HISTORIC farm buildings at Down’s Estate have been saved after Frankston councillors decided to overrule council officers to stop the demolition of the historical homestead in Seaford. At the latest public council meeting last month councillors unanimously backed the retention of a main farm homestead, formerly occupied by renowned whip and saddlemaker Harry Down, and a large shed on the land. Council officers had previously recommended all buildings on the council-owned site be knocked down. A carport, outbuildings, water tank and windmill frame will be demolished since the structures have been assessed as being unsafe. Down’s Estate Community Working Group…
Author: Neil Walker
FAMED novelist Nevil Shute has been honoured with the naming of a Langwarrin street in his honour. The English aeronautical engineer turned author Nevil Norway, who adopted the penname Nevil Shute, called Australia home in later life. Shute’s 1957 post-apocalyptic book On The Beach, about a group of people in Australia facing the end of life on Earth after a devastating nuclear war in the northern hemisphere, was adapted into a movie. Parts of the 1959 Hollywood production starring Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire and Anthony Perkins were filmed in Frankston. Frankston mayor Cr James Dooley joined historians and…
THE THEFT of about $1.5 million in Liberal Party funds by former state director Damien Mantach did not alter the outcome of the 2014 state election according to opposition leader Matthew Guy. Mr Mantach pleaded guilty last month to a total of 44 charges related to the false printing of invoices and fraudulent expenses billed to the Liberal Party of Victoria over four-and-a-half years for personal gain. He used the ill-gotten gains to buy a car, shares, a cafe and to make mortgage repayments on his Ocean Grove home. The party was overcharged for printing and Mr Mantach pocketed the…
A WATER slide at Frankston’s Peninsula Aquatic Recreation Centre is out of action after two boys were injured while using the slide. PARC CEO Tim Gledhill confirmed the AquaSphere slide will be closed “for the next few weeks” until an investigation into the incident takes place. The two boys were using the AquaSphere water slide last Saturday (27 February), featuring raft rides for two to four people, when the incident occurred. “Both boys received immediate medical attention from our lifeguard staff before being transferred to hospital where one was treated for concussion and the other boy was diagnosed with a…
A TOWERING inferno of an artwork by abstract artist Kerrie Warren will make its debut an outer wall at the Frankston Arts Centre this month. The 4 metre by 6 metre piece, entitled ‘The Bonfire’, by the former Frankston resident is reminiscent of the works of Jackson Pollock and will be displayed on four panels outside the arts centre. Council hopes The Bonfire becomes a focal point on Davey St. Mayor Cr James Dooley said it is the first in a series of artworks to be installed in Frankston’s centre and along the foreshore. “Frankston is developing a reputation as…