š What is mould? Baby, don't hurt me
Also including: Whitehorse Council considering ramping up its graffiti clean-up efforts.
Matthew Sims
September 12, 2025
ā±ļø The 75th edition of our newsletter is a 7-minute read.
Hi there š
Matthew Sims here, your reporter at the Eastern Melburnian.
At the time of writing our subscriber count sits at 12,368 - a big hello to all our new readers.
Mould! Just the word conjures up images of walls covered in black spores, igniting your fight or flight reflex. However, I learnt this week that the best time to prevent further growth of mould is before it is even visible to the human eye. Eek - not good for my shower, which has a few patches Iāve been putting off tackling.
It was also shocking to learn how many respiratory illnesses mould can either cause or worsen. However, for better or worse, mould is something that a number of homeowners or renters across Melbourneās eastern suburbs live with mould. And with Australiaās changing climate creating a perfect habitat for mould, we all need to think more proactively about how and why mould is growing in our homes and how to stop it.
I'm really keen to talk to locals who have a mould problem in their home or discovered a severe mould problem in a former residence.
How did it start? What did it cost you to eradicate? What precautions do you take now to reduce the likelihood of it coming back?
You can remain anonymous, as what I really want is to hear your stories first hand.
š© Just reply to this email, or ping me directly: [email protected]
š¤ If you have any thoughts, opinions or ideas of what we should do next, just reply to this email and Iāll be on the other end. Weāre building the Eastern Melburnian to serve this community, and it all starts here. With your help, tips, feedback and involvement we can continue to grow and improve.
šļø Hereās what the Eastern Melburnian has been up to
According to Professor Rebecca Bentley, of the University of Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, between 25 and 30 percent of houses in Melbourneās eastern suburbs are likely home to mould growth.
WHATāS ON THIS WEEK šļø
SATURDAY, 13/09/25 and SUNDAY, 14/09/25 | Dinosroar Experience
SATURDAY 13/09/25 TO SUNDAY 12/10/25 | Tesselaar Tulip Festival
SATURDAY, 13/09/25 and SUNDAY, 14/09/25 | Bloom & Graze @ Cherry Hill Orchards, Coldstream
SATURDAY, 13/09/25 | āRock Around the Mallā at Boronia Mall
š° THIS WEEKāS HEADLINES
With extreme rainfall events, flooding and humidity on the rise, the prevalence of mould in Melbourneās eastern suburbs has kept up with the national average ā and with weather patterns only looking to make things warmer, that is not expected to change.
University of Melbourne School of Population and Global Health Professor, Rebecca Bentley, said between 25 and 30 percent of houses in Melbourneās eastern suburbs are likely home to mould growth.
Professor Bentley said changing weather patterns, shifts in humidity and more storms and floods carried the risk of worsening Melbourneās mould problems.
āIt is likely that the problems that we're having in our houses with mould will be increasing but also changing,ā she told the Eastern Melburnian.
"Places that weren't previously experiencing a lot of problems with humidity might now be.
āThey might not have housing built in a way that can deal with that.ā
Over the last 10 months, Whitehorse Council removed 8,600 square metres of graffiti. Now, it is considering ramping up its efforts - and investments - even further.
At Mondayās council meeting, an updated Graffiti Management Policy - outlining current graffiti prevention and removal works and options moving forward - was brought before the council for approval.
Whitehorse councillor Ben Stennett moved an amended motion, seeking a broadening of the policy to focus on creating authorised street art projects and the removal of graffiti from council assets.
During the debate, Whitehorse Council deputy mayor Prue Cutts described the current prevalence of graffiti across the region as āa scourge on our modern day societyā.
The motion would see the council consider spending an additional $200,000 in the 2026/27 budget to hire a new staff member to tackle the issue, as well as purchase a vehicle designed to clean up graffiti and additional clean-up equipment and materials.
Purchasing fine art is not something you instantly associate with your local councilās role in civic life.
However, according to Whitehorse deputy mayor Prue Cutts, the Whitehorse Art Collection - at more than 2,100 works - is āone of the most significant art collections outside of capital cities in Australiaā, with another 850 works making up the councilās Civic Collection.
During the Monday September 8 council meeting, Whitehorse councillor and Visual Arts Advisory Committee chair, Daniel Griffiths, said there should be a focus towards making the councilās work around maintaining its art collection more transparent to avoid things being done ābehind closed doorsā.
At Mondayās council meeting, an updated Art and Civic Collections Policy - outlining how to best manage and develop both collections - was brought before the council for approval.
However, Whitehorse councillor and Visual Arts Advisory Committee chair Daniel Griffiths moved an alternative motion, which would essentially postpone the approval of the updated Art and Civic Collections Policy to a later date.
The motion included temporarily pausing the purchase of art for the remainder of the 2025/26 financial year unless a request was brought before council, as well as releasing images of all purchases and the details of all costs incurred since 2022/23.
On any given school morning, students, parents, or disabled members of the community looking to cross a roundabout in Vermont South are forced to walk into the path of traffic.
The roundabout ā located at the intersection of Mullens and Stanley roads ā has become the focus of Whitehorse council as it investigates the best approach to making the intersection safer for pedestrians.
Livingstone Primary School and Emmaus College students and their families navigate the roundabout every day, but must contend with reduced visibility and often fast-moving traffic when deciding when and where to cross.
Whitehorse councillor Jarrod Gunn brought a motion to the council meeting on Monday September 8 to seek a report on the current condition of the roundabout as well as what works may be required to redesign the roundabout to reduce safety risks.
The Eastern Melburnian understands council staff would work on bringing a report back to council in time for any proposed works to be budgeted for in the 2026/27 budget.
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SEEN THIS WEEK š¤
Sofiaās Croydon site left to rot
Iāve had a few readers reach out to us wanting me to look into whatās going on at the site of the old Sofiaās restaurant in Croydon on Maroondah Highway.
I never went there, but if you have any memories of when it opened please reach out. Otherwise, Iām going to look into what might be happening with the site moving forward.
With it being situated in between a McDonaldās and a Grillād, itād be great for another non-chain food place set up shop there and take advantage of the traffic using Maroondah Highway.
Helping the caring women in our community
Elm St Mission and Womenās Health East will offer a free program - āCare4Carersā - for women who provide unpaid care for partners, children, parents and others.
Program co-ordinator, Ethne Pfeiffer, said the weekly sessions will be open to female carers of all ages.
āCaring for others brings rewards and challenges, and itās important that carers can be part of a group where they feel safe to share their thoughts, express themselves and have some fun,ā she said.
When: Thursday, October 16, 11am to 12:30 pm,
Where: Elm St Mission, 654 Mountain Highway, Bayswater
Thanks for catching up with us this week at the Eastern Melburnian. We hope you enjoyed this issue, and weād love to hear your thoughts. Weāll be back next week to shine a spotlight about the under-reported issues in our patch, so stay tuned!
Cheers,
Matthew and the Eastern Melburnian team