What’s been going on in Shoreham
From the SCA president’s desk
by Russell Barrett
The Easter Sunday egg hunt at St Peter’s Church
A lot has been happening in the last few months. There was the Easter Egg Hunt and like the Pied Piper, I led a number of very excited children and anxious parents up Byrnes Road where the St Peters Church community, in conjunction with the SCA, put on morning tea and distributed Easter eggs – what fun!
We’ve had the market which brings so many people to our village and working bees to plant trees and remove weeds for conservation and for our wildlife.
Great news! The Cyril Young Chapel (access off either Marine Parade or Blake Street) has been nominated for a Mornington Peninsula Heritage Award! Remarkable work by a dedicated group of volunteers. The winners will be announced at a ceremony on Thursday, 3 July , 6-8pm, at Mornington Peninsula Shire Council Chambers, 2 Queen Street, Mornington.
I recently attended a council meeting following what I think are fairly major cutbacks by the shire, particularly in the area of the arts. I find this really disappointing and the number of people expressing their dissatisfaction at this meeting will hopefully cause some reconsideration of the matter. As Winston Churchill (like him or not) was quoted during the war when he was asked to cut arts funding in favour of the war effort, he simply said, “then what are we fighting for?”
As well as the Arts, what are we fighting for? On the Mornington Peninsula there is some hope for our wildlife which is in dire straits as the development of the peninsula reduces their habitat. We all know koala numbers are desperately low and it’s reassuring to see so much effort being made to look after them. But it’s also the kangaroos who are suffering badly. Our dream would be to open up a wildlife hospital on the peninsula.
As Winston Churchill was quoted during the war when he was asked to cut arts, he simply said, “then what are we fighting for?”
Development certainly will occur and I think it’s important that we all look out for proposed developments to ensure they are appropriate for Shoreham. Sadly, the governments bushfire regulations mean that trees can be completely removed from “smaller” blocks. As an architect, I believe that good design can hopefully minimise loss of trees. Trees are such a major part of the character of Shoreham which we should all jealously guard and report proposed developments which don’t align with our village character.
Looking to the future, we have our AGM on Sunday, 10 August 2025 at 11am. Please come along and have your say as we will always welcome new blood into our association whether it’s as a member, volunteer or committee member.
Look forward to seeing you around Shoreham.
YOUR SCA: WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO
Speed limits on Frankston-Flinders Road: We are working closely with the community associations of Somers, Balnarring Beach, Red Hill, Merricks Beach, Point Leo and Flinders. Previously we obtained the in-principle agreement of the State Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Melissa Horne, to reduce the speed limits along Frankston Flinders Road to 80km/h, with 60km and 50km through the villages, but she said that there was no allocated funding at this time. We have now sent a joint letter from all community associations calling on the Minister to find the funding and take action.
We request that members of community write to the minister to support our efforts to reduce speed to avoid accidents and protect our wildlife. melissa.horne@parliament.vic.gov.au.
If you do witness injured or killed wildlife, please call:
Wildlife Victoria: 0417 380687, or Jennie Bryant koala rescue 0417 395883.
Frankston Flinders Road/Byrnes Road Intersection: This dangerous intersection has been nominated for Black Spot Funding.
Wildlife signage: We have been working with other community groups and council to introduce wildlife signage to reduce the number of wildlife deaths on our roads.
Shoreham Resilience Network: Since the update in our Autumn newsletter, the Shoreham Neighbour Networks have had a re-brand to the Shoreham Resilience Network. In working with the council, the team has looked to simplify things and also allow for a structure that can be replicated in other towns. Two co-ordinator briefings have been held and initial street groupings are being finalised. We will start knocking on doors soon!
Landcare grant: We have applied for a $20,000 Landcare grant to enable us to undertake weed removal and planting in Prout Webb Road, continued maintenance and improvement of the Howard Street Walking track and areas in Byrnes Road, Nelson Street and Buxton Lane.
Drainage: We are waiting to see whether the council has allocated monies in the budget to undertake a review of stage two of the drainage plan for Shoreham.
AED Grant: We were successful in obtaining a small grant from council to keep the AEDs about Shoreham in working order. We check the AEDs on a regular basis and replace batteries as required to ensure that the units are in working order if ever they are needed.
Councillor David Gill: David, who represents Shoreham in the council, has attended two of our recent committee meetings to give us insight into the workings of council and in particular to explain the implications of the recent decisions to cut funding for climate change, the arts and Indigenous groups. We are very appreciative that David takes the time to meet with us.