Peninsula Essence August 2024 by Peninsula Essence

PENINSULA

Living & visiting on the Mornington Peninsula

Discover stunning villages with a great location at Mornington Peninsula.

Beleura Village: villas from Long Island Village: villas from

Beleura Village: villas from $795,000

Long Island Village: villas from $390,000

Writers: Andrea Louise Thomas, Muriel Cooper, Liz Bell

Photography: Yanni, Gary Sissons

Creative: Sam Loverso, Dannielle Espagne

Publisher: Melissa McCullough

Advertising: Andy Jukes, 0431 950 685, andy@mpnews.com.au

Annette Sanfilippo, annette@mpnews.com.au

Phone: (03) 5974 9000

Registered address: 1/15 Wallis Drive, Hastings VIC. 3915

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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 monthly. 30,000 copies bulk dropped at an extensive network of outlets across the peninsula.

8. Flipping for Gold

Brock Batty’s journey to the Paris Olympics as a trampoline gymnast began with a backyard trampoline in Frankston, jumping for fun and teaching himself flips.

14. Hair Care

As well as running the successful Salon Envy in Mornington, Jaki Wilkinson volunteers her time to ‘Hair Aid’, an organisation that travels to developing countries to teach the skill of hair cutting.

18. Reptiles for Miles

Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park recently opened its new reptile centre providing its cold-blooded inhabitants a habitat which has been designed to cater to their specific needs.

22. Easy Ridin’ Artist

Mornington artist/illustrator Russell Murchie is a raconteur of motorcycle culture. He’s owned 32 different bikes in 29 years and is now on his 12th Harley Davidson. Sounds like a lot, but not out of the ordinary if you’re a diehard motorcycle enthusiast.

28. Out of Africa

Mount Martha ceramic artist, Tracy Muirhead, likes to let the clay do the talking. Working with up to seven different varieties produces unique challenges and interesting effects. She makes her pieces with minimal manipulation resulting in organic forms that speak for themselves.

Eat & Drink

36. Seaweed Success

In Dromana three environmentally aware entrepreneurs with a shared vision are quietly spearheading an innovative seaweed farming and manufacturing business that they hope will one day see the edible algae make its way into every household pantry and commercial kitchen in the country.

41. Recipe - Grilled Smoked Eggplant with Soy

42. Hot Stuff

When Melisse Fernando migrated to Australia from Sri Lanka, she couldn’t have known that her secret recipe for hot sauce would win her family ‘Australian Sauce of The Year’, but her daughter Bernie and son-in-law Anthony recognised the potential right away.

Peninsula

46. Celebrating Style

Annette Sanfilippo shares her insights on finding the right outfit or gift for those milestone occasions.

90. The Two Marthas

Pioneer women Martha King and Martha Baxter held sway in the central peninsula area for the entire pastoral age on two large cattle stations stretching from the outskirts of today's Frankston to the south of Hastings.

Every Month

6. What's On 48. Style Page 56. The Lowdown 80. Focus on Mornington 86.

What's on? AUGUST 2024

AUGUST 3

HAND BUILDING CLAY WORKSHOP

Join artist Brendan Huntley for an engaging hand-building clay workshop at the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery (MPRG). Perfect for all skill levels, this workshop offers a unique opportunity to explore your creativity through clay.

10.30am - 1pm at Civic Reserve, Dunns Rd, Mornington eventbrite.com.au

AUGUST 10 THE BRIARS COMMUNITY PLANTING

DAY

This year we will be planting within the new sanctuary expansion area, expanding native vegetation across the site to provide habitat for our precious wildlife, as well as helping protect our soils and draw carbon from the atmosphere. Registrations are essential.

10am - 2.30pm at 450 Nepean Hwy, Mount Martha eventbrite.com.au

AUGUST 4

WINE TASTING FUNDRAISER

Historic Fenton Hall in Merricks North has fallen into disrepair. Nine local wineries are kindly donating tastings of boutique wines to help fund its restoration. Patrons will receive a delicious snack pack and some wineries are offering fabulous food.

11am - 4pm at 181 BitternDromana Rd, Merricks North trybooking.com/events

AUGUST

DEVILBEND TRAIL RUN

With a distance to suit all runners and walkers, our courses travel along the trails and tracks of the reserve, plus a 1.5km gravel road section for the 21.1km run. From grass to gravel, stones, mud and even clay, the course is as versatile as it is challenging, unexpected and fun!

8.30pm - 12.30pm at 159 Grayden's Rd, Tuerong devilbend.com.au

AUGUST

THE AUSTRALIAN BEE GEES SHOW

Heading down under for the Australian leg of their 25th anniversary tour! This new show will be presented in two parts and feature all of the hits in a nostalgic trip down memory lane in a multimedia concert event. Frankston Arts Centre, 27-37 Davey St, Frankston artscentre.frankston.vic.gov.au

AUGUST

MORNINGTON RACECOURSE MARKET

Explore a treasure trove of unique items crafted by talented artists. Discover one-of-a-kind creations and special finds that you won't come across in regular retail stores. Parking: $5 (small fee for electronic payments) ATM on site!

9am - 2pm at 320 Racecourse Rd, Mornington mornpen.vic.gov.au

FLIPPING FOR gold

By Muriel Cooper Photos Supplied

BrockBatty’s journey to the Paris Olympics as a trampoline gymnast began with a backyard trampoline in Frankston, jumping for fun and teaching himself flips.

“I was getting better and better on my backyard trampoline, and then Mum decided it would be a good idea to sign me up for a club and learn how to do it all safely and properly, and it all took off from there,” said Brock.

Brock’s mum signed him up for the Cheltenham Youth Club, which, he says, has been, “Awesome. The coaching, the staff; I honestly wouldn’t be here if it wasn't for them.” Brock and his coach plan out his routines together. He will take five to Paris.

Ivan Litvinovitch from New Zealand is his role model. Brock admires how Ivan lives a very balanced lifestyle. “There’s a lot more to his life than just trampoline,” Brock says. “He’s into a lot of other things and is just a good person all round. It’s something I really value and try to work on a lot.”

To balance his life, Brock combines training and school with spending time with family and friends, teaching himself new things like golf and going surfing and fishing. They keep his mind fresh.

“I notice that if I go away on a big trip – sometimes it two world cups back-to-back – when I get back, and it’s two weeks into training, you lose motivation and go flat, and it becomes too much. When things are pretty intense, that’s when I’ve found that those hobbies are most important for me.”

Brock is in year 11 at Frankston High and says that keeping up is not as easy as it was. However, he only finds it really difficult when he goes overseas for a competition.

“When I come back, I really notice I’ve missed a fair bit, but it’s nothing too major, and I’m able to catch up on it all.”

When it was announced that he was going to the Olympics, Brock's teachers and classmates gave him a surprise party. “It was awesome to feel the support of everyone.”

So far, Brock has competed in Germany, Azerbaijan, Portugal, Switzerland, Russia, Japan, Bulgaria, and England and names Switzerland and Portugal as his favourites.

How does international travel affect him? continued page 10 ...

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“I struggle a bit getting over there and to stay awake for those first couple of days. Compared with everyone else, it takes me a bit longer to adjust. It takes me a couple of nights and then I’m getting a normal sleep.”

Brock is excited to be going to Paris. It's his the first time competing in the Olympics, and at seventeen, he’s also set the record for the youngest male ever to compete in trampoline gymnastics in the world. “It’s a dream come true. It’s everything I've been training for,” he says. He wasn’t nervous in the lead-up to the games since he couldn’t imagine what it was going to be like, but he is sure excitement and nerves will kick in while he’s competing.

can work better for you? And you can learn what you did right, too.”

“A lot of trampoline. competing is mental. Obviously, the physical aspect is there, and you have to put the hard work into training, but once you’re actually competing, then it becomes mental. It’s an ongoing journey, and you learn how to handle these emotions better.”

The first of many games, hopefully

Brock knows what it is to overcome adversity. In the 2022 World Championships, in the move he specialises in, and which is in the Olympics, he fell off in both routines.

“I had trained really hard and had goals I wanted to achieve and to see it go like that was devastating. These experiences are not the most enjoyable moments of your life, but you do learn a lot. It can shift the way you see your sport a little bit: what pre-comp routine

Brock put this wisdom to work in 2023 and won gold in his age group in the World Championships.

“That was awesome; the best moment of my life. When I saw my name at the top of the leaderboard, I felt a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders.”

Brock's hard work and persistence paid off this year when the Sport Australia Hall of Fame awarded him a tier 2 scholarship.

If not this year in Paris, Brock is certain he’ll win gold at an Olympic Games one day. At seventeen, there will be many more opportunities. He describes Paris as “The first of many Games, hopefully.”

Games and competing aside, Brock has plans for the future. continued page 12 ...

Top: Brock in action. Bottom: Brock and teammate Nic, with gold at medal presentation.

“It’s something my coach and I are big on; who I am without sport. It would be cool to still work in sports, to work with athletes, whether it’s as a strength conditioning coach, a nutritionist, or a psychologist, helping athletes get better and achieve goals. I feel that's something that fits my values.”

Brock’s advice to other young people who want to compete at an elite level?

“You've got to do it because you love it. If you do, it makes waking up every day and giving a hundred percent of your effort so much easier. Enjoy the journey rather than it being all about the end goal; to do something that you love rather than have to do it. Then, you’re on the right track to becoming whoever you want to be.”

What is Brock looking forward to doing in Paris away from the trampoline?

“I haven’t done too much research about Paris. I’ve never been before, but obviously I’m looking forward to seeing the Eiffel Tower. Someone asked me the other day what French food I’m going to try, and all I really know is baguettes and snails,” he laughs.

Brock says not being in the city has never been a disadvantage. He trains at the Cheltenham Youth Club and in the city and appreciates that it’s only around an hour by public transport to the city from Frankston. He describes Frankston as “the perfect spot.”

Brock (5th from left, back row) was part of a 13-strong gymnastics team announced for the Paris Olympics at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in June.

HAIR care

By Muriel Cooper Photos Yanni & Supplied

WhenJaki Wilkinson assumed the reins of Salon Envy, a salon in Mornington, little did she know that her life was about to take a profound turn: she stumbled upon Hair Aid, a not-for-profit brainchild of fellow hairdresser Selina Tomasich, which aimed to uplift underprivileged individuals overseas by teaching them the art of haircutting. The concept piqued Jaki's interest, but it wasn't until 2018, when a friend planning a trip with Hair Aid approached her, that she decided to embark on this journey. And, so, Jaki's personal odyssey with Hair Aid began.

“The next thing I knew, I was on a plane heading for Cambodia. It was very humbling but scary at the beginning, not knowing anything about the country or the people. It was daunting. It was a two-week project. We saw S21, the concentration camp set up by the Khmer Rouge (The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum). We saw the Killing Fields – it was awful. We were sent to different locations; I was sent to the Cambodian Kids Foundation.

“Our objective is to teach people to cut hair. It’s a five-day course; five basic haircuts in five days. When they’ve finished the course, we gift them a pair of scissors, a wrap, clips, and a water spray so they have everything they need to get started in their own micro-business. They then take it into their village and cut hair there; they can get jobs in salons. This enables them to feed their families. Until you've been there and witnessed it first-hand, it’s extremely difficult to imagine.”

Despite the language barrier, Jaki and the team from Hair Aid find it easy to teach people, as they are eager to learn.

“Many of them have never picked up a pair of scissors, so you’re taking them from holding scissors to scissor care and safety. Then, away they go.”

The trainees are interested in learning how to cut hair in whatever style is currently fashionable.

“At the moment, it’s a lot of fades (close to the skin and then graduated). They just want to get stuck into the clippers. Last year, they wanted mullets. Just when you think you've said goodbye to the mullet, it comes back again.”

She has recently returned from a visit to the Kerobokan prison in Bali, where she says she found exceptional talent. Hair Aid has a formal agreement with the prison.

“One trainee in particular, Jhony, who I trained in March this year, has incredible talent.” Jaki says. ‘He messages me every day and is so grateful for the opportunity Hair Aid has given him. I visited him again in May, and he’s now working confidently in a barber’s shop.”

The team has even done a course on the Suwung rubbish dump in Bali.

“It was hard to take. The dump is where all the rubbish goes from the local areas around Bali. They are just surviving. They’re extremely poor. We teach on the dump site. That’s the hardest location that I've ever done. They survive by going through the rubbish and recycling anything they can find. One lady was repurposing soap from hotels, grinding it down, grading it, making it into fresh soaps and selling it at the market. They’re extremely resourceful at recycling, more so than we are. After the course, we cut some kids' hair at a local orphanage. That was a tough day.

“One of the girls from the dump site is probably our biggest success story. With her haircutting skills, she got her entire family off the dump, bought her own place in Denpasar, worked in a salon and has been offered many jobs because her skills are amazing She sends me messages all the time.”

Jaki is excited to be the project leader for Indonesia now. She ensures each trip has a full complement of hairdressers, organises their accommodation, travel and transfers, and meets with local government officials. Next year, she will send two of the hairdressers from her salon to Cebu in the Philippines.

Selina, her mentor, is the CEO of Hair Aid. She started Hair Aid in 2010 when she met two nuns working for a charity in Manila. The charity's aim was to take in children abandoned on the streets and eventually reunite them with their parents, who were too poor to look after them. The nuns' aim to give the parents a skill became Selina’s and, consequently, Jaki’s inspiration for Hair Aid. It’s a major commitment.

“When I was volunteering to go to a country, that was once a year, and now that I’m project leader, we’ll see how many times I have to shoot off,” Jaki laughs. “But I love it. It’s amazing.”

You can support Hair Aid or volunteer, by visiting Salon Envy rear of 136 Main Street Mornington, or phone them on 5977 2076.

hairaid.org.au

REPTILES FOR miles

Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park in Pearcedale opened its new reptile centre on Thursday, 4 July. The sanctuary’s newest attraction includes venomous snakes, pythons, a freshwater crocodile, green tree frogs, and a range of lizards in purpose-built reptile habitats.

Each habitat in the new reptile centre has been designed to cater to the specific needs of its inhabitants, with precise requirements for temperature, humidity, water quality, and lighting. The centre has seven climate-controlled zones that provide basking, climbing, and camouflage areas. The enclosures replicate southeastern bushland, Central Australia, and the scrubland of Western Australia.

The sanctuary’s owner and director Michael Johnson said, “our reptile centre represents a significant milestone in our mission to inspire and educate our guests about the critical role amphibians and reptiles play in our ecosystems.” “This new space highlights some of Australia’s wildlife that don’t always receive a lot of love but are crucial to our ecosystems. It allows us to continue our mission of strengthening the bond between humans and wildlife by providing access and education around a great range of fascinating reptiles and fostering an appreciation for them,” he said.

Michael’s interest in wildlife developed as a child and he recalls a fascination with books by British naturalist and zookeeper Gerald Durrell, particularly on the subject of endangered species. This passion continued well into adulthood, but it wasn’t until 1998

Photos Gary Sissons

that he decided it was time to dedicate himself to conservation work. He then found the 10-acre site at Pearcedale and began to build Moonlit Sanctuary. He imagined a place where people could experience firsthand the rare and unusual animals that roam the Australian bush, especially the many species that no longer live locally.

Much more than a petting zoo, Moonlit Sanctuary focuses on educating the public about Australia’s native animals and is also involved in a number of successful conservation programs. Each animal within the park has been hand-picked to fulfil his lifelong desire to help halt the rapid extinction of animal species in Australia. continued next page...

Moonlit Sanctuary has come a long way from its humble beginnings back in 2001, when the sanctuary first opened offering solely moonlit tours. Over 20 years later, the park is now open daily and a whopping 100,000 visitors pass through its gates each year.

Guests can not only learn about endangered and threatened species through daytime visits or by participating in one of the moonlit tours, but they can also get up close and personal in one of thirteen exclusive animal encounters or tours offered daily.

moonlitsanctuary.com.au

EASY RIDIN' artist

By Andrea Louise Thomas Photos Gary Sissons & supplied

In his time, he has met thousands of motorcyclists from dirt bikers and sport bike riders to Harley aficionados and bikie club members ranging from the mild to the wild. He mixes with ease and confidence because they like his art, share his enthusiasm for riding, and speak a common language.

Perth-born Russell loved to draw as a boy. His father was an engineer. The family moved a lot. But wherever they went, he could always carry his artwork with him. As an only child, he spent a lot of time lost in his drawings. His grandmother was a well-known ceramics painter but, outside of that, he was a bit of a black sheep as an artist in the family.

I want to tell a story with my work and to capture a feel

Russell grew up reading a lot of science fiction and comic books. The futuristic drawings really fired his imagination. He also loved fantasy writing and the other-worldly illustrations that often accompanied it. Both brought him into new and imagined worlds.

American artist Frank Frezetta, often referred to as the ‘Godfather of fantasy art’, had an indelible influence on Russell. Other influences were the black and white photographers of the 1930s, such as Americans Edward Weston and Ansel Adams ,and German-American Horst P. Horst who shot for Vogue, as well as 1960s and 70s counter-culture psychedelic art.

Russell was first exposed to what he calls ‘real art’ when he took weekend courses at the former Royal College of the Arts in Canberra when he was 10. Years later, he started a Bachelor of Arts in Commercial Photography at RMIT, but left after two years realising studio photography wasn’t his thing. continued next page...

He moved on to become a film projectionist with Village Cinemas at the Jam Factory in South Yarra. In 1986, he started working in computer graphics and has always had a hand in it. His professional life has included many unusual projects like drawing robots for Melbourne House. That company morphed into Atari where he was a digital artist for many years. Russell travelled to the USA to work on the gaming version of The Matrix. These were the days when teams were small and creativity was high

What makes his work stand out is that he draws free-hand; he’s come full circle from his digital background. Now, he only produces oldschool analogue drawings. Russell does a lot of commission work. His favourite commissions are the ones where he is given free creative reign. He’s often asked to just create ‘a cool poster’. There’s always more to it for Russell. “I want to tell a story with my work and to capture a feel,” he says.

Russell’s art is a real niche field. “I create motorcycle art, but

“I work with colour, line, shape and texture in a limited palette of three to five colours to keep focus on the image. I’m not really a colour person. I harken back to my days of black and white photography and that’s really the way I see an image. I like working in a limited structure,” he says. He uses brush and ink and screen printing to achieve his effect.

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Russell travels the world to expositions and exhibitions, connecting with like-minded people. Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan and the US all have huge custom-vintage bike cultures. His art is very popular overseas. After ten years of praise and appreciation in other countries, he’s thrilled that his work is being recognised and admired in Australia.

The irk of motorcycle art as ‘low brow’ is gone. Like tattoo art, which he also dabbled in, this bespoke form is well-respected. And it’s fun to create. Russell loves the movement, swooping curves and the journey of the line. “Bikes are an interesting shape and they have lots of interesting shapes within them. They are filled with bits and pieces. I like that,” he says.

When he’s not creating, he enjoys riding his Harley through Red Hill, Flinders and the back roads of the Mornington Peninsula. Next, he’d like to exhibit the artwork he has created over the past ten years and hopefully attract new fans to this unique art form.

IG: @russell.murchie mrmow.bigcartel.com

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OUT OF africa

By Andrea Louise Thomas Photos Yanni

MountMartha ceramic artist, Tracy Muirhead, likes to let the clay do the talking. “Each type has its own unique plasticity. You have to learn to listen to the clay,” she says. Working with up to seven different varieties produces unique challenges and interesting effects. She makes her pieces with minimal manipulation resulting in organic forms that speak for themselves.

“The work is about play for me; finding out how shapes and colours work together. It’s a process of discovery. I don’t try to be in control. The clay has to express itself. I don’t get involved until

"Gas kilns and electric kilns produce completely different effects even when using the same clay and glaze," Tracy says. The chemical transformations of the glazing process fascinate her. It’s then that the true personality of each piece emerges.

Her functional ware is crafted from a slab. She rolls out the clay like dough with an enormous rolling pin. Then she puts it onto a mould to create its shape. For her signature nesting eggshell bowls, she wraps the clay over a rock. While the pieces are made to be used, they are also beautiful, colourful sculptural works.

Tracy learned all of the various ceramics techniques - pinching,

continued page 30 ...

AUGUST 24 & 25

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a Diploma of Ceramics at Box Hill TAFE in 2010. While most students gravitated to the potter’s wheel, Tracy wanted to work in a more organic way.

Her joy comes from experimenting with form and building by hand. It’s the sculptural element that most interests her. She likes to find out how the pieces speak to one another. Tracy has been working as a full-time artist since she left TAFE. She entered her first ceramic art award that year and has won many more since for both her functional ware and sculpture.

Experimentation runs in her family. Her father was a carpenter by trade. He left that to become a professional jazz musician before deciding on a career as an architect. Her mother always made original things: stitching and sewing and crafting. When her father built their family home, her mother helped make the furniture and furnishings.

Tracy was born in Cape Town, South Africa. At four the family moved to an idyllic coastal town called East London. When she wasn’t enjoying the outdoors, she was inside making clothes for herself and her dolls. She enjoyed sewing and crocheting. In high school she made an impression with her experimental top fashioned from Chux wipes.

When she finished high school, Tracy went back to her home town to attend the University of Cape Town. She planned to study Education and become a school teacher, but changed her mind. She completed a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology because she found it more interesting. She still maintains a great interest in that field as well as in holistic health.

After graduation, Tracy travelled across Europe for a year. When she got home, a friend suggested she become a fashion buyer. It resonated and she spent the next twelve years working as a fashion buyer in Cape Town. Looking at shape, colour and how things went together proved useful later in her art practice.

continued page 32 ...

Standing in line to vote in Cape Town in 1994, heavily pregnant with her first child, Tracy and her husband realised that, even being on the pro-equality side of the voting line, political uncertainty signalled it was a good time to move their young family out of South Africa. They emigrated to Australia in 1998.

Tracy focused on raising her children after moving to Australia, but when her daughter entered school, she felt it was time to start something new. She began her ceramics course. It wasn’t even really a choice; she felt it was a compulsion. The clay was calling! Her work is heavily influenced by Africa as well as a reverence for the Japanese aesthetic.

Living on the peninsula has added a new layer to her colour palette. She loves the colours of the of local bush, beach and sea. She finds it interesting that people in different geographical areas are drawn to different colours. Peninsula people gravitate

to whites, sandy colours, pastels and greens whereas city people choose blacks and earthy tones.

Last August Tracy joined the Peninsula Studio Trail and went right into an exhibition. She enjoys the camaraderie and support of the group as well as participating in their exhibitions and artist open-studio days. She never expected to be a ceramic artist, but her open-mindedness has led her in many interesting directions.

Her work can be found locally at Tingo in Mount Martha and the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery gift shop.

tracymuirhead.com

The People’s Choice

SEAWEED success

By Liz Bell Photos Yanni & supplied

been hailed as the holy grail of superfoods; a simple, nutrient-dense ingredient that promises to be life extending, health restoring and environmentally sustainable.

But seaweed is also experiencing a global culinary evolution that is being embraced by some of the world’s best chefs, from Paris and New York to the Mornington Peninsula.

Mornington Peninsula‐born Cameron Hines, who co launched his first business, Mountain Goat Brewery in 1997 while in his 20s, started Southern Seagreens with his partners in 2022 with the grand vision of seaweed feeding the world.

The fledgling business is just two years in, but its seaweed products are already being incorporated into the dishes of some of the best restaurants in Victoria, including Stokehouse St Kilda, Vue de monde, Barragunda in Cape Schanck, Alba Thermal Springs and Spa, and Laura at Point Leo Estate.

In a climate change world, we have to look at smarter ways of feeding people

Sophie O’Neil from Torello Farm, which is the largest stockist of Southern Seagreen products, said she was really excited to see what the small company was doing.

continued page 38 ...

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“Cam and his partners are coming up with seaweed products that are not too intimidating and are really delicious, like their smoked kelp and their seasonings that can be sprinkled on food to give it an amazing flavour,” she said.

And the Mornington Peninsula is an ideal place for growing it, because kelp loves the nutrient rich water that flows in from Bass Strait

“And what they are doing is also really good for the environment and super good for us, which we will all only learn more about. You only have to look at the longevity of the Japanese, who have been eating seaweed for a long time.”

Hines, who was based in the city with his previous business, said returning to the peninsula with an enterprise that was “net zero impact” and met all of his sustainability objectives, started with a Tim Flannery documentary. “After watching this Flannery documentary on climate change, I was impressed with kelp as an environmentally friendly alternative to food production, and with seaweed’s ability to ‘mop up' carbon,” he said.

“In a climate change world, we have to look at smarter ways of feeding people. Seaweed also meets a lot of other sustainability goals…it’s a high value, high protein food, yet doesn’t need arable

land, pesticides or fertilisers, and doesn’t require fresh water."

Hines said seaweed had long been recognised as a superfood in Asia, and is packed with vitamins and minerals, including iodine, magnesium, iron, calcium, folate and vitamins A, C, E and K. It also contains antioxidants and offers possible benefits like blood sugar stability and healthy gut promotion.

“And the Mornington Peninsula is an ideal place for growing it, because kelp loves the nutrient rich water that flows in from Bass Strait,” Hines said.

The Flannery documentary planted a seed that grew, and after more than a year of research, Hines and business partners

Bert Cross, also the company’s diver, and scientist Dr Rob Brimblecombe, received a Mornington Peninsula Shire Council Climate Action Grant to set up a kelp nursery in Dromana to cultivate native kelp from spores in sterile, thermostatically controlled tanks. Once the kelp has established on ‘spools’, it is moved to their aquaculture lease at Flinders, where it is suspended in the sea for around six months from buoys until mature.

Total Property Care

A Cleaner Peninsula has been operating on the Mornington Peninsula for more than 35 years, offering a professional and high-quality service to homes and businesses.

The team at A Cleaner Peninsula provide a total care service for domestic and commercial properties and are happy to organise any work that needs to be done around your home, holiday house or business premises.

All staff are fully trained, police checked and insured, and all tradies are vetted, licensed and insured.

That’s right, A Cleaner Peninsula will even organise tradies and pest controllers for you!

A Cleaner Peninsula will provide you with a free on-site consultation and quote for all the cleaning work you need done: windows, carpets, upholstery, garages, sheds, the whole house and more. The team will clean up after new builds and renovations as well as tackle your mowing, garden maintenance, tree removals, gutter cleaning and waste removal. There’s also an in-house horticulturist to provide gardening and horticultural advice and a handyman to

complete all those odd jobs and repairs you’ve been putting off.

A Cleaner Peninsula’s mission is to do all the jobs you can’t or don’t want to do, and the team love to do the work and take care of all the hassle. Don’t believe them?

Then check out their customers’ glowing testimonials.

Whether it’s a last-minute clean before guests arrive or a fallen tree across the driveway, A Cleaner Peninsula has got it covered. One call and the job’s done, so contact the team today. You’ll wonder how you ever got by without them!

Another side to Hines’ business is the removal and processing of pest seaweed Undaria, which was brought into Australian water decades ago through ship bilge water and has spread rapidly. Listed as an ‘Australian Priority Marine Pest’, it is problematic to the Port Phillip marine environment because it forms dense forests that exclude and shade out other native species. “But we remove it from the bay, which helps to re-establish native kelp populations that have been under pressure from invasive sea urchins and increasing water temperatures, and process it into edible wakame, which is packed with flavour and goodness,” Hines said.

“And because of the way we use dehumidifiers to gently dry our seaweeds, rather than high heat, chefs who use our wakame tell us it has much more flavour than others that are imported.” Hines said innovative chefs have embraced seaweed in their dishes, using the complexity of flavours to create dishes such as seaweed butter, kelp-based salads and sauces, and even sweet dishes.

“Seaweeds absorb a mix of organic compounds from seawater, which contribute to their distinctive umami taste.

It’s the fifth flavour element that’s a savoury taste triggered by a naturally occurring amino acid called glutamate,” he said.

There are plans to export and expand into other states but, for the moment, the trio are enjoying their local success and ensuring they refine and expand their products to suit consumer needs.

“Yes, exporting is something we will look at down the track, but we’ve got lots more to learn before we get to that stage.” southernseagreens.com

recipe

GRILLED SMOKED EGGPLANT WITH SOY & SOUTHERN SEAGREENS FURIKAKE

Serves 4-6 as a side dish

Use long slender Lebanese eggplant, the smaller the better. You’re seeking the smokiness from cooking over an open flame to penetrate and cook the flesh, yet still hold the shape after peeling. The furikake adds the umami kick at the end. Try the Chilli Furikake instead, if you’d prefer some heat.

INGREDIENTS

4 small Lebanese eggplant

Soy sauce (or tamari), for drizzling

2 spring onions, finely sliced

Southern SeaGreens furikake, for sprinkling

METHOD

Pre-heat a barbecue grill over a high heat. Alternatively use the gas hob on the gas stove top. Place the eggplants directly over the flame. Turn regularly, about every two minutes until the skin is completely blackened all over. It will take about 10 minutes. Set eggplants aside to cool then carefully peel away the charred skin, avoiding removing any of the inside flesh.

Serve the eggplants whole, or slice across into 3cm lengths. Drizzle the soy over the top, then a scattering of spring onion followed by a generous sprinkle of the furikake.

Recipe and photos developed by Fiona Hammond for Torello Farm. For more of Fiona's recipes head to the Torello Farm website.

torellofarm.com.au

HOT stuff

By Muriel Cooper Photos Yanni

WhenMelisse Fernando migrated to Australia from Sri Lanka, she couldn’t have known that her secret recipe for hot sauce would win her family ‘Australian Sauce of The Year’ for 2024 at the Australian Barbeque Awards.

However, her daughter Bernie and son-in-law Anthony Brookes, with their keen entrepreneurial spirit, recognised the potential of Mama Melisse's hot sauce, made in Frankston.

Anthony Brookes says, ‘The Sri Lankans have been playing with spice for hundreds of years, but we are very much babies here in Australia with spice.’

He’s happy to disclose what’s in the secret sauce: ‘Lots of love, rainbows and unicorns tears,’ he says, laughing. ‘No, I’m just kidding. The basis of our sauce is fresh Australian bird's eye chillies, ginger, garlic, sugar and a little bit of salt with vinegar We haven’t recreated the wheel; this recipe is a family recipe we can trace going back over a hundred years. The secret part is how you make the sauce, and it’s the balance of those ingredients as well.’

“I remember when I first tasted Melisse’s hot sauce; I was blown away. I thought, “What the hell is this!” Then we started sharing it with our friends, and they all loved it and wanted jars. Tradies would come over, and we’d give them a taste, and they’d come back saying, “I need to get some more of that hot sauce. We love it ourselves, and we are massive foodies.”

Chilli is a welcome import after the bland English meat and three-veg diet, and barbeques now favour the juicy and succulent rather than the over-cooked steak that Anthony says his parents tested by ‘Tapping it on the table and if it didn’t make a noise it wasn’t cooked enough.’

Hot sauce is massive in the US and is becoming just as big in Australia. We’re getting into chilli in a huge way, and Anthony says it’s not just because of the taste.

‘There’s a lot of health benefits associated with chilli,’ he says (chilli can be analgesic when applied topically and releases betaendorphins in the brain) ‘but it’s the taste. There are a lot of chilli sauces out there that are just about heat but the tricky thing is to make a flavoursome hot sauce – lots of taste – and then have the heat that goes with it. There is so much sauce out there that is just ridiculously hot that we just do not enjoy ourselves.

continued page 44...

I need to get some more of that hot sauce

‘The boys get it out and see how brave each other is to eat it. To me, that’s not something I’d like to put on my food. Food is all about enjoyment, and sauce should enhance the flavour of what you’re eating and give you a nice heat.’

We don’t make our sauce for awards or trophies; when people enjoy our sauce, that is our trophy

The pandemic gave the Brookes family the opportunity to commercialise Melisse’s sauce when their hospitality firm shut down, as so many others did during Covid. Hospitality was the last industry to re-open in Victoria. The sauce has been so successful they’re now moving to a bigger kitchen and premises in Frankston. Melissa is now retired and enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, including her grandson, Reece, who is a brand ambassador for her sauce.

The Australian Barbecue Awards are part of ‘Meatstock’ (a play on Woodstock), where barbeque aficionados get together for a massive festival of all things barbeque, including the ‘Australian Sauce of The Year’. Anthony says, ‘We don’t make our sauce for awards or trophies; when people enjoy our sauce, that's our trophy. We submitted our product for judging for the first time this year and scored Sauce of The Year. It’s a nice industry recognition, and we were very humbled to get it.’

recipe

Because it’s made with all fresh ingredients, Melisse’s sauce can be used for many things, including as a marinade and in mayonnaise.

Recipes and a list of stockists can be found on their website.

mamamelisse.com.au

MAMA'S CHEESE LOG

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tub of cream cheese

• 1 handful of dried cranberries

• Mama Melisse Hot Sauce

• Handful of dried coconut nut mix or granola

METHOD

1. Mix Mama Melisse Hot Sauce with the cream cheese. Keep adding hot sauce until you find your heat sweet spot

2. Chop or blitz dried cranberries and add to cream cheese

3. On Glad Wrap, roll cheese into a log (I use a sushi mat with Glad Wrap for this)

4. Put in freezer for one hour to harden

5. Remove from freezer and unwrap from Glad Wrap.

6. Roll on the coconut seed mix or granola

7. Serve with fruits and crackers

8. Drizzle with honey (optional)

9. Take to your party and take all the credit

CELEBRATING WITH

Annette Sanfilippo Photos Gary Sissons & supplied

eaching 100 of anything is a great achievement!

Milestones are those moments and special dates in life that we wait for, create, or achieve. As much as they can help you see where you are, where you’ve been and where you are going; they always direct us straight to the wardrobe where we shake our heads, asking ourselves, “what will I wear”?

Its important to mark these occasions so how we dress for them says a lot about their importance and what we want to reflect to the world around us.

Special occasion dressing can send us all into a flurry of selfinflicted stress. It’s like we have a deadline to put all our fashion aspirations, favourite looks, personality, and desires into a pot, stir it up, throw in a few Hollywood glamour icons and turn out our dream outfit that expresses our ultimate ego.

So where do you start?

Some seasons are easier than others to dress for, but if we have an event in the last month of winter we all know its not quite the right time to fold up the woollies and pop away the coats but it’s a great time to capitalise on end of season sales!

Most of us don’t have the luxury of having every season stored in our wardrobe and if you're anything like me you probably have the perfect outfit buried in a box in the garage somewhere out of sight, out of mind. It’s usually so much effort to go hunting through everything and I can always think of 100 reasons to set off for that new something special. But where?

We are all attracted to different elements and styles we rarely find in department stores and that’s why boutique shopping is the chic thing to do

With the internet at our beck-and-call an online find could solve the question quickly. But seriously… that’s no fun; you can’t touch and you can’t feel. There are no fitting room frolics and you don’t get to take it home straight away. The fashion hunt has to be the favourite pastime, hasn’t it? We all have an idea of what we hope to find and how amazing is it that we all seem to possess our own innate ability to find that masterpiece amongst the heavily-packed rack of clothing, just by a glimpse of a hemline or a tiny peep of a sleeve poking out. We are all attracted to different elements and styles that we rarely find in department stores and that’s why boutique shopping is the chic thing to do.

It doesn’t stop at the dress or suit though; looking the part for your milestone event is one thing but accessorising it is just as important for that perfect look. So don’t forget that discerning bag, those fabulous shoes, and that conversation-starting bling!

Significant occasions can also require something signature to mark the moment. Whether you are welcoming a birth, an engagement, the big 5-0 or even retirement, gifting is part of the package. Diamond rings, pearls, watches, cuff links or something antique or heirloom; it’s always a challenge to narrow it down. Our peninsula is bursting with possibilities and we are so lucky to be a hub for artisans, jewellers, fashion houses, antique and vintage stores offering bespoke services and products as close as our own neighbourhood.

The one thing I have learned from experience is not to leave the shopping to the last minute. Our local boutiques like to remain a little exclusive so don’t think they are going to stock too much of the same thing. If you find it, grab it! August is chilly and you might need to find a cosy wrap or something with a sleeve before all is packed away for Spring.

As service is the key component to a great business these days, you can be sure that you will be welcomed with a great smile and a bit of a chat. If you don’t desire or can’t rug up in your winter boots and beanie to forage for a find, be assured that you can pop on the kettle, make a cuppa, and find our local fashion family online only to have your prime pick sent straight to your door. The one consolation is if its not quite right you don’t have far to go to take it back!

No matter how you shop, have fun finding your own special peninsula fashion haven and as I jet away to sunny Spain and Rome, work related of course, I will leave the winter sales to all of you. Thats if there is anything left! I am the consummate professional, remember… I’ve already done the rounds!

Fashionably yours

Annette

If you have something you’d like to share, let’s talk! Contact our style editor: annette@mpnews.com.au

AVEDIS JEWELLERY

Displaying timeless elegance, these emerald cut aquamarine and diamond halo drops are sure to be a cherished gift for any milestone celebration.

Shop S105 Karingal Hub Shopping Centre, 330 Cranbourne Rd, Frankston 9789 2388 avedisjewellery.com

The Boron, by Serengeti Eyeware are a handcrafted frame in the perfect combination of custom acetate and lightweight metal, holding the iconic 555nm 3-in-1 mineral lens.

Shop7/68 Barkly St, Mornington 5975 3235

Delicately pink and elegantly bright, this Prosecco Rosé delights with fruity aromas accentuated by berries, tropical fruits, and floral notes of roses and violets. On the palate, it offers hints of wild strawberry leading to an intense and persistent floral finish. Perfect for toasting!

2080 Frankston - Flinders Rd, Hastings 9596 4278 winelover.com.au

LUDUC0 LIVING

The Sessel chair and matching footstool exhibit stylish rounded curves inviting relaxation and comfort, perfect for resting your dance-weary feet.

Shop 10 1128/1132 Nepean Hwy, Mornington 5973 4899

BAYSIDE SHOES

This versatile Serenade Beverly Hills Collection Cosmopolitan wristlet clutch bag is perfect for a special event. Designed in Australia, it features a rose gold finish with gold tone hardware, vegan material, zip closure, and removable wrist strap. 103 Railway Pde, Seaford 9785 1887

baysideshoewarehouse.com.au

MPRG have collaborated with local artist Joshua Searle to create some fun t-shirts, now available in the MPRG store.

Civic Reserve, Dunns Rd, Mornington 5950 1580

mprg.mornpen.vic.gov.au

MPRG STORE

MAIN STREET EYECARE

The Jump houndstooth puffer vest is a must-have addition to your winter wardrobe. Combining classic houndstooth patterning with the warmth of a puffer vest, this versatile piece offers both style and functionality.

103 Railway Pde, Seaford 9785 1887 baysideshoewarehouse.com.au

Introduce your little one to the world with this sweet newborn gift set from Living Textiles. Featuring a 100% cotton jersey swaddle wrap, matching beanie and a double-sided birth announcement card, you can welcome your baby in style.

Shop 107, Mornington Village Shopping Centre, Mornington 5977 0966

babygoodswarehouse.com.au

128 Ocean Beach Rd, Sorrento m: 0438 537 757 e: marlenemiller3@bigpond.com

Specialising in antique jewellery, as well as newly-made jewellery by Melbourne’s top jewellers

Looking for a great gift idea? Discover limited edition prints by local artist Sophie Perez, printed by Negative Press. Available in three colors to perfectly complement your décor.

Civic Reserve, Dunns Rd, Mornington 5950 1580

mprg.mornpen.vic.gov.au

Elevate your look with a touch of dazzle! LA Eyework’s ROOSTER frames feature a captivating wingspan adorned with splashes of gold leaf in crystalline hues.

Shop7/68 Barkly St, Mornington 5975 3235

Moving into a new home? Selecting the perfect laminate floor colour is a breeze when you follow these tips: Style Match: Choose lighter woods for a beach-style room or rich cherry/oak for traditional decor. Trend-Proof: Go for classic shades that will outlast passing trends. Furniture Harmony: Pick a floor colour that complements your furniture for a cohesive look.

Unit 5/1 Mornington-Tyabb Rd, Mornington 5975 9222 carpetone.com.au/mornington

CARPET ONE MORNINGTON

MAIN STREET EYECARE

Enjoy Affordable Luxury Living

Welcome to Mt Eliza Gardens Aged Care, where luxury meets affordability in the heart of your community. Our brand-new, state-of-the-art residence offers you premium, hotel-style accommodation designed with meticulous attention to detail.

Experience Unmatched Comfort and Care

Mt Eliza Gardens is tailored to meet your discerning needs, providing a comfortable and stylish environment, while delivering gold standard quality care. Every aspect of Mt Eliza Gardens has been thoughtfully crafted to ensure the highest quality of living, with spacious suites, elegant interiors, and modern amenities.

Personalised, Person-Centred Care

At Mt Eliza Gardens, we take a personcentred approach to care, customising our services to meet your unique needs and preferences. Our registered nurses and professional care team work closely with you and your family to create personalised care plans that promote your independence, dignity, and wellbeing. We are here to support you every step of the way.

We also know it’s vital to stay in touch with loved ones. Our Mt Eliza location makes it easy for family and friends to

visit, creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere where you’ll feel at home and connected to your community.

Affordable Luxury

Mt Eliza Gardens offers exceptional respite and permanent care within a premium luxury residence that you can afford. Whether you choose a single room or a premium suite with kitchenette, you won’t be disappointed by the generous size and exquisite amenities.

Join Our Community

Discover why Mt Eliza Gardens Aged Care is the perfect place for you or your loved one. Book a personal tour today to experience the unparalleled living environment and services designed for your comfort and care.

235 Canadian Bay Road, Mt Eliza mtelizagardens.com.au

Dorothy Davis, 90, has lived in her cosy unit for the last 23 years, and simply can’t imagine staying anywhere else. She loves everything about the Mornington Peninsula – its beaches, gum trees and unique blend of beauty and positivity.

She’s busy too - creating the beautiful gift tag cards she sells to raise funds for research into Parkinson’s disease, which she is living with. She used to sell pin cushions at craft markets but stopped making them as the arthritis in her hands grew too painful.

So she can continue to live in the place she loves, Dorothy has a government funded home care package through Uniting AgeWell. She receives help around the house and the garden, as well as assisted shopping and visits to the library. This helps her maintain her lifestyle and her independence.

The great-grandmother is an avid reader and loves doing jigsaw puzzles and playing Wordle on her Ipad. “Everyone at Uniting AgeWell is absolutely lovely,” Dorothy says. “Nothing is too much trouble. I get on well with all of them.”

She certainly enjoys spending time with Home Care Worker Janet Rerden (pictured) who has a big heart and a ready sense of humour. “I love being around older people and listening to their stories,” says Janet. “Does it sound cheesy to say I really love my job?”

It’s comforting to know that Uniting AgeWell is there for the whole of the ageing journey on the peninsula. Uniting AgeWell Andrew Kerr Care Day Centre in Mornington provides social support

including dementia-specific programs run by experienced staff. Those needing more specialised care can choose Uniting AgeWell Andrew Kerr Care Community residential care, which brings with it the added joy of children. It’s under the same roof as The Herd Intergenerational Centre and residents love spending time with the little ones!

For further information about Uniting AgeWell care on the Mornington Peninsula phone (03) 5975 6334 and select from the list of options.

P: 5975 6334

W: unitingagewell.org

Local care and support tailored just for you with Uniting AgeWell

Help at home

Get assistance with personal and clinical care, household chores, assistive technology and transport

Community support and wellbeing

Remain connected with social groups, outings and carer services.

Independent living

Maintain an independent lifestyle in one of our vibrant retirement living communities

Residential care

Specialist 24/7 care and support and respite stays are welcome. Andrew Kerr Care Community in Mornington offers generous, stylish spaces, well appointed bedrooms and a vibrant lifestyle program.

Call the Uniting AgeWell team today to ﬁnd out how we can support you to live well with choice, independence and peace of mind as you age.

A HISTORY OF MORNINGTON PENINSULA REGIONAL GALLERY

In 1968 art critic, author and artist Alan McCulloch casually mentioned to Mornington Shire Councillor Tom Hast that he often had the opportunity to place works of art in public galleries from donors and the Mornington Peninsula should have a municipal gallery. In 1969 the Council called a public meeting and voted to establish both a Mornington Peninsula Art Development Committee and a Gallery Society.

In the summer of 1969–1970 an exhibition in the foyer of the 1885-built Mornington Shire Council offices showed important works by Arthur Boyd, Sidney Nolan, Russell Drysdale, John Perceval, Donald Friend, Ronald Millar, Robert Dickerson, Andrew Sibley and Fred Williams. The exhibition was organised by Alan McCulloch and Director of Mount Eliza’s Manyung Gallery, Betty Meagher.

The Mornington Peninsula Art Development Committee outlined the scope of an inclusive arts centre as a ‘modern international-standard arts centre catering for the needs of the Mornington Peninsula.’ In the meantime, Council offered the Committee the use of a Shire-owned 1920s weatherboard house at 4 Vancouver Street, Mornington, for use as a gallery space.

Following a personal approach by Alan McCulloch to then Premier John Cain in September 1988, the State Government announced a special grant of $800,000 for a gallery on the Mornington Peninsula through the Victorian Ministry of the Arts.

With other grants from the Mornington Shire, work commenced on architect Peter McGinley’s design in early 1989. In November 1990, Premier Cain officially opened the new Mornington Peninsula Arts Centre at the Civic Reserve site.

Today it is known as Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery and is home to an outstanding collection of more than 2,000 works acquired over five decades. The collection focuses on works on paper—acquired mostly through the Spring Festival of Drawing and Prints Acquisitive started at the Gallery’s inception, now the National Works on Paper award—and the cultural heritage of the Mornington Peninsula. Entry to the gallery is free, with MPRG curated exhibitions, touring exhibitions, workshops and conversations with artists being presented to the public alongside engaging school holiday programs for children.

Letters to a Critic: Alan McCulloch’s World of Art about the life and work of founding MPRG Director Alan McCulloch has recently been published by writer and curator Rodney James with Melbourne University Press.

MPRG: FIFTY, 2020

DISCOVER THE BEAUTIFUL 19TH CENTURY OLD TREASURY BUILDING!

Located at the top of Collins Street’s ‘Paris End’, the Old Treasury Building is one of the finest remaining examples of gold rush architecture. It was designed in the Renaissance Revival Style by 19-year-old John James Clark, and was once second only to Parliament House in its importance in the governing of Victoria. Constructed to store the gold arriving in Melbourne from the gold fields of central Victoria, this building now hosts a museum detailing the stories of Melbourne’s history.

Learn the importance of ‘Birrarung’, or the Yarra River to the area’s First People and the way colonisation transformed the waterway. Witness how the discovery of gold helped Melbourne to evolve from a tiny village in 1835, to Marvellous Melbourne by the 1880s! Find the issues Melburnians feel important enough to take to the streets in ‘Protest Melbourne’, and in the original 1860s gold vaults you’ll uncover the story of how the precious metal was found, transformed democracy and helped create the state of Victoria we know today!

Consider a guided tour, groups are welcome to book anytime for just $12 per person (minimum 10 people), public tours are also available on the last Sunday of the month for $15 per person (no minimum). See the Old Treasury Building website for further details. Exclusive to these tours is access to the Executive Council Chamber, where the Governor of Victoria has given Royal Assent to legislation for over 160 years. Delight in the period furniture, believed to have been in the building since 1862, and the Sir Francis Grant R.A. portrait of Charles La Trobe, kindly on loan from the National Trust of Victoria.

Until 2025 ‘Belongings: Objects and Family Life’ presents a new way to look at the material world we live in!

We’re surrounded by objects, but have you thought about how important these things are in your life? Do you have a few favourite things you absolutely can’t live without? Are objects important for what they do, or what they represent?

Discover the stories behind some of the objects that have actively shaped the family in Australia over the decades. Perhaps the greatest difference between belongings in the past and the present is the sheer volume of things most of us now own!

When Joseph Elliott sat down to write to his mother in 1860, he was able to describe every single object in ‘Our home in Australia’ in a single letter — admittedly a long one! Even allowing for the (significant) gap between rich and poor households, we simply own more stuff now than in any previous generation.

This vibrant and colourful exhibition space is divided into various rooms in the home. Examine objects from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day, a period that has seen many changes in the idea, size, and shape of the family. Thousands of objects have come and gone at the same time, and this exhibition can feature only a few.

Discover the stories behind the phone, television, the indoor toilet, and the home itself, long considered a key part of the Australian Dream. Enter the kitchen and the whitegoods revolution brought to us by refrigeration, or consider a cuppa over the teapot! Ponder the freedom of the open road and the family car! Or the expectations of children based on the toys they play with.

In addition to discussing the objects themselves, the exhibition examines how families make and preserve cultural traditions, through craft, food, and belief.

Share your own ideas about your own favourite objects!

Belongings: Objects and Family Life was researched and curated by the Old Treasury Building in partnership with Public Record Office Victoria.

Find out more: oldtreasurybuilding.org.au/tours

FREE ENTRY. Tours available, costs apply.

Old Treasury Building, 20 Spring Street, East Melbourne

E: info@otb.org.au (03) 9651 2233

W: OTB.ORG.AU

Belongings Objects of Family Life

OTB.ORG.AU/BELONGINGS | 9651 2233 | 20 Spring Street, Melbourne | info@otb.org.au | Sunday-Friday 10am-4pm

Image: The Australian Women’s Weekly, 14 November 1951. Courtesy National Library of Australia

OTB.ORG.AU/BELONGINGS | 9651 2233 | 20 Spring Street, Melbourne | info@otb.org.au | Sunday-Friday 10am-4pm

Image: The Australian Women’s Weekly, 14 November 1951. Courtesy National Library of Australia

Belongings: Objects of Family Life was researched and curated by the Old Treasury Building in partnership with Public Record Office Victoria

Image: The Australian Women’s Weekly, 14 November 1951. Courtesy National Library of Australia

CURIOSITY AND WONDER LEAD TO A NATURAL DESIRE TO LEARN

Frankston Beach Sanctuary of Early Learning is the newest in a set of established Early learning services on the peninsula.

Situated along Kananook creek this coastal styled centre portrays the same philosophy and values of the sister centres; Mt Eliza, Frankston and Seaford House.

This state of the art centre is opening early-mid 2024 and has spaces available.

Frankston Beach is committed to provide a vibrant and flexible environment that supports learning and responds to the interests and abilities of each child.

The program includes sustainability principles, and a health and wellbeing focus. A strong belief that children are connected to the wider community and environment.

A balance of indoor and outdoor experiences is provided within the services natural landscape and through the Beach and Bush Kinder program.

The play based program provides opportunities for children to grow, discover, create and imagine. Children are acknowledged as capable, competent and co-contributors who actively participate in their own learning.

The inclusive program recognises the individual learning styles of all children, and value families for their unique contributions to the centre community.

The intention is to support children to be kind, respectful and confident contributors to their community and the world.

The experienced and knowledgeable Educators are committed to provide a warm, nurturing environment that recognises childhood as a very special and important time.

W: frankstonbeach.com

Delicious German style breads in Mt Eliza

GUTEN TAG!

Follow the line of people down Mount Eliza Way, and you’ll likely end up at Bütterken Bakery. This German-style bakery handmakes sourdough baked goods to locals and commuters collecting their daily bread and treats.

Butterken Bakery offers sourdough loaves, rolls, pastries, cakes, fresh sandwiches and great coffee, everything made on premises in their open production space.

Inside, freestanding racks are stacked with artisan loaves including their signature Bütterken Sourdough, Schwarzbrot, and German Rye. Piles of pretzels are hand-rolled daily and fermented overnight. These babies are baked to perfection and sprinkled with sea salt, you can try one plain, buttered or slathered with cream cheese and chives.

Don’t miss out on their mouthwatering cinnamon scrolls, traditional bee sting cake or ham, mustard, and pickle rolls!

54 Mount Eliza Way, Mount Eliza Tue-Fri 7:30am-4.00pm | Sat 8:00am-2:00pm

P: 0494 105 718

E: info@butterkenbakery.com.au

W: butterkenbakery.com.au

BRIAN'S GOURMET MEATS

For people diagnosed with coeliac disease or gluten intolerance, it can be a challenge sourcing the right foods. Thanks to Brian’s Gourmet Meats in Mt Eliza this is no longer the case.

Endorsed by Coeliac Australia, the family-owned business boasts an incredible range of 100% gluten free products from their legendary chicken schnitzels and Kiev's through to marinated products.

Bringing decades of experience focussing on locally sourced, grassfed top-quality meats expertly prepared by on-site by qualified butchers.

Gluten free home made kabanas, smoked trout, smoked chicken fillets, home made ham, roast beef, bacon and smoked hocks for winter soups.

Drop in and discuss your needs with them anytime Monday through to Saturday.

Visit website for full range. They can’t wait to meet you!

A: 112 Mt Eliza Way, Mt Eliza P: 9787 4473

W: briansgoumetmeats.com.au

OWNING BACKYARD HENS ON THE MORNINGTON PENINSULA

Imagine waking up to the cheerful clucking of hens as they greet the day in preparation for laying your family some delicious, fresh eggs. If this scene resonates with you, then Talking Hens, a family-run business nestled in the heart of Merricks on the Mornington Peninsula, is your go-to destination for bringing this dream to life.

Jason Nethercott and Giuliana Postregna, the owners of Talking Hens, have been dedicated to providing families with the knowledge and support needed to embark on the rewarding journey of backyard chicken ownership. Their story began back in 2012 when they started a free-range egg business from their family farm in Keysborough, where their interest in backyard hens was ignited.

As their business grew, Jason and Giuliana realised the joy they could bring to others by sharing their experience and knowledge about backyard hens. They transitioned their focus to providing families with everything necessary to welcome these feathered friends into their homes.

Talking Hens has over four decades of experience in the family, thanks to Giuliana’s father, an egg farmer for over 40 years, the foundation of Talking Hens is built on quality and expertise. Their specially formulated chicken feed mix, rich in nutrients, is a testament to their commitment to the health and well-being of hens.

Among the increasing range of different breeds available at Talking Hens, the Hy-Line Brown laying hens have emerged as a popular choice for suburban backyards. These delightful hens are renowned for their child-friendly nature, gentle demeanour and regular egg-laying capabilities.

Customers of Talking Hens often share heartwarming tales of their feathered companions, from chickens laying their eggs in dog kennels to surprise kitchen visits through cat flaps. These endearing creatures reinforce the special bond that develops between humans and their backyard hens.

Talking Hens invites you to step into their world of backyard hens and discover the joy, companionship and sustainability that these remarkable creatures bring. Whether you are a seasoned chicken owner or a curious beginner, Talking Hens provides the resources and support you need to succeed.

Join us at our Winter Series on 25th August 2024, where we will educate you on the health and well-being of hens. To learn more about this event, scan the QR code below.

A: 3590 Frankston Flinders Road, Merricks Open 7-days, 10am to 4pm P: 0406 691 231 E: talk@talkinghens.com.au

Looking for backyard hens but unsure where to start?

Talking Hens is a business that enjoys backyard hens. We specialise in friendly, egg laying hens with quality products to keep them happy and healthy. There’s nothing like the friendship and entertainment that you receive from our laying hens - a pleasure to be shared!

Join us at our Winter Series on 25th August 2024

WESTERN PORT WRITES LITERARY FESTIVAL LANDS IN SEPTEMBER

There’s a new festival in town. From Friday 6 to Sunday 8 September, the Western Port Writes Literary Festival is bringing readers and writers together to celebrate stories from the peninsula and beyond.

The festival, community-based and volunteer-led, aims to increase arts access in the Western Port region. It will be a weekend of engaging and thought-provoking author conversations, writerly panels, book readings and signings, and community events for all ages and reading interests, with sessions taking place in Bittern, Balnarring and Somers. The festival program includes signature events and some free events.

A talented lineup of established and emerging writers and presenters is taking part, including local stars Wendy Orr, Megan Rogers, Coral Vass, Jaclyn Crupi, Jac Semmler, Amy Minichiello, Fiona Hammond, Rebecca Fraser, Penny Woodward and William McInnes.

Writers are also coming from beyond the peninsula – Sophie Cunningham, Trish Bolton, Imbi Neeme, Professors Lynette Russell and Ian McNiven, Georgia Angus, Harry Saddler and many more.

Choose from over 20 festival events, including:

• Publishing workshop and panels for emerging writers.

• Children’s Stories. Readings and activities. Free to attend, bookings essential.

• Friday Night Community Storytime. A night of shared words and music.

• Crime Night Dinner with Jon Faine, Vikki Petraitis and Christian White.

• Wine & Words with winemakers Cathy Gowdie, Kathleen Quealy and Aaron Drummond.

WPW2024 is generously supported by Mornington Peninsula Shire, Community Bank Balnarring & District, local businesses and organisations.

The Western Port Writes 2024 Festival Program is out now. Tickets are on sale for all sessions via the website.

Don’t miss it – book your seat!

W: westernportwrites.com.au

SUPERBLY CRAFTED RETIREMENT LIVING

Inspired by some of Australia’s most celebrated, heritagelisted retirement properties, Peninsula Lifestyle Retirement Village is designed to be both beautiful and practical.

With gardens and walking paths arranged around the beautifully appointed clubhouse, its pedestrian-friendly village layout connects residents to friends and neighbours, and to the village’s social hub.

You’ll revel in the benefits of smartly designed one- and twobedroom villas in a keyless swipe-to-enter gated community set among stunningly landscaped gardens.

Peninsula Lifestyle Retirement Village delivers retirement living at its best.

W: peninsulalifestyleretirementvillage.com.au

Discover a boutique, familyfriendly, comfort-plus lifestyle village – with just 46 Villas that’s what Peninsula Lifestyle Retirement Village in Baxter offers. Each Villa offers retirement luxury living with Caesarstone benchtops, air conditioning, built -in-robes, double glazed windows, high ceilings and European appliances. Share stories with other residents over a cuppa in the community centre or get creative with those who share similar interests.

Whether it be a craft morning, a game of indoor bowls, darts, billiards or simply enjoying a movie or sports event on our big screen. Tone up in the gym, while away hours in the potting shed and raised vegetable gardens or simply relax with a book from the library.

Discover Independent Living with a sense of community complete with security for peace of mind. There’s something for everyone.

SELLING PENINSULA PROPERTIES SINCE

Founded in 1946 by William (Bill) Prentice, Prentice Real Estate Pty Ltd. is well recognised as the longest serving independent, Family owned and operated agency on the Mornington Peninsula.

Having gained a wealth of knowledge in all aspects of local Real Estate over this 75 plus year period, handed down through three generations, we know that we can offer our clients the best in expertise and advise with their property transactions.

We have two high exposure offices at Rye and Sorrento, both of which are managed by fully-licensed second and third generation members of the Prentice family.

Michael Prentice, Officer in Effective Control, is based at the Rye branch and heads up a team of passionate, caring, locally based individuals whose collective years of experience in the area is without peer.

Our philosophy is simple: We are committed to excellence in the services we offer, and upholding an industry-wide reputation for integrity and professionalism that has, for three generations, been a trademark of this company.

2395 Point Nepean Rd, Rye 03 5985 2351

78 Ocean Beach Rd, Sorrento 03 5984 4177

enquiries@prenticerealestate.com.au prenticerealestate.com.au

Should you wish to have an obligation free chat about your next property move, we would welcome your call.

“A conscious effort is made at all times to provide the correct advice and uphold our industrywide reputation for integrity and professionalism.”

MICHAEL PRENTICE

prenticerealestate.com.au

Since 1946

'About children being children'

The values of Expanding the walls of the classroom

Childcare • Kinder • Early Education

Exploring the world with FiRST Early Learning

At First Early Learning, we offer a variety of incursions and excursions to provide children with endless learning adventures, both by bringing the world to them and taking them out to experience it first hand.

Bush Kinder: Where nature is the best teacher

Bush Kinder at First Early Learning immerses children in nature, fostering curiosity and environmental awareness as they explore the outdoors, discovering hidden worlds and learning in the most organic way possible.

Water safety swimming lessons

Our 4 year old funded swimming program builds children's water confidence and safety skills through fun and engaging lessons with trained instructors, promoting coordination, strength, and a lifelong love for swimming.

Engaging incursions: Bringing the world to our doorstep

Music, movement, yoga, cooking, gardening, sport sessions and more! From science experiments to cultural celebrations, our incursions are designed to expand horizons and spark imaginations.

“l can swim so fast, faster like a shark!! At swimming we learn how to be strong sharks in the water ”

(Hayden 4)

“I like cooking with my teacher and friends”

(Abbie 3)

We learned about what paramedics do because they help sick people, and i saw all the cool things in the ambulance WOOOW !!”

( Savannah 4)

SEA WOLVES HOWLING AGAIN IN FLINDERS!

The sensational hit show Sea Wolves Howl is returning to Flinders for four performances 14-16 November at Flinders Community Hall, after a sell-out debut season in February 2024.

This extraordinary local production, commissioned for Flinders Fringe Festival, is based on the stories of a group of women and non-binary people who bonded over cold-water swimming during COVID. Together, they discovered the power of the pack as they literally howled their troubles, and their triumphs, to the sky.

Sea Wolves Howl was inspired by and created with the blessing of the Mount Martha Sea Wolves, who generously shared their stories with the creatives who brought their stories to life. Written by local theatre practitioners Carole Patullo and Jane Bayly, with original music and score composed by John Thorn and directed by Yoni Prior, Sea Wolves Howl has grown into something much bigger than what happened on stage – it’s been a transformative experience for everyone involved. And audiences wanted more!

The return season will see the original cast – five main characters – Lux (Emma Jevons), Patch (Kelly Nash), Marina (Carmelina), Jilly (Jane Bayly) and Aubrey (Carole Patullo) – carry the stories of cold-water therapy morphing into whole-life therapy, unleashing a wildness and a playfulness that is all about saying yes to the universe with a mighty howl.

Also returning is the stunning Portrait of a Sea Wolf Exhibition, featuring portraits of the original Mount Martha Sea Wolves by local documentary photographer Noa Smith Fletcher, who also doubles as the co-founder of the actual Sea Wolves swimming group and the inspiration for the central character, Lux (Emma Jevons) in the Sea Wolves Howl. The exhibition will be on display at the Flinders Community Hall.

Flinders Fringe is grateful to the Mornington Peninsula Shire’s Performing Arts Development Grants Program that generously supported Sea Wolves Howl and Portrait of a Sea Wolf Exhibition.

Sea Wolves Howl returns to Flinders Community Hall for four shows only: November 14-16. Book tickets online.

W: flindersfringe.com.au

Photo: Noa Smith Fletcher

BUILDING HOMES THAT MATCH YOUR LIFESTYLE, YOUR BUDGET AND YOUR VISION

Masterline Homes services the Mornington Peninsula and around Westernport Bay up to Phillip Island. Whether building your first, or fourth home, Masterline Homes has the blueprint to suit you.

Because our focus is to provide you with the home you want, we can change colour schemes to suit your personal taste. You can even design your own home for us to build. In contrast to many large builders, we will alter house plans and change the design to suit your block of land and your budget. Alternatively, you can provide us with your own plan if you prefer.

Our home design philosophies are born from our combined experience of 55 years in the housing industry, inspiration from our client’s input, paying attention to our client’s desires, and our adaptable approach to all important issues. We do our best to make the whole process a happy and exciting one.

Specialising in:

• Knockdown and Rebuild

• Dual occupancy

• Duplex

• New homes

From a dual-occupancy to a multi-unit development , Masterline Homes can handle all size projects as both the builder or developer.

All our projects can include our full homemaker pack (Turnkey), ready to move in, thus taking all the stress out for you

Masterline Homes has built many developments ranging from a single unit in a backyard, to duplex dwellings and multiunit projects, specialising in residential property design and development, offering an exclusive, yet affordable collection of homes and town-houses to suit all buyers.

Using Locally based suppliers where possible, we can maintain a quality product while ensuring employment opportunities for the future. Building with Masterline Homes is a co-operative effort between our company, our suppliers and you, our valued client.

Masterline Homes is a long-time member of the Housing Industry Association, the Master Builders Association and is registered with the Victorian Building Authority Reg # CDB-U 48889.

Benefits of choosing Masterline Homes for your next development:

• Flexibility in approach and design

• Dealing direct with the builder

• Getting the home you want

• Enormous range of colour choices

• Quality fixtures and fittings

• Designing your own home

A: 6 Milgate Drive, Mornington P: 5973 5611

E: sales@masterlinehomes.com.au

W: masterlinehomes.com.au

KEEPING YOU SAFE TO ENJOY YOUR FREEDOM

Acorn Stairlifts has launched a revolutionary new product into the Australian Market called StairSafe.

This is a system that uses a small electronic module installed inside the stairlift. It constantly monitors the operation and usage of the stairlift and communicates information back to StairSafe HQ. It can also be monitored by the stairlift user, or by a loved one or carer, using a free app on a smartphone or tablet. For example, if your stairlift is not parked correctly on its charge point, StairSafe will alert the monitoring centre which can then contact you so the problem can be quickly and easily rectified.

StairSafe can also detect when the stairlift is experiencing an error as soon as it happens, so it can be put right before you need to use the lift. In this way, StairSafe deals with minor problems before they become emergencies, and avoids the need for unnecessary callouts. It’s simple, flexible and customisable. P: 1800 052 631 W: acornstairlifts.com.au

When Lamble Tours commenced over 30 years ago, the goal was day tours and short holidays within Australia. In this time we have also added overseas destinations to our repertoire such as Canada Alaska and Europe cruising to name a few.

We have achieved so much over these years and made many fond memories and a lot of wonderful friendships.

We have so many exciting things being done so we can bring you our 2025 Holiday Schedule. All our itineraries provide you with an informative program with the day to day activities that are suitable for all levels of ability.

All holidays will be advertised in Peninsula Essence or you can find them on the Lamble Tours website.

With a Lamble Tour you will have the opportunity to make new friends, visit many places around our beautiful world and do this with like minded people.

Happy Travels

VickieLamble

GRAHAM JONES DESIGN - DESIGN FOR LIFE!

Why can’t a cutting-edge architectural style be affordable to anyone? With the ever- expanding choice of materials and the growing education of builders and sub-contractors with alternative building methods, it really should be a time in history, no matter the size of your project, to create whatever you desire.

At Graham Jones Design we challenge the premise that a custom, architecturally designed home is only available to those who have deep pockets.

Our clients, not only come from all different backgrounds, and individual lifestyles, they all have different needs that are only limited by their individual financial constraints.

Throughout our 35 years of designing homes on the Mornington Peninsula, we understand the unique challenges that clients face when creating a home that will inspire their families lives and embrace the opportunity to connect to the wonderful location that is the Mornington Peninsula.

Regardless of whether your financial resources are constraining your project, there is always an opportunity to achieve an outcome that brings dreams to reality.

At Graham Jones Design we value every client’s situation and delight in creating a version of their dream no matter what the constraints are. Our passion is designing beautiful, architecturally crafted, life inspiring homes that allow their inhabitants to connect with all that the peninsula has to offer.

In a world that is evolving at warp speed, so too is the expectations to live the life we need and crave for. To do this, we need a home that not only reflects these needs, but one which allows us to grow, improve and evolve into this life.

- We need flexible floorplans that allow us to connect with each other, as well as the natural aspects or views our site provides.

- We are changing work life balance, the more we are at home, the more we need to enjoy every little moment. This is where a great custom design can take advantage of your sites orientation and natural light and ensure every space is not just functional but liveable.

- We aspire for a beautiful aesthetic, both externally and internally, it doesn’t need to be a costly circumstance. The accessibility to modern claddings, materials and finishes is vast, and the options available to any project budget is strengthening the opportunity to achieve a quality outcome for any sized project.

To live a great life, requires a great stage, and no more personal stage is the family home. When we accept that our lives are driven by the quality of life our environment brings us, we can be free of the shackles that chain us to the ordinary.

At Graham Jones Design, we believe no one deserves an ordinary life. At the heart of it, this is our passion, this is what drives us. We want to inspire; we want to DESIGN FOR LIFE!

W: grahamjonesdesign.com.au

CARE THAT COMES TO YOU - IN HOME SUPPORT IN FRANKSTON AND ACROSS THE MORNINGTON PENINSULA

Our story is one of resilience, compassion, and a commitment to making a positive impact in the lives of others. At Peninsula Private Care, compassion and dedication drive our mission to provide exceptional care for the elderly and disabled in the Frankston and Mornington Peninsula area. Our journey began with our founder's personal experience, marked by tragedy and transformation.

Susan's Journey

Susan's life took an unexpected turn when her father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and her mother tragically passed away in a car accident involving her father's declining driving abilities. Suddenly thrust into the role of sole caregiver while raising her young children, Susan faced overwhelming challenges and emotional turmoil.

From Tragedy to Compassionate Care

It was during this difficult period that Susan recognised the immense need for compassionate and reliable care for elderly and disabled individuals. Drawing from her own experiences and driven by a desire to make a difference, Susan pursued education at TAFE, specialising in personal care for those in need.

A Heartfelt Calling

In 2019, Susan founded Peninsula Private Care, fuelled by a passion for supporting individuals and families navigating similar journeys. Anchored in the Frankston and Mornington Peninsula area, Susan has built a team of passionate carers who are all dedicated to making a difference in the lives of our clients. Our services are designed to be close and personal, working alongside the family, medical teams and support coordinators ensuring that every client from every age or with any disability receives the attention and support they deserve all while having fun along the way.

Connect with Peninsula Private Care, where caring for your loved ones is not just a profession but a heartfelt calling.

Client Testimonials

We just love having Sue here as support carer for both my parents who have dementia and as a wonderful support to me in my 24/7 live in carer role. Her professional, and more importantly personal experience with dementia and the aged was invaluable. Sue is a trustworthy soul who has a lovely, open, smiling and friendly manner. We are so thankful for her care.

Carol, Hastings Vic. January 2021

Peninsula Private Care was a reliable, helpful service to my grandfather that suffered severe dementia. Their short stay, private respite, a one bedroom cottage set on 2 acres was a wonderful option for him when I needed a break as he was agitated by people and noise in unfamiliar respite housing. Sue always made sure there was consistency with staff so that grandad always had familiar faces that understood his needs. I would highly recommend this wonderful service and personable.

Mitchell, Hastings Vic. July 2020

I have had my first two meetings with my support worker Kelly. She is amazing. She makes me feel like part of a family so warm and caring and she speaks to me in a language I can understand she is kind, caring with heaps of empathy I cannot see myself changing to another support worker after meeting Kelly. I have been waiting for a good support worker for two years With no luck thank you Peninsula Private Care. You have made me one happy person.

Dean Morice recommends Peninsula Private Care.

P: 0413 814 522 E: gemma@peninsulaprivatecare.com.au

At Peninsula Private Care, we offer a comprehensive range of services designed to meet the diverse needs of our clients from all walks of life, disabilities and ages.

Our dedicated team is committed to providing high-quality care and support tailored to each individual’s unique requirements and goals, working alongside the family, medical teams and support coordinators to ensure all clients’ needs and wishes are met.

Explore our services below to discover how we can assist you or your loved one while having fun and reaching goals.

Specialising in:

● IN-HOME SUPPORT

● PERSONAL CARE

● DISABILITY SUPPORT

● DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE

● MENTAL HEALTH

● COMMUNITY ACCESS & PARTICIPATION

0413 814 522 gemma@peninsulaprivatecare.com.au

WINTER SOLSTICE FIRE NIGHT

Photos Yanni

“Every home we build

Mornington is a seaside town on the Mornington Peninsula, with an area of 13.5 km², and located 57 km south-east of Melbourne's central business district.

• Mornington's original post office, built in 1863 at the corner of Main Street and The Esplanade, now operates as a museum displaying old telecommunications equipment and items relating to local history. It is the home of the Mornington and District Historical Society. On the other side of Main Street is the old court house (built in 1860) and the former police station lock-up (1862).

• An earthquake measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale struck the town on 2 September 1932 associated with the nearby Selwyn Fault. No injuries or major damage was reported.

• The Mornington Pier was built in 1857, and continues to be extended and improved.

• Considered to be one of the worst boating accidents in Victoria's history, the Mornington Football Club disaster occurred on the night of May 21st 1892 near Pelican Point just north of Mornington. Fifteen members of the Mornington football team set out earlier that day on the "Process", owned and skippered by Charles Hooper, to play a match at Mordialloc. The remainder of the team travelled by train.

• Mornington has a number of beaches, some of which are located at the base of rocky cliffs which dominate part of the coastline in this area. Along the eastern side of Schnapper Point is the sheltered Mothers Beach and Scout Beach, while Shire Hall Beach and Mills Beach are located further east along the coast. Around a kilometre south of Schnapper Point is Fishermans Beach which ends at the scenic rocky outcrop of Linley Point where there are boat ramps and scenic viewing spots along the coast.

• Mornington has a long history dating back to 1802 when explorer Matthew Flinders landed at Schnapper Point. These days, Schnapper Point provides a boat-launching ramp, jetty, yacht club, restaurant and scenic walks providing scenic views along the coast.

• Mornington Central Shopping Centre is built on the site of the former Mornington railway station.

• Every Wednesday, Mornington's Main Street comes alive with the street market. The Main Street Market has been running for over 40 years and is Victoria’s longest running street market.

• Fossil beach is a significant fossil site with evidence of Australia’s sea life from 10 to 15 million years ago. The fossils were discovered in 1854 in the limestone cliffs. Most of the fossils have now been removed. Access is via the track from the cliff path near Bentons Road (near the picnic area).

• The Mornington Rose Gardens has over 4000 roses planted in 86 beds and is surrounded by a border of native Australian trees and shrubs. The concept for the Mornington Rose Gardens was the brainchild of a local businessman, the late Don Gordon who was inspired by the rose garden in Benalla that was situated next to the art gallery.

• The median house price in Mornington is $1,137,000.

• Population is 25,759 (2021 Census).

Coffee Safari

Freshly brewed coffee is a must-have for weekends. Here are a few places to check out when you're in this beautiful part of the world.

Coffee Traders

3 BLAKE STREET

With outdoor seating available, and extended trading hours for you to enjoy their delicious coffee.

Store Fifteen

15 MAIN STREET

Home to boutique coffee, cold pressed juice and raw superfood their rustic industrial surrounds provide a warm environment in which to refuel your body the natural way.

The Winey Cow

39A

MAIN STREET

Indoor or alfresco dining out front amongst the Main Street atmosphere. Casual vibe combined with quality food and beverages.

2 Left Sisters

98 WATT ROAD

A hidden gem tucked away in the industrial area of Mornington serving amazing chai lattes and housemade treats inside by the fire or via drive through!

• Carrying out servicing and repairs to all makes and models (specialising in BMW)

• Courtesy cars available

• BMW specific knowledge base of well over 20 years

• Dealer level servicing at independent prices

DAY TRIPSMATINEES

PHAROAH @ NGV

WED 14 AUG - $90pp

TULIP FESTIVAL THU 19 SEP - $85pp

YARRA VALLEY RAILWAY & HEALESVILLE WED 25 SEP - $99pp

SISTER ACT - THE MUSICAL WED 22 JAN 2025 - $150pp

TINA - THE TINA TURNER MUSICAL WED 5 FEB 2025 - $170pp

EXTENDED TRIPS

Home Pick Up & Return Service (t&c’s apply)

BATEMANS BAY & NSW SOUTH COAST 10 -16 SEPTEMBER - COACH

7 DAYS/ 6 NIGHTS $2695pp ($550s/s

HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:

• Mogo Wildlife Park • Jervis Bay

• Dolphin Watch Cruise

• Tura Beach • Tilba Tilba

• Luncheon River Cruise

GRIFFITH SPRING FEST - COACH 16 - 21 OCT $2395pp ($420s/s)

HAWKESBURY RIVER

DISCOVERY - COACH

INCL: RIVERBOAT POSTMAN 17 - 23 NOV $2895 ($530 s/s)

NORFOLK ISLAND

- FOUNDATION DAY - FLY 1 - 9 MAR 2025 $5399pp ($825s/s)

LIMITED SEATS REMAIN

For more tour info see our website

PERFECT FOR FATHERS DAY

Kiwi House stocks a range of beautiful possum/merino garments and accessories in different styles, colours and sizes that will keep you warm this winter.

What to do

Whether it’s wandering down the main street with its cosmopolitan vibe, alfresco cafes lining the paved streets and vast bay views, or losing yourself in the many art galleries and boutique book shops, Mornington is a colourful hub of arts and entertainment.

Beaches, wineries, shopping, arts and antiques are all at your fingertips in a township that dates back to 1856.

The Mornington Racecourse has a history of over 100 years on the current site and continues to host the annual Mornington Cup race days.

Photos Yanni

Rosemount Estate McLaren Vale G.S.M 2018

WHOLESALE WINES DIRECT TO PUBLIC AT WHOLESALE PRICING

$40

$24 The Bartondale Margaret River 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon

Hidden Ridge Heathcote Shiraz 2021

Yalumba Y Series 2021 (Vegan) Sauvignon Blanc

Price $10

HASTINGS RETAIL STORE WINE TASTINGS, BOTTLE AND CASE SALES

LOCATION: 2080 Frankston - Flinders Rd, Hastings

HOURS: Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 6pm

PHONE: 9596 4278

DROMANA WAREHOUSE STORE BOTTLE AND CASE SALES ONLY

LOCATION: Unit 5, 3 Trewhitt Court, Dromana Industrial Estate

HOURS: Thursday, Friday & Saturday 10am until 5pm

PHONE: 9596 4878

Wine Lovers Warehouse is the direct to public arm of our wholesale business specialising in restaurant, hotel, and function wines for over 17 years.

COVID-19 put a big handbrake on our wholesale business and so we made a decision to transform and stay alive, supported by our friends and the local community, which we will be forever grateful.

We opened the warehouse every week to the public, selling our wines and suppliers at trade prices and no retail mark ups. It is our commitment to remain open servicing the needs of our Wine Lover community into 2023 and beyond. Come along and say hello, grab a bottle or a case. Try before you buy at the Hastings store guarantees you will be satisfied with your choices.

Corner Puzzle

ACROSS

1. Dormant

5. Terror

11. Inky (3,5)

15. Poetic term for pasture

16. Through

17. Acknowledges

19. Dodgy (deal)

21. Quickly, in a ...

23. Assert

25. Outbreak

27. Peppermint essence

28. Hear (about)

30. Lovers' row

31. Reduce

32. Chooses (government)

33. Russia's ... Mountains

34. Slipped by

35. Glass engraving

36. Annually, per ...

38. Matured

40. Spicy honey liquor

42. Unicorn spike

44. Pack (cargo)

45. Kinder

46. Formerly Persia

48. More inquisitive

49. Current (1,1/1,1)

50. Oriental continent

51. Caught (butterfly)

52. Cartel

53. Rolling Stones frontman, ... Jagger

54. 60s pop dance (2-2)

55. October birthstone

56. Of race & culture

58. King Arthur's sword

59. Swamp

61. Wrong

63. Charged atom

64. Purpose

65. In flames

67. Dog-like predator

69. Pale fawn colour

71. College tests

73. Tibet's ... Lama

74. Signalled yes

76. Delilah's partner

78. Peeress' crown

80. Passport stamp

82. Cheque butt

83. Allow

85. Bad-mannered (3-4)

89. Boat-steering devices

91. Flavour with herbs

93. Be in debt to

94. Gradually develop

96. Debar temporarily

98. Plant (seed)

99. Sprocket

100. Traveller

102. News story

103. Bucharest is there

104. Intense blaze

105. US spy group (1,1,1)

106. Billiards stick

107. Joined (to)

108. Young pig

110. Zilch

112. First-born

114. Detailed photo (5-2)

117. Depresses

120. Picture in your mind

123. Thought

125. Not stereo

127. Urged (on)

128. Befuddles

131. Impede

133. Wine shelves

134. Avid

135. Prince Andrew's ex

136. Republic, ... Rica

137. Excessive enthusiasm

140. Slapdash

141. Sixth musical note

142. Ventured

145. Cheap in quality

147. Three-sided objects

148. Inspires

150. WWII fascist

151. Large pitcher

152. Besides

153. Antlered deer

154. Mafia, Cosa ...

156. At one time

158. Massive

160. Dozen

162. Minerals

163. Ancient

164. Wheat tips

165. Coffin stand

166. Small whirlpool

167. South African currency

168. Deep voice

170. Stomach-settling powder

172. Long-suffering

173. In a little while 174. Jellied petrol

177. Tuber vegetable

179. Tablet computer

180. Snail relatives

182. Afternoon break

183. Quarrel

185. Chinese appetiser (3,3)

187. Gangsters

188. Disbeliever

189. Debauched parties

191. Ingested

192. Soviet secret police (1,1,1)

193. Make redundant

194. Stepmother's daughters

195. Veils

DOWN

1. Improperly

2. Appendage

3. To the extent that (2,2,3,2)

4. Deciduous trees

5. Went hungry

6. Throat lump, ... apple (4'1)

7. Actor, Errol ...

8. Wood-shaping machine

9. Political émigré

10. Gracefully slim

11. Indonesian isle

12. Fleeting

13. Tailless primate

14. Moscow citadel

18. Hints

20. Diving section of pool (4,3)

22. Paint applicators

24. Disregarded (7,3)

26. Wiring experts

29. Alienation

37. Symbol

38. Emerged from sleep

39. Commanded

authoritatively

40. Senses

41. Technical sketches

43. Patch up

44. Half

47. Shop light, ... sign

57. Casual garment (1-5)

60. Remained

62. Estuary

66. Vacuous

68. Listening furtively

69. Pealing instrument

70. Uncomfortable, ill at ...

72. Shortenings

73. Opera house gallery level (5,6)

75. Acorn bearers

77. Norwegian capital

79. Aplomb

81. Cricket dismissal (1,1,1)

84. Imprint

85. Bugs

86. Flat terrain

87. Reutilise

88. BAs or PhDs

90. Hanging loosely

92. Cancelling

95. Sublet

97. Dad's mum

101. Lummox

109. Consignment

111. Wedding promise (1,2)

113. Rounded top on cathedral

115. Heart or lung

116. Enamour

118. High cards

119. Biblical ark builder

121. Scrape away

122. Bring upon oneself

124. Advance notice (5,7)

126. Master planner

129. Blood sugar

130. Ferociously

131. Reveller's headache

132. Throbbed

138. Tennis champ, Andre ...

139. Vagrants

143. Piecing together

144. Executes (law)

146. Courageous fellow

149. Gives undertaking

155. Senator

157. Cosseted

159. Human body study

161. Formal midday meals

165. Football's inflatable inner

169. Brutal people

171. Rushes

172. Chimneys

175. Do penance (for)

176. Flagpoles

177. Harvests (fruit)

178. Taut

181. Great Salt Lake state

184. Pass (2,2)

186. Floor rug

190. Irish movement (1,1,1)

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The Two Marthas

By Valda Cole OAM

This story has been adapted from a 2016 lecture for the Flinders District Historical Society. It relates the stories of Martha Baxter, who arrived in Port Phillip in 1838, and Martha King, who arrived in 1840. Both settled on the Mornington Peninsula. This lecture was subsequently published in the December 2023 edition of Victorian Historical Journal and is reprinted with the author's permission.

This is the story of Martha King and Martha Baxter, two of my favourite pioneer women. The sketches I have prepared may seem rather remote today, but that's how things were when these two women of endurance and enterprise lived on the Mornington Peninsula. My interest in history was sparked at an early age while sitting on quiet orchard headlands, at giant local picnics, and in our grandparents homes listening to colourful tales of the past.

Sometimes, in those days before tractors, our horses and ploughs unearthed stone axes – positive reminders of the Bunurong people and their lives here over the centuries. In the midst of his work Dad would often explain these to me and then place them back in the soil again. No wonder this developed my interest in history.

in our pastoral pioneer Martha Jane King who had been completely lost to history.

Mrs King was not one of the freehold settlers of the 1850s and 1860s – the families with whom I was associated – but a pioneer from an earlier era when large cattle stations existed. They operated across the Mornington Peninsula before freehold settlement.

When Martha King took over the 23-square mile "Bunguyan" station at Tyabb in 1845 she was a middle-aged widow. Her much younger neighbour, Martha Baxter, lived on the adjoining "Carrup Carrup" station held by her husband Captain Benjamin Baxter.

In listing our early women pioneers one naturally thinks first of Georgina McCrae, whose sketches and diaries enriched our peninsula history. Her husband leased "Wango" for nine years (or "Arthurs Seat", as she preferred to call it).

The two Marthas provide a different profile. They held sway in the central peninsula area for the entire pastoral age on two large cattle stations stretching from the outskirts of today's Frankston to the south of Hastings. King's "Bungunyan" and Baxter's "Carrup Carrup" were two of around a dozen such cattle stations on the peninsula. These were held under licence and leased from the government until such time as the land was surveyed into crown allotments for sale to freehold settlers.

In the years leading to the formation in 1973 of the Shire of Hastings Historical Society I began some serious research in libraries and archives both here and overseas, inspired by a particular interest continued page 92...

Above: A Baxter family picnic circa 1890

PASTORAL 'RUNS'

operating within a central section of the MORNINGTON PENINSULA before Freehold Settlement

Boundaries were described not surveyed, causing occasional overlaps, such as that at 'Carrup Carrup' and ·'Bunguyan'

Note location offuture towns.

1. Somerville.

2. Tyabb.

3.Hastings.

4.Mornington

B.6,qxrt::R..

I would like you to cast your minds back to 1839 and visualise the situation of the very first settlers who were grazing cattle beyond those boundaries. Imagine it: no food stores, no medical care, and no roads – only the winding bush tracks worn down over centuries by First Nations people who formed them. Amazingly, too, many of my peers have lived through half of that period If we find it difficult to comprehend the changes that have occurred in what is really a comparatively short time in the life of the Kulin people, imagine the bewilderment of the Bunurong people when bush huts appeared with cattle grazing around them!

The two Marthas were not, however, the first European women to feature in the peninsula's pastoral life. Well before they arrived, the mother of settler Edward Hobson took part in an 1839 Christmas dinner in his simple earth-floored hut near Dromana. Two of the guests were so keen to attend they travelled overnight in rain and hail from Koo-Wee-Rup. Complete with champagne, the Christmas celebration must have been a merry affair because it did not break up for a week and, even then, some of those in attendance boated up to the blossoming town of Melbourne to welcome in the New Year at the Melbourne Club where Benjamin Baxter was a foundation member.

Meanwhile another hut was about to take shape near Tuerong, where Aboriginal people were helping to cut sticks and bark for a dwelling for Willam Thomas, the new assistant protector of Aborigines. When his wife and children joined him, a great friendship developed between Mrs Thomas and an Aboriginal woman named Maria, who cared for her during a severe illness. When Susannah Thomas was transferred to Melbourne for medical treatment, Maria followed the dray sobbing lamentably.

At this time the Melbourne postmaster Ben Baxter was making quite an impact:

"The postmaster was an ex Officer of the 50th regiment, a smart, gay, good-looking fellow, more at home in the club room, on the racecourse or running private theatricals than in the Post Office

hole, and the sorting and delivery business consequently, in the main, it devolved upon his wife, who was much more complaisant and civil-tongued to her window visitors than some of our young lady hands said to be now-a-days."

That 'now-a-days' was back in the early 1840s as documented by 'Garryowen', pen name of Edmund Finn, whose later book, The Chronicles of Early Melbourne, recorded events between 1835 and 1852. Martha Baxter was not always compliant though, for she had a strong will of her own. When she saw that a ship was about to leave Melbourne for England, she sealed up the letter bag and dispatched it to London rather than forwarding it through Sydney, as was the usual practice. When Ben found out he was not too pleased and wanted to know who had given her permission. Her reply was that she did it on her own initiative. And so we gained our first direct mail to England.

Ben was prominent in Melbourne land purchases, including the site of today's St Vincent's Hospital. In fact, Gertrude Street, Collingwood, takes its name from one of the Baxter children. But, before long, the peninsula beckoned to the Baxters. Again, Bunurong people came forward, taking Ben first to "Coolart". But the Meyricks already had a hut there, so Baxter moved back up the peninsula and settled on "Carrup Carrup". When Charles La Trobe passed through in 1843, he noted that "Baxter has a comfortable hut on the edge of the forest." Because the first run holders simply paid licence fees, they were reluctant to build anything better than a hut in case they lost occupancy, as indeed Edward Hobson did!

Under Special Survey regulations introduced in Britain, people could purchase land there and then migrate with a certificate of title over any eight square miles of land they selected. It was tough luck for Hobson, who lost ownership of his hut with its foreshore frontage to Port Phillip. Soon after, he left for Gippsland – as did the Meyricks, fearing "Coolart" would be next.

Jamieson's Special Survey (1841), listed the first freehold land on the peninsula. That particular Jamieson is Hugh Jamieson, not

Above left: Martha Baxter. Above right: Captain Benjamin Baxter

Robert Jamieson who took over early cattle runs at Cape Schanck and Lang Lang with Samuel Rawson, whose family contributed financially to the venture.

Time for land regulations! Long-term leases with the pre-emptive right to purchase the homestead block paved the way for betterclass homes. A shortage of surveyors saw station boundaries described by imprecise landmarks such as creeks or even marked tree stumps. Sometimes this caused overlaps. The "Carrup Carrup" and "Bunguyan" problem was settled amicably after the crown lands commissioner decided "Both were at fault".

Throughout the Port Philip District (as Victoria was known before 1851) around a thousand pastoral stations operated on crown land. In this story, "Bunguyan" has a special place. Of those early runs, around ten were originally occupied by women, with perhaps only three persevering until the land Survey period.

One of these early occupants was Martha Jane King, a pastoralist in her own right. Furthermore, Mrs Kings "Bunguyan" and Benjamin Baxter's "Carrup Carrup" were the only peninsula stations held throughout by the original leaseholder.

The two Marthas were strong, independent women. Both landed in Australia with their families but not with their husbands. Ben Baxter was an army officer, and he travelled to Sydney with a military contingent. His wife was on a different vessel and accompanied by their baby and a small daughter Maria (the future Mrs Sage of Sage's Cottage). When Mrs Baxter passed through Bass Strait, she probably did not give Melbourne a passing thought. How could she have imagined that its surveyor, 43-year-old Robert Hoddle, would one day marry another of her daughters – not yet born! On reaching Sydney, Martha expected to meet husband Benjamin, but alas his ship had been delayed. So she had to sort things out alone. Once in the colony, Benjamin soon saw better prospects in the Port Phillip District than in either Sydney or the army, and in 1838 the Baxters moved to Melbourne.

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Martha King, on the other hand, left England in 1840 with her husband Henry and nine family members, including two small grandchildren. Their plans for life on the land were rudely interrupted when Henry died at sea and was buried off the Cape of Good Hope. So, for the King family, it was a sad landing in Melbourne – close to the post office where the Baxters had lived in the old home of John Pascoe Fawkner.

Little did Mrs King know that the recently retired young postmistress would one day be her neighbour on the peninsula, and that Fawkner would play pivotal role in her introduction to station life.

Despite being a widow in a strange country, Martha King Was determined to settle on the land. However, Depression and widespread bankruptcies in 1842 meant that it was not a good year to begin.

The death of her eldest daughter compounded Martha's grief and sense of dislocation. Better things were in store, however. The sought-after post of town clerk of Melbourne was gained by her eldest son, John. Through him Martha met well-known Melbourne pioneer John Pascoe Fawkner. Fawkner's father had lost much of his farm in the depression and needed someone to take over his dairy herd. This proved to be Martha's first step towards acquiring a cattle run. Fawkner struck a hard bargain. Here is just one paragraph from four-page legal document – all one can say in response is "poor woman".

"Martha J King agrees to take good care, and to break in the heifers when calving for the first time, also to pay attention to the calves and leave sufficient milk with the cows for their nourishment. [She| will keep a regular account of all births and deaths stating the sex of the increase, and the marks, colour etc., of the cow and calf and preserve the skin, and forward it to the said John Fawkner, in case of death."

That's right – her only return from maintaining the cattle run was the milk AFTER the calves were fed!

Yet this opportunity was just what Martha King needed for her family in that time of widespread unemployment and personal grief. Bravely, she travelled out to Berwick and built a primitive dwelling near her brother, who had migrated to give her support. There Martha and her family made butter and cheese, which they sold to travellers on the Western Port and Gippsland tracks.

Within two years Martha King and her family had accepted life in the bush, and in April 1844 Martha applied to the crown lands commissioner for a larger station. In the following year, she took out a licence for the 15,000-acre "Bunguyan" station and built a home on a hill to the north of today's Bunguyan Reserve in Tyabb. This overlooked lagoons at the junction of bush tracks linking Gippsland and Port Phillip, as well as Melbourne and "Coolart". Surrounding the homestead, she built good shedding, home paddocks and stock yards.

With few settlers around at the time, it is not surprising that family relationships became rather complicated. Two of the King boys married their cousins from Berwick, Martha's daughter married the station's overseer, and, to complete the picture, the overseer's brother married another of Martha's nieces.

Understandably, this took some sorting out!

Martha Jane King was remembered in her family as "a little woman with a strong personality". To that one might add that she was not at all timid in dealings with the commissioner of crown lands. With Martha at the helm of a strong family team, "Bunguyan" pushed ahead, particularly during the gold-rush years when it developed into a cattle station of note.

For many stations the rushes were a difficult time, with workers drawn by the lure of gold leaving in droves. Fortunately, "Bunguyan" had 20 or 30 men living in huts near Kings Creek who combined fishing and oyster dredging with casual employment as station hands.

continued next page...

LUCKY’S CONTINENTAL DELI

Above: John Charles King

And the discovery of gold created opportunities for those willing to take them up. Gold fever brought increased demands for food, transport and hardware. "Bunguyan" was well placed to produce meat, fish and bullock teams, and, through the extended King family, a hardware trade developed in Ballarat and Melbourne.

Using natural creeks and ten miles of bush fencing, the Kings divided the 23-square-mile station into separate segments for an efficient cattle-breeding operation. The choicest heifers were isolated on the 55-acre Sandstone Island where they were joined with selected bulls. Robust bull calves from the general herd were converted into steers and broken in for much-needed bullock teams. Stock for the beef market were driven to Ballarat via associated Henry family properties for topping off on the station of Ballarat butcher Jock Winter.

King family fortunes declined, however, in the face of the 1859 Depression and the government survey of the Parish of Tyabb, which divided Bunguyan into 100 crown allotments ready for sale to selectors. In failing health, 70-year-old Martha King left Western Port to spend her last months in Mornington with her daughter's family on their 50-acre property, Tanti Grange, where she died in August 1860 from exhaustion and the infirmities of age.

Because of the scattering of her family, and because she left Tyabb in her old age when the young selectors arrived, Martha King and her pioneering role escaped notice, and another family was about to be incorrectly recognised just when the Hastings Historical society was being formed! Pastoralist and freeholder settlers had passed "like ships in the night", scarcely aware of each other's existence.

Not so the Baxters. They remained in the Western Port area beyond the pastoral age and became part of the local community, making Mrs Baxter another of my favourite pioneer women. Volumes could be written about Ben: his army service; Melbourne activities; duties on the goldfields; and his role in racing and municipal circles. But, instead of focusing on Ben, I have chosen to look at Martha, his wife and deputy: the businesswoman; the homemaker; the mother and grandmother.

She was also the great grandmother of Colonel Annie Sage, who was linked to many local families. My husband's mother, who was sixteen when Martha Baxter died, was a first cousin to Annie. Their mothers were sisters. As young girls they regularly visited Martha, who had many tales to tell. "Carrup Carrup" was managed by John Sage for around six years before the Baxters moved there with five daughters and one son. Within six years three more daughters were born there. The family's new life at "Carrup Carrup" contrasted sharply with the one they had enjoyed in Melbourne. Although Martha Baxter made the best of life at "Carrup Carrup" and was a courageous pioneer, she did advise Mrs Liardet, whose family had "Ballam Park", Frankston, not to return from a trip to England to this "everlasting bush".

This was not really surprising, considering that Martha Baxter pioneered alone for extended periods while Ben was absent as a goldfields commissioner travelling in central Victoria with a portable brass bed complete with canopy!

I sometimes wonder where that bed is now. It was auctioned in Melbourne by Joels in 1960 under instructions from the late Matron Annie Sage. I often Picture 46-year-old Ben in the hustle and bustle of the goldfields while his 38-year-old wife was alone

Left: Robert Hoddle - surveyor of Melbourne

with their nine children, the youngest in a cradle. What a task for a young woman left alone in the bush in the mud and slush of Baxter in the winter of 1852, and desperately short of footwear.

Imagine caring for a family of nine in those conditions, as well as running a farm and acting as a medico, not only to the children but to travellers who brought vague instructions from her husband, Amongst family records is an account of a daylight knock on Martha Baxter's door by a complete stranger covered with blood after having been attacked by a bushranger who took everything from him.

What manner of woman was this who reared children alone, supervised the cattle station of 15,000 acres during the absences of both her husband and manager, and doctored strangers who arrived unannounced at her door in daylight covered with blood? Well, seemingly, she took it all in her stride. In another letter Martha advised her husband of the death of Yalukit-willam leader, Little Benbow, and of differences among the Kulin peoples, who had a large number of strangers with them. No ulcers for Martha. She took life as it came.

The youngest Baxter child was only two when her elder sister Maria married 'Carrup Carrup" manager, John Edward Sage, and moved into Sage's Cottage. Following the Parish surveys and sale of crown land, the Baxters purchased 1,200 acres around the "Carrup Carrup" homestead. One block of 277 acres was bought by surveyor Robert Hoddle, who was eleven years older than Ben.

Following the death of Mrs Hoddle in 1862, he sought permission, not from Ben but from Martha, to marry their daughter, Blanche. One does not know how Martha reacted to his request, written on mourning paper and displayed for many years on the wall at Sage's Cottage when it operated as the Baxter Provender Restaurant.

continued next page...

Above: Sage's Cottage, part of which was originally a section of the 'Carrup Carrup' homestead

Perhaps Blanche was indifferent to the proposal, or perhaps Martha was concerned at the age difference, or maybe Ben had something to say on the matter, because the second Mrs Hoddle was not Blanche but her sister!

Frances Baxter, then 21 years old, married 69-year-old Hoddle within twelve months of his proposing marriage with Blanche. There were four children of this marriage, the youngest being nine when Hoddle died aged 87. I love the story of how Mrs McCrae visited him in 1874 for his 80th birthday, and found him "busy with hammer and nails, building a playhouse for his children".

I sensed that same enthusiasm in Martha Baxter. When she noticed a report in The Argus that one of her grandsons had received a prize, she immediately wrote expressing the great pleasure of everyone at "Carrup Carrup".

Martha Baxter was in her 94th year when she died at Baxter in 1906. During her 68 years in Victoria, she had lived in Fawkner's and Batman's houses, and had seen Melbourne grow from a village to a city.

She experienced the fever of the gold rush and the excitement of the colony's separation from NSW. Husband Ben, who was active in sporting and municipal affairs on the peninsula, died in 1892 at the age of 87. Remarkably, Martha Baxter survived into the era of Federation. Few who lived in Melbourne in its founding days were privileged to be part of all the developments that took the settlement from what colonists saw as "wilderness" to adulthood.

This story of the peninsula's two Marthas helps us to understand how two women settler-colonists experienced aspects of that transition.

Above: Mural on the telephone exchange at Baxter featuring Captain Benjamin Baxter