Latest news with #Frankston
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Melbourne cheap homes: Frankston unit sold under $100k
A Frankston unit has sold for the bargain sum of $99,500 in a deal where the buyer never even set foot in it. The studio-style residence – one of the cheapest home sales in Melbourne this year – features an ensuite and small kitchenette and is part of a former retirement complex at 14 Sandpiper Place. Fosterfroling Real Estate director Adrian Foster said he filmed a mobile phone video of the property and sent it to an investor, who then purchased the abode. Why Frankston, Tarneit and Craigieburn are hot picks for Melbourne's young property buyers The sale is the latest in a line of deals Mr Foster has transacted within the complex, after listing two of its other units and selling them at a similar price point during the past month. While some of the building's units have kitchenettes, others do not have a sink outside of their bathrooms – although the complex has a shared commercial-like kitchen that residents can use. Victorian law requires rental homes to have a kitchen sink in good working order. Mr Foster said the unit that just sold has a longstanding tenant, while another was bought by a single man. 'He sold his home for about $500,000, bought a home for $100,000 and now he can put $400,000 into his super,' Mr Foster said. While the five-figure Frankston listings in the ex-retirement home attracted a lot of buyer attention, they only suited certain buyers, he added. 'I think that somewhere in the permit it says that it's meant to be student accommodation but nobody cares about that,' he said. 'As an investment they don't grow in value too much.' Most other similarly-priced Melbourne units are classified as student accommodation and often require residents to be enrolled full-time or part-time at a recognised educational institution. Last year, Mr Foster had the listing for a Frankston apartment which sold for $99,000. It was located within the ex-Ambassador Hotel at 325 Nepean Highway which was formerly used as short-stay accommodation and developed a reputation for anti-social behaviour and vandalism. The ex-wedding venue was later divided into private apartments that nowadays usually sell for between $70,000 to $250,000.
News.com.au
6 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Jimmy The Bear named after Frankston YCW teammates of owner-breeder Mike Hirst
Jimmy The Bear has more than made up for suburban football silverware missed as Frankston YCW past players Mike Hirst, Jimmy Bruin and Nick 'the Bear' Wright enjoy an ownership dream. Former Racing Victoria chairman Hirst, a passionate owner-breeder, gifted five per-cent shares in Jimmy The Bear to ex-Stonecats Bruin and Wright as an excuse to catch up at country race meetings. Stuck on a name for the home-bred Jimmy Creed gelding, now a $1.35m earner, Hirst's partner Lizzie Sweetnam floated the Frankston YCW backline tribute. 'Lizzie said you could call (the horse) Jimmy The Bear and give them both a share each,' Hirst said. 'We said (at the time) it would be great just to drive around country Victoria catching up and having a good time … his first two runs were in the country and he's barely been back since.' Hirst played fullback, with resting ruckman Bruin and converted rover Wright in the pockets. The trio won an U17 premiership in 1974 but lost senior Mornington Peninsula grand finals to Pines, Crib Point and Bonbeach in quick succession. Wright earned the nickname 'the Bear' as he could often be found asleep on massage tables after post-game ales in the Stonecats' clubroom. 'Everyone knows him as 'the Bear', he's been known as the Bear for 40 years,' Hirst laughed. 'He'd always start work early, by the time 10pm came around on a Saturday he was pretty buggered so he'd go out and lay on the trainers' table and we'd wake him up at 1am wanting to go home. 'The koala bear … he spent all his time sleeping.' Jimmy The Bear, trained by Patrick and Michelle Payne, has won 12 of 39 starts and placed 10 times. The six-year-old has dominated middle distance ranks this campaign, with four wins including the Listed Winter Championship Series Final and two second places. Jimmy The Bear is $1.60 favourite to add to the tally on Saturday in the VOBIS Gold Stayers (2400m) at Caulfield. Jimmy The Bear has not raced beyond 2000m before but a win would tip another $126,000 into the prizemoney kitty, including the $30,000 VOBIS bonus. Jimmy The Bear has to date earned Bruin and Wright about $70,000 apiece in prizemoney. 'For Hirsty to make us part of that and Lizzie named the horse, it's just wonderful,' Wright said. 'Originally we were going to go out to the country meetings … we thought better celebrate with a couple owners than only one owner, but he turned out to be a bit better than that. 'Absolutely thrilled, we're bloody rapt, very generous of him.' Wright played alongside Hirst since U12s through to senior Stonecats ranks. 'Jimmy was the resting ruckman at that stage, because of my size, I started out roving but went to back pocket,' Wright said. 'I thought it was a lot easier, not as much running, alongside Hirsty, fullback all the time, it was a good combination.' The good combination has continued on Melbourne racecourses these days and winner's bars.
Telegraph
20-07-2025
- Telegraph
Sione Tuipulotu interview: Private school saved me from life of crime
Sione Tuipulotu is talking about his childhood growing up in Frankston, a suburb of Melbourne. It is not some idyllic recall of golden days. The Scotland captain will happily talk all day, but he does not do cliched answers. He did not grow up dreaming of playing international rugby, whether for his native Australia or Scotland, for whom he qualifies via his grandmother, Anne Thompson, who in 1963 moved with her parents and siblings from Greenock, outside Glasgow, to within an hour of Melbourne. No, at the age of 13 Tuipulotu feared, in his own words, that he was 'going down the wrong path'. 'Gang violence was always around but I was more scared of my dad than any gang in our neighbourhood,' says Tuipulotu. 'There is not much opportunity for kids where I was from. Boredom gets the best of a lot of kids in my area. You are bored and looking for something to do and quite often that leads to trouble. I stopped going to school a lot and I was getting into trouble when I did go to school.' I ask what sort of things he got up to. 'Oh, to be honest, crime,' he says matter-of-factly. 'Not that I am going to sit here and admit to any crime that I have done,' he adds. 'But you get into little things, as young kids do, in terms of stealing, fighting and it was because all the kids in my environment were doing it. 'You get to that age, 13, 14 and 15 years old, when you get to the crossroads, you know? My parents did a really good job with me ever since I was a kid. I was probably more scared of my dad than I anything else that was going on outside. So that kept me relatively on the straight and narrow, but I was getting into trouble.' 'I had a chip on my shoulder at school' What happened next, according to Tuipulotu, is a story of redemption. Not for the first time – and hopefully not the last – rugby's intervention led to good life decisions. He played soccer at first, but his dad Fohe was a rugby man and encouraged his son to join Southern Districts rugby club. The days when he 'ran down the right wing' in football quickly came to an end. Despite the distractions as a pupil at the Elisabeth Murdoch College, he excelled at several sports, but his rugby prowess attracted the attention of a private school, St Kevin's College, which offered him a full scholarship. Yet this is only the first stage of his journey from the backstreets of Frankston to a place in the British and Irish Lions side to face Australia in the first Test on Saturday. He was a kid looking for a purpose, and more importantly, for someone to put their arm around him. Do that, and he would give you everything. That it was a Scottish arm changed his life. The early days at his new school, however, initially left him cold. 'At first, I wanted to make my parents proud because it was an opportunity they could never afford themselves. But for the first couple of years, I had a chip on my shoulder. I thought none of the kids were like me. I didn't have anything similar with them; their parents were wealthy. When I came back home on the train, I would take my blazer off because I was embarrassed. I didn't want to come back to Frankston and all the boys see me in this fancy blazer. 'At one stage they were at a crossroads to get rid of me, because I was still getting in trouble. But one teacher called Robert Windle, who went to school in Edinburgh, put his arm around me and drove me through school. He had been to Merchiston, and it was funny that I would later end up playing with a number of boys who went there. 'He was the first XV coach but was also more mentoring, not on my rugby side, because he knew that came easy to me, but for the school stuff. I played for the first XV as soon as I joined the school at 14, I was physically developed for my age although at that stage I was more of a finesse player. It was only when I got older that I fell in love with the collision aspect of the game. 'Bob's interest made me really competitive. Once someone showed they cared about me, I didn't want to let them down and that's when everything changed for me. 'School became so important because I would spend three hours every day on the train to get there and back, so by the time I got back after rugby training it was late. I started taking rugby really seriously then, too, and zoned in on what I wanted to do. 'Going into my last year in school, I would keep my blazer on when I got off the train. I had figured out in my brain that the school had saved me from a lot of things and rugby had kept me busy.' 'We were overlooked by Australian rugby' If those formative years proved critical, when he left knowing that he wanted to become a professional rugby player, the frustrations and disillusionment of the 13-year-old Tuipulotu soon returned as he felt players in Melbourne were not given a fair chance by the Australian system, even when the Rebels were established as a Super Rugby franchise. 'I can give you a list of the Melbourne boys who were let go by the Rebels, and it would surprise you,' he says. 'For example, I played with Emmanuel Meafou, who is at Toulouse now. He was told he was never going to be fit enough. Hunter Paisami was told he was too small and would never play Super Rugby. 'It was the same for Monty Ioane. These were all Melbourne kids who didn't get the opportunity to play for Melbourne. That's all we wanted to do at the time, represent our state. There's a tight-knit community down there in Victorian rugby, and we felt like we were always overlooked in the grand scheme of Australian rugby because we grew up in what was perceived as a non-rugby state. They used us for marketing purposes, because we were Melbourne kids, but we never ended up getting much of an opportunity. 'When I left Melbourne, I left angry, and I saw so many other kids miss out on opportunities. Later on in your career, you think that it was meant to happen, but I definitely still have that chip on my shoulder of being turned away. I will carry it for the rest of my career. 'It is something I'm really passionate about, even on this tour because at the end of the day, I still represent Melbourne kids. That's where I'm from. I know a lot of those kids are supporting the Wallabies as they should, but even if a couple of them support the Lions because I'm playing for them, then I will feel that I have won.' After seeing the Rebels squad recruit many Western Force players when it was originally cut from Super Rugby in 2017, he moved on to Japan before Scotland came calling, with an offer to join Glasgow Warriors. It felt like another arm around his shoulder, and once again he was prepared to give all that he had. Which brings us to his sense of identity. Some have criticised the number of players in the Lions squad who were not born or raised in Britain or Ireland. Tuipulotu does not shy away from the issue. 'I really understand the people that are angry,' he adds. 'I'm not angry that anyone feels like that, to be honest. If anything, I understand it. If I open my mouth and they don't hear a Scottish accent, I understand how that might upset people, but my accent is my accent. 'When I left Australia, I wasn't ready to play for the Wallabies. I have never said that. All I said was that my talent was mismanaged. Going to Scotland, my talent was managed correctly. The coaches had a massive [impact] on my career, first Danny Wilson, then Franco Smith and finally Gregor Townsend. 'I can't say enough about Gregor because when I got to Scotland, I wasn't the finished product – I'm still not the finished product, I know that – but I needed time in the saddle to learn and he gave me that. 'He stuck by me maybe because he could see my potential and the reason for my success is because he stuck by me. He put his arm around me and I never want to let him down because of that. 'It was the same with my mum and dad when they sent me to that school, it was the same with my teacher when he put his arm around me, I didn't want to let my coach down. I think that is my personality, I am driven by not wanting to let people down. 'I feel like I am where I am supposed to be. I've captained Scotland now. I've gained many, many new friends and my son was born in Glasgow.' 'Boys from back home told me to shut up' Tuipulotu's backstory means that the Scotland captain is ready to face his native Australia with arguably an extra edge compared to his team-mates. He is primed for any abuse from the Australian players or supporters. 'I am ready for it,' he adds with a chuckle. 'Like I said, I play my best rugby when there's a big chip on my shoulder. If they are going to add to the chip, it just helps me and I will get more emotionally invested so that will only be a good thing for me. 'It comes with the territory. There are going to be things said on both sides. That's why I love rugby, that's why I love sport. It is not the things that you say are necessarily going to get the job done. It is the things that you do. There is always going to be noise, it is the biggest tour in the world, but it is cool that you get to answer it.' There are still some answers to deliver after Australia's defeat by Scotland last November when Joseph Sua'ali'i lined up Tuipulotu at centre for a massive tackle, only to injure himself in the process. Tuipulotu gave him a send-off but Sua'ali'i delivered a pointed warning, 'I'll see you next time'. 'It was quite a noisy game,' the Lions 12 recalls. 'But that made the game so fun for me. I know a lot of those boys from back home and played rugby with them. They were telling me to shut up because I was so motivated, but it was all good fun.' Finally, I ask him about his tattoo and the answer should leave no one in any doubt about his commitment to the Lions' cause. It is from the cover of an album by Lauryn Hill, the American rapper. ' The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is my mum's favourite album,' he adds. 'We grew up on Lauryn Hill's music. It was quite a spontaneous tattoo, to be honest, because I'm not covered in them. I got it because of my mum and the influence she had on me. The story of my upbringing is that I was pretty terrified of my dad, but my mum raised me and I know how excited she is to see me play for the Lions. All my family in Australia had the red merchandise even before I had! 'Me playing for the Lions is as big an achievement for them as it is for me. To get on this tour, you have to be lucky in your own life, but to be there, you have to be lucky to have parents to have put you in a position to do well. That's the story for me. Me playing in this tour is not just a representation of my own work but also theirs. And my granny is going to be there with her bells and whistles on, too. I am just desperate to contribute as much as I can.'
Daily Mail
20-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
I took a very common supplement because it was supposed to help me... my world has been turned upside down and I know I'm not alone
A young Australian has claimed a B6 supplement has left him with pain and cognitive issues, as a law firm launches a class action investigation against Blackmores. Melbourne man Dominic Noonan-O'Keeffe, 33, began taking two supplements partly on the advice of health podcasters in May 2023. Over the course of several months of using the company's Blackmores Super Magnesium+ and Ashwagandha+, he developed a range of symptoms associated with overexposure to vitamin B6. Vitamin B6 is a nutrient naturally found in meats and plants, but has been added to off-the-shelf supplement ranges for its properties aiding metabolism. Overconsumption of vitamin B6 can be toxic, though there is no consensus on the threshold for safe usage. Mr Noonan-O'Keeffe's symptoms began as fatigue, nerve pain, migraines, and visual disturbances. Nine months later, his stepsister asked if he was taking B6 supplements, as a colleague of hers had recently suffered B6 toxicity. 'It was a lightbulb moment,' Mr Noonan-O'Keeffe told the Sydney Morning Herald. 'I stopped all of my supplements straight away, got a blood test, and within a week, I had a diagnosis of B6 toxicity.' He later discovered the Magnesium+ he had been taking contained approximately 29 times the recommended daily intake of vitamin B6. The Frankston man still suffers numbness in his fingers, nerve pain in his neck, and reduced cognitive ability. 'I'm hoping I'm at the tail end of a big flare-up, and this is the start of recovery, even though we know the recovery prospects are pretty unknown,' Mr Noonan-O'Keeffe said. Injury law firm Polaris Lawyers has been pursuing a class action investigation against the wellness giant since May. They are acting on behalf of anyone who has suffered injuries after taking their supplements. Polaris principal Nick Mann said more than 300 people had enquired about joining the suit. Their respondents claimed to have suffered after taking B6 supplements, exclusively and in combination with other supplements. Elli Carew, 64, said she had been inadvertently taking the vitamin through other supplements for several years, with B6 toxicity now interfering with the treatment of her Parkinson's disease. Penny Thompson, 61, said her B6 toxicity first presented as numbness in her hands and feet, before she suffered from paralysed vocal cords. The vocal injury, affecting her ability to eat and speak, cost her her role as a TAFE teacher, before she developed other injuries like headaches, gut pain, and numbness. Mr Mann said the reports were 'alarming'. 'It's alarming to walk down the vitamin aisle of any chemist in Australia and see vitamin supplements containing levels of B6 which are far above the recommended daily intake,' he said. 'Consumers of supplements have a right to be confident that the product they purchase will be safe for their use. 'The fact that potentially harmful supplements have been approved for sale by the regulator does not alter the legal obligations of manufacturers to ensure that the products are safe for consumers.' In a decision posted in June, the TGA announced it would consider ordering supplements containing more than 50mg of vitamin B6 to be stored behind pharmacy counters. Such a change would not come into effect until February 2027. A Blackmores spokesman told Daily Mail Australia the company was committed to the 'highest standards of product quality and consumer safety'. 'All our products, including those containing vitamin B6, are developed in strict accordance with the regulatory requirements of the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA),' he said. 'This includes compliance with maximum permitted daily doses and the inclusion of mandated warning statements. 'We acknowledge the interim decision issued by the TGA and we will ensure full compliance with its final determination.'
Daily Mail
19-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
How an AUSTRALIAN born player is set to give Joseph Suaalii his biggest Wallabies challenge yet - and the pair have on-field history
Joseph Suaalii looms as one of the Wallabies biggest threats ahead of the first Test against the British and Irish Lions - and the man tasked with limiting his brilliance was born in Australia. Sione Tuipulotu grew up in the Victorian suburb of Frankston, but with limited opportunities in Super Rugby with the Melbourne Rebels, he first headed overseas in 2018 to Japan. Now he is the Scottish captain, qualifying on ancestry grounds. Tuipulotu, 28, successfully went after Suaalii at Murrayfield last November when the hosts won 27-13 - and the centre is well aware Rugby Australia's $5million dollar man will want revenge at Suncorp Stadium. With tension mounting, Suaalii hit Tuipulotu hard in a fierce tackle, only to injure himself in the process. The players had to be separated as Tuipulotu sledged Suaalii, who countered with 'see you next time.' But when pressed about the matter this week, Suaalii refused to add fuel to the fire. 'I feel like there's been a lot of talk around that moment, but at the end of the day it's just a game of footy,' the 21-year-old told reporters. 'I'm a big believer that whatever is said on the field, stays on the field. 'I'm just focused on what I can do for the team, that's it. I'm not going to speak on it, to be fair. 'I always focus on myself first before I put my energy into someone else. 'Obviously fans want to see a rivalry and all at the end of the day, it's a team sport and I'm just trying to do the best for the team.' Tuipulotu revealed recently Wallabies analyst Eoin Toolan warned him to stop talking up the simmering rivalry with the former NRL star at the Sydney Roosters. 'I don't want to put any targets on my back,' Tuipulotu said. 'He's told me to stop talking on these podcasts about Joey, cause he says he's raring to go.' Tuipulotu is the only one of three Australians in the Lions tour party to be picked in Andy Farrell's Test 23. Winger Mack Hansen hurt his foot in training while prop Finlay Bealham was overlooked.
