au

INFORMATION REQUEST Mr, Mrs, Ms (Please tick)

Name .............................................................................................

Address ..........................................................................................

....................................................................... Postcode ................

Telephone .....................................................................................

Email...............................................................................................

REPLY TO:RCA (HEAD OFFICE)9/18-22 LEXIA PLACEMULGRAVE VIC 3170 P

EN

INSU

LA

E

SSEN

CE O

CT

‘14


Dance is Life

By Alexandra Dellaportas

Dance is the essence of life. It always has been. For centu-ries humans have recognised the need to express them-

selves through the use of the only thing that every person is constantly in possession of – the body. Dance allows a person to tell a story in the simplest form. It is a unique language of its own and highlights our innate human need to move, pass on stories and communicate with others. Before spoken language, there was movement. Dance has recently become an import-ant part of the essence of the Mornington Peninsula as more and more children and adults become involved in the art form.

Dance is usually considered to be either a sport or an art. However we must clarify that dance is not a sport; rather an art in which the artist is an athlete.

This is one of the many reasons dance has become an important

part of many people’s families all over the peninsula. The physical demands of a dancer often exceed those of other athletes meaning that dancers are some of the strongest people in the world, both phys-ically and emotionally. Our little corner of the planet is home to more than 10 dance schools, which suggests there are many reasons why people love to dance. There is also a multitude of styles to choose from including ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, contemporary, ballroom and even Zumba. The main goal of dance is to tell a story using only the body; this could be anything from an elaborate fairytale to your own personal story.

An increasing number of parents all over the peninsula are choosing to enrol their young children in dance classes simply for the learning and health benefits it brings. Children who are still in kindergarten or who are just entering primary school will gain many skills in the dance studio. For some little ones, the first day on the dance floor


www.recreationsorrento.com.au

Re-Creation Sorrento123 Hotham Rd (extension of Melboure Rd)

Ph: 5984 0304

New Health Club forS O R R E N TO

Latest life fitness, cardio equipment•

Full range of weights, benches, racks and machines•

Spin studio (30 bikes)•

Group fitness - Pump, Yoga, Pilates, Boxfit, Fitworkz and more.

OPEN 7 DAYSNo lock in contracts

Casual visit and Holiday Packages available.

To view class timetable visit our website or download the FREE RECREATION HEALTH CLUB APP.

SORRENTO’S NEW GYM is just 1km from the Main St

(just past Sorrento Football Club)


can be the moment that brings out their confidence. Children will learn to think for themselves while exploring different ideas through props and movements. Dance in the early years can ig-nite a child’s imagination as they become different animals and creatures or travel to different worlds in the dance studio. It is often where children first discover creativity as it is an environ-ment where they are allowed to freely express themselves and run around without worried parents watching over them. A child’s first dance class can introduce them to the joys of music. De-veloping a sense of musicality helps stimulate every part of the brain, helping prepare them for further learning. In ballet classes especially, dance can assist young children with the development of their fine motor skills through coordination and intricate use of the feet and hands. Above all, dance classes for young children


are a source of fun. No child could be unhappy when they are gal-loping around a dance studio full of magic.

Children on the peninsula also dance because of the social element it brings. Many kids will form lifelong friendships on the dance floor and will learn how to relate to other people their own age through dance. Dance also builds teamwork as dancers must watch out for each other during a dance piece and communicate by using only their bodies. Dance in schools can help children discover the stage and what it is like to perform in a musical, dance concert or large-scale productions such as the annual State Schools Spectacular or Wakakirri competition.

For many teenagers on the peninsula, dance has become an outlet from the pressures of school and life. It is important for teens to get away from their schoolwork or school friends’ dramas and express their feelings through dance. It is a healthy alternative to drugs and alcohol as people can release their emotions through movement. Dance allows a person to be creative and focus all of their energy on body movement, helping one to forget about the rest of the world. Dance is the perfect way for a young person to tell their story with-out the use of words as actions often speak louder than words.

Dance can also be a way to promote strength and fitness. For those who wish to lose weight or get fit, dance is a fun way to exercise as well as challenge the body. This is why many adults are also choosing to take up dancing. It is a fun way to get away from work, build some strength and meet new people.

Peninsula dance teacher Brea Low believes dance is the “expression of creative spirit to music that inspires”. She says that “improvisation and freedom of creative content starts at a young age, and to have dance options in our community allows young people to continue with this positive outlet”. Brea continued with her own dancing be-cause she says “it was in my soul and my blood, and life wouldn’t be life without it”.

If you are looking for a healthy, fun, exciting, daring and expressive way to live your life or to help give your child the best start in life, enrol them in a dance school. It doesn’t matter if you are two or 92, anyone can dance, regardless of shape, size or skill. Dance has the ability to change a person’s life for the better and there is no place to begin than right here on the peninsula.

By Alexandra Dellaportas

Photography by Yanni

Makeup up by Georgina Steele.

Costumes by Dwan-A-Dance.

* Alexandra Dellaportas is 16 and has been dancing since the age of two.



PARDON ME, BOY, IS THAT THE MOOROODUCKY CHOO-CHOO

By Mike Hast. Photography: Yanni

A big crowd at Moorooduc railway station was steamed up in early October when Mornington Railway Preser-

vation Society celebrated its 30th anniversary and the 125th anniversary of the first train to Mornington.

The society, known as Mornington Railway for short, ran several trips hauled by pride of the fleet K163, an 18-metre long, 63-tonne fully restored steam locomotive built in Newport in 1941 and one of few K class locos still operating in Victoria.

The steam train from Baxter to Mornington made its first journey on 10 September 1889, engineers scaring the heck out of livestock and delighting locals as they sounded the high-pitched whistle while “hurtling” down the line at a heady 45 miles per hour (72km/h).

Morningtonians were over the moon to have an alternative to ships subject to the vagaries of Port Phillip or the rutted dirt road from Frankston impassable in bad weather.

The train brought a new level of prosperity with traders having a reliable transport link and more tourists flocking to the town for holidays and day trips.

Centrepiece of the celebration on Sunday 5 November was the train hauled by locomotive K163, withdrawn from service in 1966 at Ararat, rescued by Frankston Apex Club and transported to Jubi-

lee Park in Frankston in November 1973 where it spent 11 years as a static tourist attraction before being sold to the railway society in 1984, the year of its formation.

Hundreds of people packed into four restored carriages to make the trip between Moorooduc and Mornington’s station in Watt Road and celebrate the anniversaries.

The society runs trips on three Sundays every month. It is a mag-net for railway buffs with the equipment in the “men’s shed” at Moorooduc measured in hundreds of tonnes, not kilograms.

One of several “sheds” is 100 metres long and eight metres high. A pile of old sleepers in a corner of the yard contains 2500 pieces stacked higher than two men – destined to replace a section of line between Moorooduc and Baxter.

The society’s headquarters is the granddaddy of men’s sheds and was operating long before the phrase was applied to a movement that’s sweeping Australia to describe places where men hang out with new and old mates, and make stuff.

The 80 or so volunteers of Mornington Railway keep alive the tradition of steam trains at an 11-hectare (27-acre) site opposite the old cool stores.


FOUNDS BETTA HOME LIVING

Port Phillip PlazaRosebud Bo

neo

RdPt Nepean RdPt Nepean Rd

ALL YOUR APPLIANCE, BEDDING & FURNITURE NEEDS UNDER THE ONE ROOF...

THAT’S BETTA!

1367 Pt Nepean Rd, Rosebud

PH:5981 2344 www.foundsbettahomeliving.com.au


Every Tuesday, after a morning’s work, society members restock their boilers with hamburgers cooked by the head of the engineering group, Gerald Spoor, a retired BlueScope engineer who started at the then-new Hastings mill in 1974 when it was owned by Lysaghts.

Everyone here is a former something. Some continue their trade, like Pe-ter Reyment, a retired fitter and turner with Victorian Railways, who can be found restoring big bolts using a lathe rescued from the old Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation factory at Fishermans Bend.

Ian Wilson, another retired BlueScope man, and Reyment were seen driv-ing the Trak Chief shunting locomotive (donated by BlueScope) to move four carriages to be washed by former banker Roger Townshend and Mi-chael Smith.

The site is full of rescued and donated equipment – milling machines, band saws, a power hacksaw, metal presses – and rail carriages looking as good as the day they were built or waiting to be restored.

In another shed, one end blocked off to keep out cold winds, were former undertaker Lee Hayes and former hydraulics expert Steve Perkins refurbishing other equipment.

Ex-Victorian Railway fireman Maurice Clarke drives a desk at Moorooduc, taking care of admin tasks and preparing work sheets, and was happy to show off the heritage signal box, rescued from Somerton when the wider standard gauge went through many years ago.


MORNINGTON RAILWAY PRESERVATION SOCIETY

Save our trainThe last train to Mornington ran on 20 May 1981 – 92 years after the first – but it was an inauspicious end, with the AEC railmotor withdrawn from service due to faults and the state government replacing it with buses on 15 June.

It was the final spike in the sleeper for the town’s train, which the state government through its agency VicRail had first tried to close in September 1978 and replace with buses.

The decision outraged residents who formed an action committee to lobby the government. The train was reinstated in late November but this lasted less than two weeks and the bus was brought back. Protests grew louder but the government refused to budge.

In January and February 1979, VicRail ran special trains – three for the Mornington races, two picnic trains and one goods train but the end was nigh.

On Wednesday 28 February, a race train, which VicRail said was to be the last train on the line, was “held hostage” by more than 300 angry protesters at Mornington station.

They allowed the train to depart next day at 1pm after Transport Minister Rob Maclellan gave assurances the service would be restored in April. On Sunday 8 April the train arrived to be greeted by a large crowd and a brass band, and was blessed by the Rev Dr Hilton Deakin before making a special run to Baxter and return.

Following the Lonie Report in 1981, which the government used to justify closing many rail services around the state, the Mornington line’s days were numbered.

Railmotor RM55 was the last train in May 1981. It had faulty engine mountings and was ordered to travel to Melbourne. A temporary bus service was provided.

Maclellan announced buses would replace trains from 15 June 1981. Ninety-two years of rail travel was over.

– Mike Hast

Information from “Death of a Railway Station” by Roderick Smith in the book Mornington Peninsula Railways and their Communities (editor Joan Patrick) published by Mornington Historical Society.

Society president Malcolm Swaine, a retired educator and administrator, said the en-thusiasm of the men was inspiring. “They’re learning new skills in the later years of life; they turn up early, work hard all day and the only reward is seeing the railway operate efficiently,” he said.

Swaine is stepping down from the presidency soon and is likely to be replaced by his son Andrew, 48, but is quick to point out he will have no say in this. “Andrew has been with the society since day one when members started restoring K163 at Jubilee Park. I joined a few years later,” he said.

Three years ago, the society’s train was carrying about 200 people a day but now takes 500 a day. It is one of the most successful vintage train groups in Victoria – and all with-out government subsidy.

As the pace of life speeds up and many pursue the latest gadgets, travelling on a steam train still fascinates. What better way to spend a Sunday than rolling down to Morning-ton aboard an historic train hauled by K163, its whistle sounding as it passes through crossings, smoke pouring from the loco to remind us of days when steam was king of railroads around the world?

Tickets to rideTHE society runs tourists trains three Sundays a month and on special occasions. Return tickets cost $16 for adults, $8 for children, $13 concession and $43 for a family ticket (two adults and two children). Children under four travel free of charge. Birthday parties are catered for. To contact the society, call 1300 767 274 or email [email protected]. The website has a host of information including train times at: www.morningtonrailway.org.au


UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT!HERE TO STAY!Season Pass, Multi Visit & Pay As You Go Passes available

Rosebud Park Golf Course

OFFICIAL HANDICAPS

$99

5981 2833 www.rosebudpark.com.auElizabeth Drv, Rosebud VIC 3939

DIRECTENDOSCOPY

Bowel Cancer ScreeningARE YOU AT RISK?

Any change in bowel habit, abdominal pain or bleeding can be significant. Family history of cancer or polyps? Colonoscopy offers the best chance of early detection and cure.

$0 or Minimal Out of Pocket CostsFully Accredited Day Hospitalswith state-of-the-art facilities

Frankston Narre Warren

www.directendoscopy.com.au9781 5959

Long time to steam and rollMuch of the anger over the end of the train was channelled into the formation of Mornington Railway Preservation Society in May 1984.

It was founded by Howard Girdler and Greg Dunkley the year after the state government officially closed the line in March 1983, although trains ceased in 1981.

After years of lobbying for permission to run a tourist train, in 1991 the government granted the society control of a 10-kilometre stretch between Moorooduc and Mornington, east of the Nepean Highway.

Society members had been busy in the interim – restoring steam loco K163, 100-year-old carriages, and other rolling stock and equipment as well as setting up three “homes”, first on a BHP siding at Hastings in 1985, then at HMAS Cerberus in Crib Point in 1989, and the final move to Moorooduc in 1997. The society started running tourist trains between Moorooduc and Mornington in 1999.

In 2011, Girdler recalled: “We put together a delegation and met the Minister for Transport to ask him if we could use the line for a tourist railway. Everyone around the table was nodding in agreement until one bloke jumped up and said ‘no, it can’t be done until this and that happens’.

“This set us back years and by the time we won government approval, they’d sold off parts of the railway line reserve, which used to end at Ross Street, about 200 metres from the beach.”

Nowadays the line ends at Watt Road in the town’s light industrial area about 1.5 kilometres from Ross Street. The Centro shopping centre is where the historic station used to stand (that’s another story). There’s still a bump on the Nepean Highway where the line used to cross the road (adjacent to Mornington Toyota on the western side and Top Tint on the eastern).



Friendshipto last a lifetime


By Melissa Hodge

Wugularr Primary School is in the outback community of Beswick, 120 kilometres southeast of Katherine on

the Central Arnhem Highway in the Northern Territory. In one sense it couldn’t be further away from Penbank in Moo-rooduc, but in another they couldn’t be closer.

Thanks to a wonderful partnership program called Wugubank, Wugularr and Penbank are forever linked by friendship and educa-tion, and have been for the past seven years.

“Our relationship with Wugularr started when one of our teach-ers took the opportunity to work in the Aboriginal community of Beswick and Wugularr Primary School for two years. In that time we built a rapport with the school and the students, and ever since have been visiting annually,” says Paul Thompson, enrolment and development manager at Penbank. “The whole idea of the partner-ship is a friendship between the two schools. It is all about breaking down prejudice and being able to relate first-hand to different ways of living. Some of our kids who first went to Wugularr continue to maintain their friendships with the children long into their sec-ondary school years.

“Each year the friendships evolve, and we know that this is now non-negotiable. We are very committed to the continuation of the program because it is so important to be the best role models in the way we teach our children about Aboriginal Australia.”

One of the most heart-warming sights, Paul explains, is seeing the children play together.

“In the end kids are just kids. It doesn’t matter what race or co-lour, they all just want to play. The most beautiful thing is seeing the kids interact,” he says.

This year a group of students, parents and teachers went to Bes-wick for the community festival “Walking with Spirits”.

“Walking with Spirits is the community’s annual celebration of their culture and heritage,” says Paul. “Simply being in the com-munity supporting them is wonderful. We also send teachers up to help out in the classroom, and share ideas and different ways of

learning with the children. It’s a professional relationship and also a friendship.”

In July a group of Wugularr students, teachers and Aboriginal women visited Penbank to see their friends and how they live.

“On this visit, the children attended normal school days, and stayed with host families. They went to different students’ homes for a week, which was an incredible success,” says Paul. “We heard there were a lot of text messages and phone calls back home say-ing how wonderful it was and that it was a friendly environment. Up there the children live somewhat differently and they are very much connected to the land. Family lives extremely close, often generations in the one area or house.”

Paul says some of the children said how interesting it was that we had our fires inside the house when they are used to fires only outside.

“It was incredible how well all the children settled in, though, and, once again, just played together,” he says. “We took the child-ren to Seawinds Gardens [on Arthurs Seat] and they looked at dif-ferent environments on the Mornington Peninsula. And, of course, we went to the footy and met some football players at the MCG. They also went to basketball training, fished off piers, went to mov-ies, roller skated, and cooked meals together.”

Two future steps in the Wugubank project include facilitating the older children to reconnect with their friends up north, and organising programs for older children to attend secondary school on the peninsula.

“Certain children from Wugularr have expressed an interest in boarding and going to school down here and that’s the next thing we would like to get going, particularly in light of our relationship with Woodleigh Senior School,” says Paul.

Penbank principal Vivienne Wearne has been the driving force behind the Wugubank project.

“It is a tremendous credit to our principal, Vivienne Wearne, to have this passion and keep this going. That’s why we raise as much money and awareness as we can for it to continue,” says Paul.


Much of the money raised comes from the Between The Bays Music Festival, which started 10 years ago.

Next year’s event is on Saturday February 28 at Penbank School with organisers promising “a welcome back to festival favourites James Reyne, Mark Seymour, and Custard”.

“We do other fundraising throughout the year. Recently we did a sausage sizzle that raised $2000 for Wugubank,” says Paul. “The proceeds are going towards a fund for Wugularr to start a Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden. One prep child paid $50 from her own pocket money for a sausage because of the cause.”

The amount of passion and enthusiasm that has come out of the Wugubank partnership is overwhelming, says Paul.

“When people visit Wugularr School or the students come here, it is a way of breaking down the barriers. It is a small drop in the ocean but is already making a difference and it will con-tinue as the years go on. It’s something that is developing in our kids at Penbank and Woodleigh. They can now go off and be real advocates for this program, have a voice and stand up to any racism they see.”

In a newsletter for Wugubank, Vivienne Wearne summed up the experience of visiting Wugularr:

“No words can properly describe what we all felt and learnt during this time. Within an environment so diverse in every way from our own, it was simply the most powerful time of learning, sharing, giving and receiving through friendship and respect.

“If there is anything that we all learnt so well it is the ability to genuinely listen and absorb what you hear and feel without judgement and comment.”

Penbank School is at Tyabb Road, Moorooduc. Phone 5978 8425. www.penbank.vic.edu.au Between The Bays tickets at www.betweenthebays.com


MAIN WAREHOUSE/SHOWROOM204 BONEO RD, ROSEBUD

ROSEBUDPh: 5986 6697

MORNINGTONPh: 5975 4500

www.robertscarpetcourt.com.auwww.carpetcourt.com.au

• CARPET • VINYL • TILES • TIMBER

• LAMINATE • RUGS • ADHESIVES & GROUTS

• REMNANTS

MOBILE SERVICEPh: 0448 180 991

Servicing the Peninsula for over 30 years

Ring for a free measure & quote

Commercial/Domestic

Spring SpecialsSpotted Gum/Black Butt

Laminate 12mm Longboards$39m2 + installation

Wool Plush& Twist Pile

$29m2 + installation

FREEUnderlay*

FREEUnderlay

Upgrade*

*With mention of this advertisement *With mention of this advertisement


MORNINGTON HERITAGE WALK

The Esplanade, Park and Foreshore

A walk through time

1 2

This area was originally frequented by the Boon Wurrung people with European settlers arriving in the 1840s to take up pastoral leases, and establish timber and fishing industries. In 1854 a township was surveyed and called Snapper Point (later spelled Schnapper) with the name changing to Mornington in 1861. The town quickly became the major commercial and legal centre for the Mornington Peninsula.

The Mornington & District Historical Society has prepared a booklet (RRP $10) for people to take a guided walk of the historical sites of Mornington. Collated by Vicky Sapkin, the booklet was awarded a commendation in the Victorian Community History Awards 2013.

It is a self-guided walk from the Old Post Office Museum along the Esplanade, taking in Mornington Park and the foreshore. The society also offers guided walks, which gives even more insight into the town’s early days.

With such a rich history, visitors are encouraged to spend an hour or so exploring the then and now of the township. Here are a few highlights of the walk.

Mornington & District Historical Society, Old Post Office Museum, corner Main Street and Esplanade, Mornington Open: Sundays and public holidays 1.30–4.30pm and Wednesdays (during school holidays) 11am–3pm Telephone: 5976 3203. Website: morningtondistricthistory.org.au

Selected historical points of interest from the booklet Mornington Heritage Walk produced by the Mornington & District Historical Society.

THE OLD POST OFFICEcorner Main Street and EsplanadeBuilt in 1863, the post office also contained the telegraph office and from 1905 housed Mornington’s first telephone exchange. A gabled entry porch and veranda were later removed and the polychrome brickwork is now covered in a cement slurry coating, but still inside are the original wooden counter and tiled fireplace. The post office remained here until 1964. In 1968 the building was reopened as a museum and home of Mornington & District Historical Society.

MORNINGTON PARK formerly Victoria Park

In 1863, 10 acres (four hectares) were reserved as the site for a public park for “promenade and recreation”. Near the entrance are an interpretive panel and a flagpole surrounded by bollards with small plaques at the base, both of which note aspects of the park’s history. There was once a large rotunda, a small grandstand, dressing rooms for sporting events and, until the late 1920s, cyclists trained on a circular track. Next to the popular children’s playground, spreading cypresses and Moreton Bay fig trees have been climbed by generations of children.

Picnic parties came from Melbourne by paddlesteamers, trains, horse-drawn drags, charabancs and cars. Annual trade picnics were held by groups such as butchers, bakers, Gas and Fuel Corporation employees and many others. Mornington Fire Brigade practised hose and reel on an asphalted area of the park where there is an interpretive panel noting the history. The park’s entrance arches of local brown stone and the recently renovated band pavilion on the western boundary were built in 1932 to give the unemployed work during the Great Depression. In 1965 senior citizens’ clubrooms were built near the pavilion. An Avenue of Honour has recently been planted beside paths to honour servicemen and women who served in both world wars and all wars since.


12

3

4

5

3 4 5

MORNINGTON PIER

Construction of Mornington Pier started in 1857 and is significant as one of a small group of piers built in the 1850s by the new Colonial Government to open up the movement of produce to and from the more remote settlements. It remained the major point of entry into the district for many years and aided in the development of fishing and other local industries. The pier has been much altered and improved over the years, including in 2014. An extension to the pier known as the North Arm was added in about 1900 to improve access for paddlesteamers that brought large numbers of day-trippers and tourists.

ROYAL HOTEL 770 Esplanade

A town landmark, Rennison’s Schnapper Point Hotel was built in the late 1850s and renamed the Royal Hotel in 1876. By 1863 the hotel offered 22 rooms increasing to 65 rooms by the 1870s with a garden and stables on 3½ acres. The stables, demolished in about 1970, and yard were once the depot for Cobb and Co. coaches. In 1891 a billiard room and public hall were added. Extensive restoration to the façade and verandas was completed in 1984. An underground tunnel, since filled in, between Royal Beach and the hotel was used to transfer goods from ships. The beach was also the site of a windmill used to pump seawater for the hotel’s hot and cold baths.

FORMER COURTHOUSE AND LOCK-UPcorner Main Street and Esplanade Built in 1860, this was the first permanent courthouse on the Mornington Peninsula. It and the lock-up behind the courthouse are the oldest public buildings in Mornington. They were used continuously from 1860 until 1988 after which the buildings fell into disrepair. In 2000 a campaign by the Friends of the Courthouse saved them from demolition, and Northern Mornington Peninsula Tourism is now the tenant.


THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE PARENT RESOURCE ON THE PENINSULA!

Website • Newsletter • Social Media • Magazine • Newspaper • Events

www.peninsulakids.com.au

Based on the overwhelming popularity of the Mornington Peninsula Kids website & Facebook page, this magazine will brings to life in print the articles,

pictures, recipes, fashion and advice that Mornington Peninsula Kids has become renowned for.

Printed on high quality gloss, Mornington Peninsula Kids magazine is sure to be an instant success with both

parents and grandparents.

FREE

OUTNOW


PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION

win

send in your favourite photos of the peninsula

for your chance to win a dinner for 2 at the

rocks in mornington!* for your chance to win email

[email protected] your favourite photo that captures the essence of Mornington Peninsula.

The best photos will be published in the next edition of Peninsula Essence.

*Up to the value of $200. Conditions apply.


Master of WineKate McIntyre

The view over Kate McIntyre’s laptop computer takes in Mt Eliza and Mornington East. In the foreground is row

on row of grapevines, their new leaves bright with spring en-ergy. Closer inspection reveals clusters of tiny green balls, the vine’s flowers, or inflorescences. It’s spring and the vines are progressing from the bud break that signalled an end to the dormancy of winter.

Kate’s “office” is a large room, a couple of tables and a grand piano. It is the main dining room at Moorooduc Estate, where her father Richard McIntyre first planted vines in the early 1980s.

The room, once the dining room of Jill’s Restaurant, is now used 10 times a year for “dining experiences” where courses – using pen-insula produce where possible – are matched with wines. About 35 diners attend each lunch and they are entertained by musicians playing classical music.

“Mum always said she would run the restaurant for 10 years,” Kate says. “She did this and now those who loved Jill’s food can come on Sundays.”

The luxury accommodation provided as part of an extended visit

to Moorooduc Estate now serves as “very comfortable” lodgings for family members.

The changes of what is on offer at the estate have led to an increase in wine sales from the cellar door.

“We were concerned that people would stop coming when the restaurant closed, but different people have started coming to the cellar door for wine. It’s been an interesting but good transition,” she says.

Moorooduc Estate produces 4000 to 5000 dozen bottles of wine a year, a far cry from the 1000 dozen bottles from its original five-acre (two-hectare) vineyard. This year’s output will be twice as much pinot noir as chardonnay as well as 400 dozen bottles of pinot gris and 150 to 200 dozen shiraz.

The oldest vines have been producing fruit for 30 years and Kate remembers spending much of her early years working at the estate alongside her parents.

In those early days the family would travel from home at Middle Park – “we lived there before it was cool and exclusive” – before settling at Moorooduc in 1999.

by Keith Platt



“Probably as a result, I was not involved in the business until 2008,” she says.

Kate initially aimed to be a playwright, after studying languages and theatre. She started a journey that would eventually lead her back to the family business by taking a job as fine wine manager at Phillip Murphy’s in Toorak.

“I knew a bit about wines and with support from co-workers and my bosses, who put me through wine courses, I developed a passion for the industry and revised my plans very quickly.”

After five years Murphy’s was sold to Vintage Cellars and Kate moved into wholesaling Italian and Spanish wines, but she didn’t enjoy selling to “those who really don’t want to buy”.

“That’s the difference between wholesale and retail. The lovely part of the job [retailing] is dealing with people who come into the shop and want to buy wine.”

After three years wholesaling Kate came back to the family es-tate part time and then, in 2010, committed herself full time to Moorooduc Estate as marketing manager. It was also the year that cemented her reputation in the wine industry: Kate’s passion saw her attain the title Master of Wine. While the title is “not well known” outside the wine industry, it has made her one of just 312 Masters of Wine in the world.

“It’s a rare and special title to have,” she says.

After finishing her arts degree (honours in French) at Monash University, she had looked for courses in Australia on marketing wine or winemaking.

“I wanted to find out about its place in the world. What makes it so interesting, why do wines taste different, what makes it special?

“A friend was studying to be a Master of Wine so I went along to an information session at the George Hotel in 1999 and thought ‘these people get so much out of a glass of wine’. So I signed up for a six-day summer school in Sydney, which includ-ed a practical exam.”

In those days the course had no time limit and Kate offers that there were “a few tourists aboard who enjoyed tasting pretty in-credible wines”.

The United Kingdom-based Institute of Masters of Wine was established in 1955 and promotes “excellence, interaction and learning across all sectors of the global wine community”.

A Master of Wine is described as being “someone who has demonstrated, by way of rigorous examination, a thorough knowl-edge of all aspects of wine and an ability to communicate that knowledge clearly. They actively encourage others in the pursuit of knowledge as well as seeking to bring wine communities together”.

Being a Master of Wine gives her a status recognised through-out the world, with invitations to join judging panels and, this year, chances to join celebrations for the diamond anniversary of the first Masters of Wine graduates. In 1953 there were six graduates, now there are 312 Masters of Wine in 24 countries.

Kate agrees an appreciation of wine is subjective, but says stud-

ies and experience allow for the formation of a “common language”.

“There are characteristics of wine – it’s about breaking down its accepted elements, which then becomes a common language.” She speaks about fruity characters, minerality and knowledge of what can be expected of a wine from a certain area.

“I did judging before I became a master, but it has since made me more analytical,” she says.

Kate says Moorooduc Estate does not often enter wine shows.

She sees flaws in the judging process – “judges taste too many wines in a day; the judging system misses a lot of good, subtle wines” – but concedes things have improved over the past 10 years.

“For me, making wine to try to win a medal is a waste of energy. I believe you should make a wine that is delicious to drink and reflects where it is grown.

“Medals lead to more sales, that’s the commercial reality of today, but I think it’s a flaw. It’s all about medals and wanting to sell wine.”

Another flaw is that wine reviewers can also be judges: “Shows are a great way of getting your wine noticed; there are a lot of people involved in buying wine and in the media.

“We don’t show our wines, although we did put our toe in the water a few times. We didn’t do brilliantly, but we don’t need medals to tell me that we make good wine. We don’t make wine to follow trends.

“Ours is a subtle wine, shy on first tasting but moreish. The first glass gets better and better in the glass. I like to leave them wanting more.

“Judges sniff through 60 wines and our wines don’t play that way. I like people to go on a journey through the bottle.”

Despite these reservations, Kate believes “most winning wines de-serve their trophies”.


5MASTER OF WINE

However, she praises the different judging style of Argentina where tastings are limited to the morning. “It was a very expensive way to run a wine show, but a good way. They stopped before the judges’ palates got fatigued.”

These days, Moorooduc Estate wines are usually entered in over-seas shows “if our distributors think it’s a good idea”. But even then Kate has her doubts, citing an example where a Moorooduc pinot won a trophy one year but the following year “only got silver when I thought it was a better wine; results are very random”.

She believes sending wine to reviewers “we know are interested” re-sults in more sales than entering wine shows. As marketing manager Kate is also spreading the word about Moorooduc Estate across the spectrum of social media. A website carries information about the winery’s history and products; Facebook carries week-to-week news and events including links to YouTube; and Twitter is “little bursts of information and maybe a picture that will also be on Facebook”.

“I’m working out how to use all these different vehicles.”

One of the strongest “vehicles” remains keeping contact with Moorooduc Estate’s overseas and Australian distributors. Just back from a trip that included the United Kingdom and the United States, Kate clearly relished a major part of the marketing – spend-ing days with sales staff and selling wine to their customers.

Article courtesy Buisness Times, www.businesstimes.net.au

1 Buy it from someone you trust – cellar door or a retailer you have had a conversation with. Quality wine retailers love good wine and love to recommend to others. Talk to an enthusiastic wine retailer.

2 Look at the colour – wine should be any shade of yellow or red, but never brown (unless you are drinking an old muscat or other fortified). It also should not have bits floating in it.

3 Smell it before tasting it. Sometimes wine that tastes good smells weird, but often, if you like the smell, you will like the taste.

4 When you taste the wine, assuming it tastes good, the longer the flavour remains in your mouth after swallowing it the better quality the wine is. This is what wine people mean when they talk about length. Length is good.

5 A good wine is a wine you want to share with another person. It is a wine you will taste and your eyes will meet and you will share a moment. It will make your food taste more delicious and your food will make the wine taste even better, too. And when you go to pour another glass only to find the bottle is empty … that’s a great wine.

Master tips for identifying good wineKate McIntyre of Moorooduc Estate is one of 312 Masters of Wine worldwide. We asked her for some tips on identifying a good wine:

Kate McIntyre with her parents Jill and Richard McIntyre of Moorooduc Estate.


* Promotional price for HS 45-450, FS 38 and RE 108 valid from 01/09/14 to 9/11/14. ^Claim based on independent industry data for the 2013 fi nancial year of petrol hand-held power tools.

$399$199

FS 38 - Lightweight and powerful

STIHL GRASS TRIMMER

$199Lightweight

and powerful

TRIMMER

$299* *

*

RE 108 - Better cleaning power with 1595 psi

399$RE 108 - Better cleaning power with 1595 psi

$RE 108 - Better cleaning power with 1595 psi

STIHL HIGHPRESSURE CLEANER

• Faster blades for cleaner cuts • Well balanced and easy to use• Robust construction, built to last• Australia’s No.1 selling brand of outdoor power tools^

Assembled, fuelled & ready to go!

HS 45 - 450STIHL HEDGE TRIMMER

BETTER VALUE BETTER

BUY

• Faster blades for cleaner cuts • Faster blades for cleaner cuts •STIHL HEDGE TRIMMER

BETTERBUY

Rosebud Saw Service 378 Eastbourne Rd, Rosebud - Call 5986 2857


Let us clean your pool!

✓ Regular Pool Clean ✓ Pool Service & Repairs✓ Water Balance ✓ Pool Check & Safety Appraisals✓ Pool Hand Overs ✓ Filters, Pumps & Chlorinators✓ Pool Cleaners ✓ Pool Heating - Solar, Gas & Heat Pumps

Call Swimart Mornington and let one of our licensed pool technicians look after your pool for you!

Does you family or children suffer from Eczema or sensitive skin?

A chlorine free swimming pool that’s free of odours and taste, soft and gentle on the skin - what’s more, no shower required after swimming. Just like a refreshing swim in a natural spring.

Great news for swimmers, people with allergies and asthma, the environment and the pool itself.

• Chlorine & salt free • Outstanding water clarity • Fully automated sanitisation and pH control

• Minimal maintenance • Water saving

It’s time to get your pool ready for Summer with Swimart, the Australian pool and spa specialists.

Swimart can turn your pool from green to sparkling in no time. Swimart provides free of charge service where your pool water

sample is analyzed in a computerised system for an exact reading so you can learn how to bring it back to pristine, safe swimming

levels. Whether you need expert advice and knowledge, or someone to regularly clean and maintain your pool, Swimart

Mornington has the skills and expertise to help you.

Finally it’s here!A chlorine free pool system

Ask US at Swimmart

Peninsula Homemaker Centre1128-1132 Nepean Hwy,

Mornington

✆ 5976 [email protected]

Highlights from the Hinterland Scarecrow Festival 2014Essence photographer Yanni was out and about with his camera and captured some of the fantastic creations (and recycled too) from the recent Scarecrow Festival, an annual event celebrating the Mornington Peninsula’s unique creative character with a Touring Trail of Scarecrow Creations and Fabulous Farmyard Art.Don’t miss it in 2015.

For more details scarecrowfestival.org.au or www.facebook.com/HinterlandScarecrowFestival

Photography: Yanni



Spring StormsWords and photography by Yanni


Lightning has fascinated and frightened humans for millennia. Romans believed that Jove, the king of gods, used lightning to

punish enemies. The Greek god Zeus is depicted holding a lightning bolt, given to him by the Cyclopes in appreciation for releasing them from the dark pit of Tartarus. In Hindu mythology the god Indra is known as the god of lightning. The Australian Aborigines of north-ern Arnhem Land believed that during monsoon rains, the mythi-cal Lightning-man, Wala-undayua, would travel through the clouds, savagely striking the ground with his long arms and legs as bolts of lightning. This would leave burnt out forests and shattered trees in a devastated landscape.

Melbourne’s climate can be unpredictable at the best of times but springtime on the Mornington Peninsula usually brings even more unstable weather patterns. It is a time of transition where the cold months of winter slowly merge into the long hot days of summer.

Lightning is very beautiful but also very dangerous. It travels at 100 kilometres per second. The air around a lightning bolt is hotter than the surface of the sun, and people are killed and injured every year by strikes. Precautions can be taken to reduce the risks. You should not stand in the middle of an open field as lightning will hit the tallest object. Standing under a tree offers little protection as a lightning bolt will travel down the trunk and also strike a person. If you’re caught in a thunderstorm and have no cover, lay on the ground, or crouch with your arms around your knees to minimise contact with the ground.

Reaching for a camera during a violent electrical storm isn’t every-one’s idea of a fun time, but I enjoy the risk in search of a good image. With safety precautions and good preparation, storm-chasing can be one of the most exhilarating experiences.

Lightning photo spread next page...


Spring StormsWords and photography by Yanni



…or so the cry went out on three occasions during the second half of the 19th century when gold seekers tried their luck in the part of the Mornington Peninsula cen-tred around the Tubbarubba* and Bulldog Creek areas. This inland plain area was called “Tubbarubbabel” by the original inhabitants, meaning “good camping place” as there was always a permanent water supply.

Some interest in the area took place as early as 1851 after a small gold-bearing reef was found in Bulldog Creek. Subsequently a Mr Threader, who worked for a local roads board, spent several years prospecting in the Tubbarubba area. He was assisted by William Grover and other local men who found the ground to be auriferous (containing gold). Threader’s representation to the government led to the Geological Surveyor, Reginald Murray, being sent down to examine the area. His report was favourable.

In September 1862 The Argus newspaper reported that a large meeting had been held at Schnapper Point (Mornington) where it was decided to petition the Commissioner of Lands and Survey to withhold from alienation by the Crown the land “within a distance of six or eight miles of Schnapper Point”, which was believed to be a payable goldfield, until it was further prospected. “During the meeting, samples of gold found in sluicing the surface – the pros-pectors having been unable to sink

in consequence of the large amounts of water – were exhibited.” The subsequent representations resulted in the reservation of Crown al-lotments 3, 7 and 8, and appear to have launched Tubbarubba as an accepted goldfield causing the first, albeit minor, rush to occur. In 1862, Mr E Permenzel applied to the government for a reward for locating gold at Tubbarubba; his application was refused as people were already well aware of the existence of the goldfield.

Over the next few years many searched for the elusive gold reef at Tubbarubba without success. However alluvial gold was found, enough to keep interest alive, along the beds of the Tubbarubba, Bulldog and Mosquito creeks. In some quarters the Tubbarubba “goldfields” were referred to slightingly as the “Rubble Bubble al-luvial diggings”.

On December 30, 1862 a letter appeared in The Argus from “Dig-ger”, who, somewhat disillusioned, wrote to inform readers that the men at Tubbarubba diggings were “just making tucker”. A week later “Experienced Digger” responded that some parties were making more than tucker. He stated that “for any willing digger with a five pound note which will enable a fair start, there is every chance of success”.

Interest in the Tubbarubba goldfields dwindled later in the 1860s to desultory fossicking, although every now and then interest would be rekindled by a “find”. In March 1866, 40 miners were searching for alluvial gold along the three creeks (Tubbarubba, Bulldog and Mosquito) and a 50-foot (15-metre) shaft had been sunk on the first discovered reef known as Browns. In July 1871 the news was spread, mainly through the Mornington Standard, that three gold-bearing reefs had been struck in the valley of Tubbarubba Creek. And so the second rush to the locality took place, with a considerable number of claims being staked out and reports of a company being formed to work a claim. A shaft 20- to 30-feet deep was sunk (6-9 metres), and gold was said to be present in the quartz removed. It was esti-mated that 200 diggers participated in this rush.

After a visit to the diggings J W Wood wrote in the Standard later in 1871: “I may safely say that gold in payable quantities will not be found either in the alluvial or in the misnamed quartz reef.” Soon most of the diggers came to agree with Mr Wood’s opinion and gradually left Tubbarubba. However a number of Chinese miners were attracted to the scene, apparently disembarking at Flinders and thereby avoiding the 10 pound poll tax levied at of-




ficial ports. They quickly left the Tubbarubba area when one of their number was murdered. The dead man was supposedly buried at the scene of the crime, and for many years that remnant of the plains now known as Tubbarubba Park Reserve was known by lo-cals as “The Cemetery Reserve”.

Although the soil in the area was generally poor, an application to purchase the Crown allotments in 1880 led to a petition to protect the area for prospecting and mining. The Government Geologist, Reginald Murray, wrote: “I have no hesitation in recommending the application that the land be reserved, as it is likely to prove even-tually of value for mining purposes and, owing to its poor quality for either cultivation or grazing, its exemption from selection is not likely to be a hardship to anyone.”

On June 22, 1893 the Mornington Standard reported that some Hastings fishermen were prospecting: “Nets are laid by and their owners have taken the pick and shovel and dish, and wended their way to the local goldfield Tubba Rubba... Some samples of the hard-earned lucre were shown us last week by a recently returned fisher-man who had been prospecting the gullies, and ... we shall not be surprised to hear that the field has turned out very auriferous, and as the locality is only eight miles from Hastings, our residents should participate in the good results.”

This flurry of activity sparked the third and most significant rush to Tubbarubba. In June 1893 the Standard reported that about 100 miners were at the diggings and more expected. Some were experienced miners from Ballarat and Bendigo. Later that month readers were informed that the Government Geologist – the same Reginald Murray – had again inspected the mining site and re-ported on the activities and prospects of gold in the area. He said the gold was “scattered and patchy” but was told that no man need starve there. The paper also noted complaints from residents in Dromana that their constable was away on duty at the Quarantine Station (at Point Nepean) and, as visits from the miners could be expected, especially on Saturday nights, “the town should not then be left unprotected”.

The most successful miner at Tubbarubba was William Barnes who, with his son, started mining on Alfred Downard’s land near the junction of Bulldog and Tubbarubba creeks, and west of the old Tubbarubba diggings. The Barnes men, working in a little val-ley between two hills, after 18 months had found a piece of gold weighing two grams. They were digging only about six feet (two metres) from the surface and working along the bed of the creek, having constructed a dam to divert the stream. They were using a

Cornell, Frederick 1833-1890 photographer. Mornington Co’s [gold] Battery: Grant. Date(s) of creation: [ca. 1866-ca. 1885]Photograph : albumen silver ; 11.3 x 17.8 cm. Reproduction rights owned by the State Library of Victoria

Accession No: H87.16/36 Image No: a53270



THE RUSH IS ON TO TUBBARUBBA

horse puddling machine. Some 16 feet (4.8 metres) from the work-ings a quartz vein crossed the creek bed, and here they found their nuggets of quartz and gold weighing 170 ounces in all (4.8kg). They were reported to have made 1000 pounds ($2000) from their find, a small fortune in those days. No other miner at Tubbarubba came close to this.

The diggings at Tubbarubba continued to provide material of in-terest for the newspapers. In September 1895 the Standard reported on the formation of the Tubba Rubba Gold Mining Company with 13 shareholders, which included a number of well-known locals, in-cluding Alfred Downward (then a Victorian MP and previously a shire councillor), Dr J L Edgeworth Somers and Tom Caldwell (the son of the long-time Presbyterian minister James A Caldwell who lost three sons in the Mornington football team drowning disaster in 1892). In July 1896 the same paper reported that the Bulldog Creek Mining Company was working shifts day and night, with the shaft down to 50 feet. They expected to start driving (digging horizon-tally) in a week. One of the workers narrowly escaped death when a basket of rubble he had sent up to the surface fell on him. He received nasty cuts to the head but the contents of the basket were not sufficiently heavy to kill him.

In 1900 another group applied for a mining lease and reported-ly put men to work there at once. Three years later the Morning-ton Gold Mining Company announced its intention to build a large dam on Tubbarubba Creek to supply a battery for crushing gold-bearing quartz on their claim. This activity made items of news for the Standard in the first five years of the 20th century, but no news of large finds of gold followed.

The next venture at Tubbarubba was reported in 1913 in the Pen-insula Post when it was believed the old Tubbarubba goldfields were

the site of an immense deposit of clay suitable for pottery “second to none in the world”.

In 1937 geologist R A Keble published The Geological Survey of Victoria. As part of his research he examined the sites around Bull-dog and Tubbarubba creeks and found evidence of the old workings. He found one gold-bearing reef had been worked under the head of Bulldog Creek. Keble also found evidence of mine shafts and tunnels, alluvial workings along the creek, an old battery site, and prospecting holes around Tubbarubba Creek. On his map of the area Keble marked several prospecting holes and a water race downstream from Barnes’s workings on Bulldog Creek. Keble found similarities between the geological strata around the creeks and the richly paying reefs of the Victorian Central Highlands, and suggested the reef on Bulldog Creek, which had suffered from a landslide, was probably quite rich. Almost 80 years after his investigations no one has been inclined to follow up Keble’s suggestion.

The Tubbarubba Park Reserve in Tubbarubba Road was reserved in 1963 and consists of 13.3 acres (5.4 hectares) of natural bushland. It is understood it was in this area that the miners set up their camps. It is also believed this is the resting place of the murdered Chinaman, hence its original name of Cemetery Reserve.

* Although the creek is generally spelled “Tubbarubba”, as is the road, the old diggings were usually spelled “Tubba Rubba” in newspapers and official documents. For simplicity the former version is used throughout unless a paper or document is being quoted.

Reference: The Golden Plains of Tubbarubbabel by Mary Karney and Bruce Bennett.


your local experts

• Driving Range • Precision Fitting Centre • Lessons & Clinics available • Specials available at the Pro Shop

Centenary Park Public Golf Course is an 18 hole course and is recognised as one of Melbourne’s best public golf courses and

one of the longest at 6122 metres.

Get into Golf at Centenary Park

CENTENARY PARK & ON COURSE GOLF SHOPMcClelland Dve, Frankston PH: 9789 1480 www.centenarypark.com.au

Get into Golf at Centenary Park

• Driving Range • Precision Fitting Centre • Lessons & Clinics available • Specials available at the Pro Shop

PGA Professionals Steve Montgomerie, Warren Young and Gavin Campbell

Just off

Peninsula Link

With the latest flooring designs, our

floors for living catalogue will help you

find the floor you’ve been searching for.

Visit our showroom or view the catalogue

Online from Sunday 12th October at

choicesflooring.com.au

ONLY AVAILABLE AT

At Choices Flooring by Smiths, we know that good interior decorating

starts from the floor up.

Choices Flooring by Smiths • 5975 2600Shop 1, 137 Mornington-Tyabb Road

(cnr Bruce Street), Mornington


Seaton Farm


Having owning Seaton Farm in Balnarring since 1996, Elwyn and Andrew Duncan have developed the gar-

den in two distinct stages.

Occupying 20 hectares (50 acres), the property has two hectares (five acres) of natural bush and almost a hectare (two acres) of build-ings, the garden and recently a planting of 200 pinot vines.

“When we bought the farm, the 100-year-old cottage was derelict but after renovation provides cosy accommodation,” says Elwyn. “We commissioned architect Ross Henry to build us a single-sto-rey farmhouse to complement the old cottage and existing sheds, and were delighted with the result. While the house was under construction we approached Philip Johnson of Greenmark Land-scapes – recently acclaimed for his ‘Best in Show’ award at the 2013 Chelsea Flower Show – to build us a frog pond. Once the house was finished, the team from Preston Williams Landscape Construction landscaped to the north of the house as well as the vegetable garden. The raised planter boxes on the paved patio have proven to be the ideal place for the visually stunning xanthorrhoeas.”


When Elwyn and Andrew purchased Seaton Farm there was no garden, apart from some venerable old trees that have provided a majestic backdrop to the garden as it has developed.

“The one old tree that we absolutely treasure is the enormous elm, which is now the centrepiece of our top garden and a topic of con-versation for all who visit,” says Elwyn.

When the couple started establishing the garden, they had two main guiding principles – to minimise the effects of the wind without losing the more distant vistas, and to create a habitat to attract wildlife.

“The elaeagnus hedge has proved an excellent foil for the wind around the cottage, and elsewhere we have tried to plant in groups, or copses, with open areas between.

“As many plants have limited flowering seasons, we have also tried to use plants with variations of foliage hoping this will ensure year-round interest in the garden.

“In stage one of the garden development we used a variety of

plants, both native and other, in relaxed garden beds around the cottage, and then around the perimeter of the lawn.”

The second major stage of garden development began around the new house. “We decided to use only native plants, and to try and restrict ourselves to those varieties that had already proven hardy in our conditions. I love grevilleas, as do the birds, but the only ones that seem to thrive here are the expensive grafted ones. I am now trying to placate the honeyeaters with eremophilas. A number of the eucalypts have done well, correas seem to be very reliable, also calothamnus, and the real find for this garden has been the different varieties of adenanthos.”

Proceeds from the garden opening in November will go to Penin-sula Riding Develops Abilities.

Seaton Farm is at 22 Turners Road, Balnarring. It will be open to the public on Saturday November 1 and Sunday November 2 from 10am–4.30pm.


With quality accommodation, attractive common areas and landscaped gardens, Baptcare Peninsula View Community Aged Care provides a caring and comfortable environment for 106 residents. Call 03 5979 9900 to book a tour.*

*Please have your Aged Care Client Record (Assessment) details handy when you call.

Baptcare Peninsula View Community24–28 Moorooduc HighwayFrankston South VIC 3199

Visit our recently renovatedAged Care accommodation

agedcare.baptcare.org.au


www.fourseasonsgutterpro.com.au

4 REASONS TO CALL FOUR SEASONS• No more gutter cleaning• Collect 100% of your rain water• Stop birds and vermin• We clean your gutters prior to fitting

Continuous Control Flow Mesh is…• The heaviest weight mesh on the market today!• The longest lasting• The best value for money• Exclusive to Four Seasons.

Call now for FREE quote.Present your voucher on the day of your quote for Significant savings!Specialising in body corporate and local government projects

SPRING SPECIAL! 15% OFF + A FREEGUTTER CLEAN VALUED AT $250*

CONTINUOUS CONTROL FLOW MESHValid on day of quote only.

Offer expires 30/11/2014. Not to be used with any other special.

Call us today at 1300 30 25 23

Gutter Before

Gutter After

CLEANING GUTTERS IS DANGEROUSNEVER CLEAN YOUR GUTTERS AGAIN

90 | PENINSULAEssence90 | PENINSULAEssence

Macroin the backyardSometimes it’s hard to see what’s really going on

in our own backyards. Now and then we have to step off the back porch and take a closer look. Things are out there that we’re just not aware of. Living things, tiny things, quiet and seemingly insignificant creatures. Unlike humans who struggle constantly against their environment, these unseen creatures have learned early to seek its protective embrace. Creating an endless wardrobe of camouflage, they and their environment have become one. “It is a mistake of arrogance to equate size with signif-

icance, for the less visible one’s enemy the more powerful his threat”.

– Scientist Nils Hellstrom

Words and photography by Yanni



Macroin the backyardPhotography by Yanni




Dunns Creek EstatePhotography: Yanni

Roger and Hannah Stuart-Andrews welcome visitors to Dunns Creek Estate open day to explore the regener-

ation of the degraded banks of the creek and wetland area.The couple have owned the property since 2001 and little of the

regenerated bush is more than 10 years old.

“Our main aim is to show how we have transformed an area of degraded land – boggy, subsumed by blackberry plants that choked any local plant that dared pop its head up, and shaded by huge pine trees whose needles raised the acidity of the soil to levels that stifled any regrowth attempt by the indigenous vegetation,” says Roger. “We think our wetland development and creek restoration comple-ments our involvement with local community groups dedicated to the preservation of our natural habitat.”

Roger is president of Dunns Creek Landcare and the Friends of Coolart, and both he and Hannah try to find time to help out at The Briars Homestead and are on the committee of Mornington Peninsula Hinterland Tourism.

“While we chose the property for its grape-growing attributes, we loved the existence of the creek and a fully matured citrus orchard and a fruit orchard. The former has lemons, oranges, grapefruit, cumquats, limes, mandarin, pink grapefruit and a kaffir lime tree while the latter is devoted to plums, apples, peaches, apricots, avo-cados and cherries. We hope to demonstrate that our transforma-tion has been achieved simply and relatively cheaply by removing

blackberries and pines during the long drought in 2006-07, land-scaping with a backhoe to create a series of inter-linking ponds, building some boardwalks and laying a Dromana topping path. Very little planting was done by us as the Australian landscape was simply waiting for the chance to rid itself of the acidity from the pine needles and to see a bit of sun without competing with the all-conquering blackberries. Within months new life was springing up and trees now tower overhead, shading the ponds and providing homes to birds attracted by the water while swamp wallabies bound through the bush on excursions from the undergrowth lining the creek. As you enter the walk, a soothing stillness descends and, on a hot summer’s day, you notice the cooling effect of the trees, which makes it essential to linger on one of the strategically placed garden seats – use the time to look and listen. Compare what you see with the photographs we have placed strategically along the walk – they were taken only eight years ago.

Where there is flora we soon find fauna. The earth shakes as the black swamp wallabies bound through the bush en route to or from the creek banks. Hannah is a member of Birdlife Australia and has recorded 80 species of birds on our property over the past 12 years.”

Dunns Creek Estate is at 137 Mcllroys Road, Red Hill. It is open Saturday November 22 and Sunday November 23 from 10am–4.30pm.


great things have humble beginningsa new way of seeing, re-thinking

re-shaping yourself & the world around you

Are opening their doors this Summer... Check out our Foster Young Artists Program with Digital Creative Making Workshops.First one starting in December “Make the Grandparents a treat for Christmas”. For more information visit our website numbers are limited.

the local creative Shop 8 High Street, Hastings, 3915 www.localcreative.com.au

the local creativeShop 8 High Street, Hastings, 3915

www.localcreative.com.au

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

great things have humble beginningsa new way of seeing, re-thinking

re-shaping yourself & the world around you

Are opening their doors this Summer... Check out our Foster Young Artists Program with Digital Creative Making Workshops.First one starting in December “Make the Grandparents a treat for Christmas”. For more information visit our website numbers are limited.

the local creative Shop 8 High Street, Hastings, 3915 www.localcreative.com.au

the local creativeShop 8 High Street, Hastings, 3915

www.localcreative.com.au

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

great things have humble beginningsa new way of seeing, re-th inkingre-shaping yourself and the world around you


Pho

tog

rap

hy: Y

anni


OPEN Garden

with FREECombi-Cart, valued at $299!

www.husqvarna.com.au

Your Authorised Husqvarna Servicing Dealer

#Offers valid 1st September to 31st December 2014 or while stocks last at participating Husqvarna Dealers. ^Terms & Conditions apply, only available to approved purchasers on selected models. Ask instore for details.

FREE Husqvarna Combi-Cart#

with every purchase of a selected model Husqvarna Lawn Tractor or Rider. Use as either a tow-behind trailer or wheelbarrow. See instore for details!

Lawn TractorsSAVE $200 with FREE

Combi-Cart, valued at $299!

FROM $2,799*

Riders

FROM $4,999*

Ask us instore about:

12 MONTHSNO DEPOSITINTEREST FREE^

valued at $299!

Spring into Summer Specials!

*Refers to model LTH19530

*Refers to model R120C

Imag

es a

re fo

r ill

ustr

ativ

e pu

rpos

es o

nly.

HASTINGS MOWERS2013 FRANKSTON FLINDERS RD,

HASTINGS - PH: 5979 1382Monday-Friday 8am-6pm,

Saturday 8am-4pm, Sunday 9am-2pm

OPEN 7 DAYSwww.hasmow.com.au

with FREECombi-Cart, valued at $299!

www.husqvarna.com.au

Your Authorised Husqvarna Servicing Dealer

#Offers valid 1st September to 31st December 2014 or while stocks last at participating Husqvarna Dealers. ^Terms & Conditions apply, only available to approved purchasers on selected models. Ask instore for details.

FREE Husqvarna Combi-Cart#

with every purchase of a selected model Husqvarna Lawn Tractor or Rider. Use as either a tow-behind trailer or wheelbarrow. See instore for details!

Lawn TractorsSAVE $200 with FREE

Combi-Cart, valued at $299!

FROM $2,799*

Riders

FROM $4,999*

Ask us instore about:

12 MONTHSNO DEPOSITINTEREST FREE^

valued at $299!

Spring into Summer Specials!

*Refers to model LTH19530

*Refers to model R120C

Imag

es a

re fo

r ill

ustr

ativ

e pu

rpos

es o

nly.

Dunns Creek Estate


This changes everything.The all new C-Class.

Hold your breath. The all new C-Class is changing the rules and raising the bar in every conceivable way. Unprecedented dynamics are delivered through the latest generation 7G-TRONIC PLUS automatic transmission. Sleek design and aerodynamics set new standards in efficiency. Then, there’s a host of advanced technologies and comfort features that are unrivalled within the segment. Take the wheel. Prepare for change. Now exhale.

Experience the all new C-Class for yourself at Mercedes-Benz Mornington. www.mbmornington.com.au

LMC

T443

29-31 Mornington-Tyabb Road, Mornington (03) 5973 9688 Mercedes-Benz Mornington

/MBMornington

mb mornington


New Bedding Range at

1263 Pt Nepean Road, Rosebud ph: 59 86 5544

slumberest

Sleepmaker is your guarantee of proven support and quality

facebook.com/Barkieshomeappliance


Date post:	05-Apr-2016
Category:	Documents
Upload:	peninsula-essence
View:	232 times
Download:	6 times

Spring 2014

Documents