INSIDE THIS EDITION…
DOUBLE DELIGHT FOR GROVERS, PAGE 23
20 MARCH - 2 APRIL, 2026
BELLARINE’S NUMBER ONE NEWSPAPER
FREE FORTNIGHTLY
Preserving history one box at a time
(Ivan Kemp) 539455_02
Pillar boxes were the best way to send letters more than 100 years ago, but many of them have now faded with time. Mick Slocum won’t let the Victorian-era cast-iron post boxes completely fade away, as he travels across the state restoring the historic fixtures. He visited Portarlington this week to restore the Turner Court pillar box, which marked his 76th completed restoration over the past few years. “I’ve got about 100 to go, as there’s about 180 boxes that I have listed on a spreadsheet, and my next stop is Swan Hill before I restore my second one in Bendigo,” Mr Slocum said. Mr Slocum also recently completed a pillar box that was shipped to him from Western Australia, as he continues to contribute to the preservation of Australia’s history. Turn to page 3 for the full story.
Crime increases Breaches of orders and crimes against the person are increasing across some Ocean Grove areas, according to the latest Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) data. The state’s recorded crime statistics for the year ending 31 December 2025 were released by the CSA on 19 March. The total offences recorded for Greater Geelong, which includes Ocean Grove and the Bellarine regions, have increased by 2.05 per cent from 25,061 offences in 2024 to 25,574 recorded in 2025. The Bellarine recorded its highest
breaches of order offences in a decade, with 12 incidents last year, whereas no previous incidents had been recorded since 2019, when only one was listed. There was also an increase in Leopold (102 in 2025 from 58 in 2024) and Drysdale, which also recorded its highest ever number of breaches of orders incidents, with 66 cases in 2025, up by 27 from 2024 with 42. Crimes against the person offences rose in Clifton Springs from 26 in 2024 to 61 in 2025, while theft was the main offence in
Portarlington with 85 incidents recorded last year. The overall number of offences decreased in St Leonards, from 271 in 2024 to 176 in 2025, and Ocean Grove, from 470 in 2024 to 444 in 2025. Recent enabling amendments to the Crime Statistics Act 2014 allowed CSA Chief Statistician Fiona Dowsley to obtain data from the criminal courts to better represent crime statistics across many areas. “The addition of offence information to
the bail statistics is the next step in helping us better understand how bail or remand decisions are made,” Ms Dowsley said. “(It will also inform) the impact of policy reform on an alleged offender’s pathway through the criminal justice system and further offending.” Theft remained a key contributor to the rising numbers across the Greater Geelong region, with an overall increase of 3.08 per cent of recorded offences from the previous year (8073 in 2024 to 8322 in 2025).
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