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Tuesday 17 February 2026
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Crowd gathers MORE than 40,000 people attended the Frankston Waterfront Festival across 7 and 8 February. See story page 5. Picture: Supplied
Man bashed to ground at festival Brendan Rees brendan@baysidenews.com.au A 65-YEAR-old man has described the moment he and his wife were violently attacked by a group of youths at the Frankston Waterfront Festival on 7 February as their deeply distressed children watched on. The assault began after a confrontation near portable toilets, where the man’s wife had been helping their au-
tistic son. According to the victim, who wished to remain anonymous for personal safety reasons, a young woman approached aggressively and made derogatory comments about their child, saying “I work as a carer... none of them have ever taken so long”. The man said he tried to diffuse the situation and reported the group to security and told them police were needed. Instead, he said security told his family to move along.
“As we were walking away, they [the group of people] were gloating”. The victim admitted flicking a few drops of water from a drink bottle in frustration after the abuse, but said the response was extreme. “I turned around and saw a group them chasing us in broad daylight through a crowd of 20,000 people while holding my kid’s hands,” he said. He said the attackers then set upon him in full view of crowds.
“They jumped me from behind. The big guy had me in a headlock trying to choke me and another guy was jumping in the air, smashing me in the face.” The victim added another tried to gouge his eyes while his wife was also struck after trying to shield him. “She (an attacker) smashed it as hard as she could into the side of her head,” he said, referring to a long drink can used as a weapon. The most haunting moment, he said,
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was seeing his 13-year-old daughter begging the youths to stop. According to the victim, bystanders stood nearby recording the attack on their phones. “No one was saying stop it... everyone was standing filming.” He also criticised the conduct of private security at the event as one video showed guards standing metres away “cowering in fear while we’re getting destroyed.” Continued Page 4