The Borough of Queenscliffe is anticipating a “six-figure” financial hit from the closure of caravan parks alone as a result of the coronavirus, according to CEO Martin Gill. 

Council’s Draft 2020-21 Budget forecasts an underlying deficit of $901,000, with a minimum drop in revenue, particularly from tourism, of $698,000 (7.2%). 

“While Council’s financial position over the long term is secure, the short-term impacts of the coronavirus pandemic are significant and unavoidable,” Mr Gill said.

“Revenue losses resulting from the closure of caravan parks are difficult to project, but are expected to reach six figures. 

“Additional expenses from Council’s subsidisation of many fees and charges to support our community are necessary stimulus measures, but nonetheless compound the effect on Council’s bottom line,” he said.

A new kerbside organic waste collection initiative and a revamp of parking in South Hesse Street are among few new projects to be undertaken next financial year. A $6.5 million capital works program will instead focus on completing existing projects, including the Queenscliff Cultural Hub and Point Lonsdale Lighthouse Reserve.

Rates will rise by two per cent, in line with the State Government rates cap, however hardship provisions have been increased and a one-off waste rebate will be given to households as part off a $330,000 package to soften the pandemic’s impact on residents and businesses. 

The $120,000 Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) waste service will be rolled out in coming months,. Already operating in other municipalities, it allows households to dispose of green waste and organics such as food scraps, coffee grounds, tissues and dog droppings. 
​
A controversial $1.35million project to create 59 new car parking spaces and underground powerlines in South Hesse Street, is also expected to commence in coming weeks.

The Borough of Queenscliffe will extend its rates hardship provisions to help property owners hard hit by the coronavirus under one of the Borough of Queenscliffe’s biggest-ever financial support packages. 

Under measures approved at the April Council meeting, ratepayers who have lost their income as a result of the pandemic can access interest-free payments plans and deferrals for up to six months. 

Council has also set aside $90,000 to a hardship reserve fund, to ensure additional support can deployed quickly if requires. 

A further $130,000 in rebates on waste charges - a $42 saving per household - will also automatically applied to rates notices this coming  financial year. 

"We know many of our residents are struggling financially due to the ongoing effects of this pandemic," said Mayor Ross Ebbels. "That's why we'll be providing every resident with a rebate on waste charges, and offering additional, targeted support to those residents who need it." 

The initiatives are part of a broader $309,000 package that also includes $85,000 in supports for small business including: 

• Twelve months of fee-free environmental health, outdoor seating and A-frame permits. 
• Six months of free rent for community groups and businesses operating out of Council-owned property 
• Free access to professional business support services. 

"Our local businesses aren't just the economic heart of the Borough, they're a fundamental part of our community's character," said Cr Ebbels. "These reductions in fees and charges will make sure businesses have fewer bills to worry about and can focus on navigating this challenging time."
​

A four-year journey to raise awareness of Australia’s first touring international sporting team has had a fitting end in Queenscliff. 

Having travelled through 11 different municipalities and throughout England, the Mullagh Wills Foundation chose Queenscliff as the last destination of a message book that celebrates the original journey of Australia’s first Aboriginal Cricket team, which left from the town in 1868. 

To mark the book’s arrival, Foundation members and dignitaries attended a traditional smoking ceremony and Queenscliff and Anglesea B-Grade cricket teams competed for a newly-struck Mullagh Wills shield on Saturday February 29. 

“We saw the message book as an opportunity to talk about reconciliation through sport,” said Foundation Chair Jane Nathan. 

“That book has now travelled the same journey as the original team and it is absolutely pivotal that it came to Queenscliff because this is where they left on that journey.”

“It was an extraordinary story and we have got the opportunity here today to say it’s done its journey,” Ms Nathan said.

With the Victorian Aboriginal Protectorate Board threatening to stop them leaving the country, the team of 13 Aboriginal cricketers, mostly from the Western District, boarded a boat from Queenscliff for a “fishing trip” but never returned. 

They spent 125 days touring England and played cricket on 99 of them. 

Ian Friend, an ancestor of Captain Charles Lawrence, who organised the fishing boat, showcased original photographs and momentos of the tour, including a cricket bat. 

“It’s a great story and the thing is the tour was widely supported by everyone, it was only the Protectorate Board that said no,” he said. 

“Queenscliff is a special part of the story because this is where the team left on a fishing trip to become Australia’s first international sporting team. When you think of it that way, it is really significant.”

Foundation co-founder and secretary Ian Coutts spoke to school children at the Borough’s three primary schools ahead of the official event. 

“It’s a story that needs to be told and more people should know about it,” he said. 

Queenscliffe Mayor, Ross Ebbels said he hoped the event would now be recognised annually, both with a cricket game, and through a broader celebration.  
​
“We want to know more about our indigenous history and one way to do it is to start with this first Australian cricket team tour to England,” he said. 
​

Queenscliff Football and Netball club coaching staff have switched their focus from potential flags to protecting the mental health of players, as a result of the coronavirus crisis. 

Players had been training since last November in readiness for Bellarine league round one matches this month. 

Instead all games have been put on hold until the end of May, with the very real possibility of the season being scrapped altogether.

“It’s really disappointing obviously, but there are more important things to worry about,” said senior football coach Steve Clark. 

“We’ve just basically said to the players to do what you've got to do and we’ll be back in contact in a couple of weeks when we have a better idea from AFL Barwon about what’s going on. 

“There’s just so much going through players' heads at the moment with family and jobs.

“We’re keeping in contact through Facebook chats, and my message to them is it’s okay for them to feel how they want to feel and not worry about footy at the moment,” Clark said. 

"It’s important that they look after themselves and most importantly, stay connected and not shut themselves off.”

AFL Barwon said it had taken advice from the AFL, Netball Victoria, governments and health authorities in closing down all games, social activities and club gatherings. 

“This unprecedented situation has presented challenges for everyone, and we want to thank our clubs for being proactive on this issue and know that will continue,” the league said. 

“The safety and welfare of our players, volunteers, officials and their families remains our number one priority.” 

The move is set to deliver a massive financial blow to country clubs, with fears some could fold. 

In recent days, despite the turmoil, the club announced key sponsorships with Searoad Ferries and Sencia. 

“Our club president Rowan Martin has been terrific in keeping a sense of calm  and that’s really important,” said Clark. 

“We’ll be one hundred per cent ready to go if play does start, I’ll be making sure everything is right in the background along with other coaches. 

"There’s going to be plenty of time for our players to get fit and turn their legs over, but every other team is in the same boat.

“Some players are going for a run, some had been going to the gym and others aren’t doing that and I just want them to know that’s okay. 
​
"They’re allowed to feel how they want to feel, football takes a back seat. It’s more about them staying connected and focussing on what really matters,” he said. 
​

For some 26 years, PV Mavis III provided safe passage through the notorious 'rip' for sea farers. 

She will now see out her days as a tourist attraction at the Queenscliffe Maritime Museum. 

In a major logistical operation, the decommissioned pilot boat was last month hoisted out of Queenscliff Harbour waters and into her new home, at the Queenscliffe Maritime Museum.  


The Port Phillip Sea Pilots (PPSP) donated the vessel, with local businesses - Queenscliff Harbour Pty Ltd, Drews Haulage, Local Mix Concrete, McHarrys Buslines, Quinlan Cranes, QPL Concreting and Seared Ferries - all donating resources and labour. 
The PV Mavis III was one of the last pilot boats to be built in house at Queenscliff by past and present crew, in 1994.

“Donating the vessel seemed like the right choice for both the environment and to preserve our history in the local area,” the PPSP said.

Ninety-three year old Jack Beazley, who worked as a pilot ship wright for almost 50 years and is also a museum volunteer, was on hand to watch the vessel being lowered into place. 

“Up on the crane I said to them there’s probably some old dear in Beach Street making a cup of coffee at the sink and looking out the window, she sees the bloomin’ boat goes past and wonders if the floods have arrived,” he said. 

“She was up at a great height and if she had have broken loose there’d be no maritime museum there anymore.
​
"The boat will be a great addition to the museum," Mr Beazley said. "It already has a lot of history telling the story of the pilots and this will add to it."

Queenscliff-based Kelly Koumalatsos  has been named major prize winner in the seventh annual Koorie Art Show.

The Wergaia, Wemba Wemba artists collected the Creative Victoria Award for Excellence in Any Media, incorporating a cash prize of $10,000, for her work Portrait Of Sister In Laws; Wemba Wemba Great Aunty Frieda Stewart And Wergaia Great Grandmother Eleanor Stewart, 2019. 

Featuring a possum-fur printed blouse, and accompanying photograph, the work serves as a portrait of Kelly’s ancestors. 

“It represents the strength of the woman in my family and their ability to do more than simply survive the oppression of the times,” she said in a statement about the work. “The possum fur print symbolises the cultural identity of Granny and Aunty regardless of the colonising life that was around them.

“Granny, who was born on Ebenezer Mission in 1887, was a strong and determined woman who had kept her own dictionary of Wergaia language.”

The photograph was taken early 1900's.
​
The Show is the only exhibition in Victoria dedicated to showcasing the work of Koorie and Victorian based Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists. Ninety artists from across Victoria submitted works.

After a health scare on the Point Lonsdale main street a few months ago, Tamara Gaylard did not have to think twice when she was approached to house defibrilators (AEDs) in her two family-owned IGA supermarkets.

Her only proviso was that they be placed on the outside of the Point Lonsdale and Queenscliff stores, where the public could access them in a hurry.

As a result, both shopfronts are now home to the borough’s first externally-mounted machines.

“We had an incident in the street where somebody wanted one and, I know there’s many in clubs, but I couldn’t find anybody with a key and I couldn’t access one,” Mrs Gaylard said.

Whilst the individual requiring medical help survived the episode, the incident highlighted an obvious problem – ready access to the life-saving devices.

“Ours are the first ones that we know of in the borough and we’re taking a risk that they might get stolen by mounting them on the outside of the shops, but they may also save a life,” she said.

Local resident David Jarman is the driving force behind the installations. 

Having secured $3,000 from the Queenscliff Point Lonsdale Community Enterprise grant program for the Quienscliffe Neighbourhood House, he set about raising a further $3,000 to cover the full purchase and installation costs of the two defibrillators.   

“I think it’s really important for the community to be able to look after ourselves and our visitors,” the former builder said. “There’s roughly 20 AED’s in the borough, but they’re all locked away.

“My idea was to have one in each of our main streets that are available 24-7.   

“I came from an era where on every major building site we had a minimum of one death, and we all breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn’t us and reviewed our first aid training,” he said.

To coincide with the installations, Ambulance Victoria recently held a series of HeartSmart CPR training workshops for IGA staff and other business owners.

“We’re rolling the program out to different areas across the region with the aim of teaching more people how to perform CPR and how to use a defibrillator,” said parademic Bob Crole.
​
“Queenscliff is a perfect community to reach out to… anywhere where we’re more than 10 minutes away from a cardiac arrest is going to be difficult for the patient, so if we can get members of the community to start CPR and use defibrillators, we’re going to see survival rates go through the roof,” he said.

The Point Lonsdale Lighthouse reserve will be officially known as the Point Lonsdale Maritime and Defence Precinct after a decision by Heritage Victoria to give it greater protection. 

The ruling means the entire area, not just the lighthouse itself - as has been the case up until now - is deemed to be of significance for its maritime, defence and cultural role in the state’s history. 

All buildings, ruins, archeological features, roads, trees and landscape elements will be covered.
 
The decision formalises a Heritage Victoria recommendation made in September and takes the reserve a step closer to gaining National Heritage Listing.  
        
“The proposed changes in this amendment will ensure that other significant buildings and features are included in the registration,” said Heritage Victoria Executive Director Steven Avery. “It will also includes land to protect the cultural heritage significance of the place.”

The reserve was deemed historically significant for the strategic role it has played in maritime navigation and rescue dating back to the 1850s, for its associations with national defence including both World Wars and for cultural reasons including as the location of Buckley’s cave.  

Under the ruling, no works can be carried out on the reserve without prior approval.

It is unclear what it means for a current Queenscliffe Council plan to demolish three of the four remaining World War II (P1) huts on the reserve. Under that proposal, unanimously endorsed by Councillors in January in contradiction to the recommendations of its own community reference group, only the MacDonald hut would be retained and restored as an interpretive building. 
​
Without clarifying the impact, Borough CEO Martin Gill welcomed the ruling: “The Borough of Queenscliffe is delighted by the announcement of expanded heritage protections for the Point Lonsdale Lighthouse Reserve. In fact, Council was actively encouraging residents to support the proposal on its website and in mayor’s columns,” he said. 

“This expanded listing not only ensures this much-loved location gets the protection it deserves, but ties in closely with Council’s plans to clean up and improve the existing site. 

“We are also actively seeking the view of the Waddawurrung to recognise and acknowledge the Indigenous heritage on the site. The expanded protections provide a strong base for partnership with the Victorian Government to protect and enhance the site.”

 “Improvement plans are currently making their way through the relevant approval processes. We hope to have more news to share with the community soon,” said Mr Gill.

The State Government has contributed $500,000 and the Borough of Queenscliffe $100,000 towards the $600,000 cost of the reserve masterplan, which also includes new pathways, improvements to the lighthouse surrounds and a ship viewing platform.
​
The reserve has been placed on a priority assessment list  for inclusion on the National Heritage List.

The game of croquet is very much back in vogue in Queenscliff, with the town’s century old croquet club now boasting more than 50 members and still on the look out for more.

A determined effort to introduce newcomers, through come and try days, coaching and improved visibility, has swelled numbers to their strongest in recent years.

And a new partnership between Croquet Victoria and the Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA), which re-affirms the health benefits of the sport, is set to grow participation even further.  

 “This is a group of local Queenscliff croquet Club players who exemplify the benefits of regular exercise and activity, fellowship and fresh air,” said club secretary Denise Spark.

“Many of the members are over 90 years of age and are formidable opponents.”

“Croquet is played all year round on a social basis as well as competitive, and is stimulating both physically and mentally,” Mrs Spark said.

Encouraging members to wear their red shirts when they take to the courts, on the prominent King and Hesse Street intersection, has been credited with helping to lift the club’s profile, as has its regular come and try days.

“Members participate in a region-wide pennant competition or play socially, and new members are always welcome,” said Mrs Spark.

The APA recently released two videos – one for participants and one for health professionals – highlighting the croquet’s benefits, particularly for the elderly, because of range of gentle physical movement involved.

They’ve only just started their second season, but Seb Monahan, Charlie Saunders and  twin brothers Mathew and Luke Lawrence are already mixing it with some of the Geelong region’s best lawn bowlers.

The 16 years olds are all representing Queenscliff in the division one competition, jumping up from division five last year.  

Having played cricket throughout their junior sporting years, all four boys last season decided they wanted to try something a little different.

“There’s a bit of family history here and I was keen to change it up and find new that I'd enjoy doing and a couple of cousins and my mate followed along,” said Seb.  

 “I love it, I can’t see myself changing to another sport anytime soon.”

 “It’s kind of a surprise to be in Division 1, but we all improved a lot quicker than we thought we would,” Seb added.

The four are among a growing number of young people taking up lawn bowls, once regarded a sport for retirees.

“We love playing with the older team members, they’re a lot of fun and they all get around us and encourage us,” Seb said.

Fenn Wilson has been on a journey of emotions over recent months - one fully reflected in his new album Ghost Heroin. 

It came together at the same time his father, revered Australian musician Chris Wilson, was battling pancreatic cancer – the disease that eventually claimed his life earlier this year. 

“The album came about because Dad asked me to make it and so it was a project that was going on with, you know, all of these parallel processes at the same time, looking after dad and making this album,” the 23 year old said. 

One song in particular, ‘Lost My Way,’ perfectly captures the turmoil of grief and of moving forward after such an enormous loss.    

It also reflects Fenn’s own coming-of-age from a talented local teen and product of musical parents – his mother is the highly-regarded Sarah Carroll - to a fully-fledged musician already carving out his own name in the industry.

“Lost my way was written in the midst of all that was going on at the time and, well, the title is largely self-explanatory. It’s about reaching out to different sorts of figures, whether they be paternal, maternal or otherwise just familiar people, and trying to seek direction  - just turning to whoever you can and trying to find answers to questions you may have,” he said. 

The former Bellarine Secondary College student is a child of festivals, and given his parents' long-standing involvement in the local music scene, the Queenscliff Music Festival is particularly close to his heart. 

Last year he was awarded the QMF Emerging Artist award, which he credits for making Ghost Heroin a reality. 

“I think I started playing drums when I was about three, and I picked up guitar a bit later.  

“I was doing gigs under my name, but not taking it all that seriously, when I was a 16 or 17. I played with a couple of different bands in [QMF] Foot in the Door events… but last year was the first year that I really played under my own name,” Fenn said.

“The Emerging Artist Award was a huge help, it funded the album. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without that. 

“I feel like everybody that has been involved has been really kind and I can’t wait to show it,” he said. 
Early reviews of the album have been positive with his deep vocals likened to George Ezra and Nick Cave.

“He is mesmerising… quite magical,” said Caroline Moore, Director of the Port Fairy Folk Festival, where Fenn was also recognised  with an emerging artist grant.

“Im not really sure who I sound like, I really like but in terms of musicians that I like to listen to, I’m a huge Jeff Buckley fan, Grant Lee Buffalo, Matt Corby is a bit of an influence on me. I’ve been exposed to an incredible amount of different music and musicians and my tastes are kind of eclectic.”

Fenn will perform at the festival with his new band. The show will also feature a vocal solo by another local performer and Emerging Artist winner, Holly Joyce. 
​
“I can’t wait. I’m just really excited,” he said.
​

A small group of local business operators is taking creative new steps to lift the profile of our twin towns, with the formation of the new group PLonQ (Point Lonsdale Queenscliff) Inc.

The fledgling organisation has stressed it is not a trader’s group and wants all local business owners and residents to get on board. 

Its stated mission it to “foster cultural leadership, entrepreneurial creative thinking and future thinking” to advance the communities of both townships.

“It’s been a ground-up process that’s really about brining people together,” said PLonQ founding member, Noble Rot owner Trish Berry. 

“There has been a lot of talking for years, but not much real action. This is about, from my perspective, the borough being one entity…there’s the harbour and that end and there’s Point Lonsdale at the other. We’re all just one cohesive identity and entity and it’s about bringing everything together that the borough has to offer,  presented in a way that’s attractive and maximises the potential that is here. 

“There hasn’t been a comprehensive pulling together like this before,” Ms Berry said.

The new group has hit the ground running, with a new website - visitqpl.com.au - already promoting local business and attractions, well-advanced plans for Christmas festivities and late night shopping and a proposal for an interactive walking trail in the design phase. 

They are among a number of ideas and concepts that have been presented to and received the enthusiastic early endorsement of Queenscliff Council officers.

PLonQ fills a void in the local business community left  from  the collapse of the Queenscliff and Point Lonsdale Business Association some three years ago and the apparent demise of its replacement body, The Rip Chamber. 

“As residents and business owners, we’re taking the initiative not only for traders, but for residents, the aesthetic of the borough, to collate and gather ideas that we come up with or that other people come to us with. We can filter them and present them as solutions to state, local and federal governments and get some projects done to enhance the town,” said member and Queenscliff Gallery and Workshop owner Theo Mantalvanos.

“I think the other business group failed because it was business promoting business to business in the borough. I don’t need the butcher to know where I am, the butcher knows where I am. This is about enhancing the area, not only for locals and visitors but also spreading the word about Queenscliffe further afield.”

One of the initiatives being driven by the group is an interactive walking trail. Brass plates, cut out in the shape of a letter ‘Q’, will be placed at key destinations across the towns. 

Each one will be embedded with a code that, once scanned from a smartphone, provides stories and pictures. 

Other projects underway include the bulk purchase of ‘Pencil Pine’ trees to help “green” main streets, and extended Christmas trading nights.

“This is not just about art, it’s not just about music, it’s about anything that’s happening in the borough. Its food, its art, it's where to stay, its about the whole area and no one is omitted,” Mr Mantalvanos said. 
To find out more or subscribe to the PLonQ mailing list, email: PLonQ mailing list at plonq.org.au

​

Click here to Concerns about future impacts of climate change on her young family has prompted a Point Lonsdale mother to establish a new local action group. 

Climate Change and the Borough of Queenscliffe held its first public meeting in recent days in an effort to raise greater local awareness of the issue and muster more support for change. 

“I have two young children, five and eight, and I am crippled with concern for the future that lies ahead for them,” said Kitty Walker. 

“The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) latest findings clearly state the world has 12 years to cut its emissions in half to keep warming below 1.5 degrees, which climate-vulnerable nations have long argued is critical to their survival.

“State, Federal and international governments are not responding globally, so the best impact we can make is by focussing locally,” she said.

After renting in Point Lonsdale for many years, Kitty and her family finally purchased a house of their own, but she is fearful it could eventually succumb to sea level rise unless meaningful action is taken.

“If we keep going the way we’re going our home will be under water by the end of the century – indeed most of the Borough will.

“The key objective is to bring the community together to work with the Borough of Queenscliffe on innovative and creative initiatives to acknowledge, prepare for and counter the local impacts of the climate crisis. The Borough has a really unique opportunity given its size to have an enormous, positive, local impact,” Kitty said. 

Initiatives the group is pushing for include improved recycling and a Queenscliffe Council declaration of a climate emergency. 

Group members have already started their own grass-roots recycling program. Instead of putting materials in yellow-lidded bins, they are sorting items at home and will hire their own trailer to ensure the waste is genuinely recycled - not sent to landfill. 

"I closely watched the recent move by the Surf Coast Shire who declared a climate emergency and are tackling the recycling crisis locally by implementing a five-bin sort-at-the-home system and started to have hope that our beautiful, small, Borough could have a large impact too,” Kitty said.
​
Climate Change and the Borough of Queenscliffe can be found on Facebook.

​.

The Point Lonsdale Lighthouse reserve has edged closer to a national heritage listing, with the Victorian Heritage Council (VCH) pushing for stricter controls to protect its maritime and Defence assets. 

The lighthouse iitself is currently the only protected building on the site, having been included on the Register of Government Buildings in 1982. 

VCH Executive Director Steven Avery has formally recommended that registration be amended to also include other significant buildings and features - including the fog horn and rocket sheds, searchlight emplacement and Buckley’s Cave - as well as the site’s cultural assets. 

“It is proposed the name is changed from ‘Point Lonsdale Lighthouse’ to the ‘Point Lonsdale Maritime and Defence Precinct’ to better reflect the significance of the place,” Mr Avery's recommendation said. 
“It is proposed the existing permit exemptions are revised to provide clarity around works that can be carried out without the need for a permit application to Heritage Victoria.”

In detailing the case for a stronger classification, Mr Avery said the precinct was historically significant for the strategic role it has played in maritime navigation and rescues since the 1950’s. 

“The establishment of maritime navigational aids at Point Lonsdale was key in assisting the safe passage of vessels from Bass Strait into Port Phillip Bay. Safe passage through this stretch of water was important in the development of Melbourne as a major port.

The Point Lonsdale Maritime and Defence Precinct is also historically significant for its role in maritime rescue and its connections to the numerous shipwrecks that have occurred off its coast.”
He said the reserve was also important because of its connections to world wars one and two and through its ties to William Buckley.

“Buckley’s Cave is significant as it is widely believed that William Buckley sheltered here. Buckley was an absconder from the 1803 camp at Sullivan Cove near Sorrento. He is a key figure in early contact between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people around Port Phillip Bay.”

The recommendation follows a VCH decision earlier this year to add Queenscliff’s Shortland’s Bluff to the Victorian Heritage Register, protecting that headland’s historical assets from inappropriate development. 

It means the Borough of Queenscliffe must now seek Heritage Victoria approval before actioning any projects on either site. 

Mayor, Bob Merriman welcomed the new controls and said they would not impact current Council plans for the reserve, including the removal of two P1 Defence huts and re-purposing of the remaining two.  
​
“The Borough of Queenscliffe has been working closely with the Victorian Heritage Council to ensure the Point Lonsdale Lighthouse Reserve gets the heritage recognition it deserves. This recommendation is an important milestone that will allow improvements of the site to move forward,” he said