December 27, 2003
Melbourne beachscape
Micheal Rayner
I reckon that the Victorians have made a big mess of the Mornington Peninsula, with all that coastal development from Port Melbourne down to Portsea. Seaside suburbs blend into one another all the way along the coastal strip to Frankston and beyond. Too much development. Everything, and everybody, is piled ontop of one another.
I much prefer the Geelong side and along the Great Ocean Road. You can reach for the stars there.
Paul Harris, Lorne,
The southern end of the Mornington Peninsula is impossible to access quickly from Melbourne along the old coastal road. So the new inland freeway was built. Then the holiday homes/shacks appear all piled on top of another. It is so congested at this time of the year. Makes you wonder about the point of "getting away" from the city for a break.
Thankfully, at the last minute, Neapan Point was saved from development and allowed to remain a "wilderness."
I guess the Mornington Peninsula wasn't planned that way: it just grew that way according to the dictates of the market. That meant selling off public for profit and doing little in the way of ensuring green zones between the seaside suburbs to keep them separate or distinctive. That process continues with the proposal by Melbourne Water's plan to sell off 400 hectares of land surrounding Devilbend Reservoir on the Mornington Peninsula.
When I revisited Mornington Peninsula last year I saw the future of Adelaide's Fleurieu Peninsula and wept.
Update
Vince Caligiuri
What is even more tragic is the selling off Albert Park in Melbourne for the loss making Formula I Grand Prix; a loss that is subsidised by Victorian taxpayers.
Ah, those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer...I was swimming down at Elwood Beach two weeks ago...hot, sultry evening, cool wind and wonderful water, with gentle, swelling waves pushed into the beach by the wind. The next day? Overcast, raining and the bay was flat as a pancake! I just love the many moods of Melbourne, from one day to the next (sometimes one minute to the next)!
Posted by: PunkClown on December 27, 2003 11:11 AMI remember experiencing those moods down at Sandringham many a year ago.
Celebrate the weather changes from one day to the next. it is what I loved about Melbourne in the summer.
In Adelaide its just plain hot over the summer. Too hot to be enjoyable.
Posted by: Gary Sauer-Thompson on December 27, 2003 05:33 PM