Rain again won the Day for Aussie Croquet last Saturday.
Then on Tuesday, Council cancelled all games on Council fields.
We have our annual general meeting after Aussie Croquet tomorrow (Saturday, 29th October). If it rains again the meeting will still take place at the club house starting at 10am. All are welcome.
Play will now be starting at 9am. Let’s hope the weather will be kind to us. That’s it for now.
By Pegging Out
The Parkes Public School Choir at the Sydney Opera House for their performance in the Festival of Choral Music last Tuesday.
Hundreds of children’s voices filled the concert hall at the Sydney Opera House last week and 19 Parkes students were part of it.
The Parkes Public School Choir joined more than 700 students from public schools across NSW for the return of the Festival of Choral Music after the annual event went silent for two years during COVID.
It has been a long build-up making the occasion very exciting and special for the Year 3 to 6 students. The Parkes Public choir has successfully auditioned for the festival since 2015.
“The last time we auditioned was in 2019 for the 2020 event,” said choir leader Colleen Leonard. “Some of the choir members were in Year 3 at the time and are now in Year 6.”
The Australis concert last Tuesday required a lot of hard work from the choir members having to learn a repertoire of 11 songs. “We had two training sessions per week from term one this year – one early morning and one over lunchtime,” said Colleen.
She said it was hard to really prepare the students for the occasion, but they were enchanted and so excited to be part of the great atmosphere. “It is quite awe-inspiring for them to be there with hundreds of other students and such a large audience.” She said every participating school’s name was called out and the audience stood up at the end calling for an encore.
For Colleen the experience is also very rewarding. “It is such an enjoyable thing to do and a real privilege to access the excellent professional training that is part of the program.” She said every time had been special and exciting. “To be there singing with the students is just a great thing to do.”
She thanked her fellow teacher Allison Wallace and the six parents who accompanied the group to Sydney.
By Maggi Barnard
MC Alex Abbey, Christina Carroll, Frances Scurfield and John Sarkissian.
A group of 90 enthusiastic locals met at the Coachman Hotel recently for a Spirituality in the Pub event.
The topic was Science and Faith’s Fascinating Dance, and the speakers were Dr Christina Carroll and John Sarkissian.
Christina graduated in Medicine from the University of Queensland in 1977 and has worked in the hospital system in Queensland and Western Australia gaining broad experience in rural general practice. She also served for several years as a principal examiner for the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine.
John Sarkissian OAM arrived in Parkes in 1996 for an 11-month contract to support NASA’s Galileo Mission to Jupiter and is still here 26 years later. He has a passion for astronomy and is an operations scientist at the CSIRO Parkes Radio Observatory. His main responsibilities are the science operations at the radio telescope, and the support of remote astronomers with their observations. In addition, he is involved in pulsar research – an exciting field of radio astronomy.
More events are planned for 2023 providing a forum for enjoying conversations which are inspirational and entertaining. If you’d like more information or to go on our email list, contact the committee by email at parish.parkes@wf.catholic.org.au.
Denise Gersbach and Maureen Massey, with Graeme Thompson on the right.
Parkes hockey player Denise Gersbach has been selected in the Australian Over 50s team to compete in the Trans-Tasman Challenge in Christchurch, New Zealand in May next year.
Denise will be representing Australia for the fifth time in New Zealand.
Two other Parkes players have been selected as shadow players for Australian teams.
Maureen Massey as a shadow goalkeeper for the Australian over 65s team, and Graeme Thompson as a shadow player for the Australian over 45’s team.
Unfortunately for Maureen, Australia could not select an over 70s team, which is Maureen’s age division, due to a lack of numbers on New Zealand’s part. This means Maureen had to compete with the 65-year-olds for a spot in the team.
If Maureen gets called up it would be her eighth time to represent in the green and gold.
The Trans-Tasman is a three match tournament between Australia and New Zealand for men and women’s teams from over 35s to over 65s every second year.
The men have an over 70s age division.
We keep our fingers crossed for Maureen and Graeme, and congratulations to Denise!
Irene Ridgeway
Where were you born? I was born at Mater Misericordiae Hospital at Waratah in Newcastle.
Were you named after anyone? I was named after my Aunty Irene.
Which of your accomplishments are you most proud of? My six sons are my proudest accomplishment.
What historical moment stands out most in your memory? Marching down George Street in 1983 protesting John Pat’s death in custody. This protest became a symbol of injustice and oppression for Aboriginal people.
What’s the single best piece of advice you’ve ever received? Just be you.
What’s the greatest risk you’ve ever taken? I’m not much of a risk taker, I think life is one big risk, it’s what we achieve daily that counts.
What are the three things you would take to a deserted island? I’d take an umbrella, some water and a satellite phone.
If you had to spend $10,000 today, how would you spend it? I would book a cruise somewhere.
When are you happiest? I’m happiest when I’m around the people I love and when I create artPARKES6862
NSW Farmers President Xavier Martin says while the first Labor budget contains promising announcements, rural communities will be “bitterly disappointed”.
“Critical drought-proofing efforts such as Dungowan and Wyangala dams have been ‘deferred’, and the likelihood of more water buybacks means there will be less water for agriculture once the rain stops.
“Rural communities are already looking at major economic losses as a result of this widespread flooding, the last thing they need is even less certainty into the future.”
Xavier said investments into research and development to help lower emissions from agriculture was a positive move, as were efforts to improve education and training amid a major worker shortage.
The state’s peak business organisation, Business NSW, acknowledged the government’s commitment to delivering on its commitments and putting fiscal repair at the heart of a budget which forecasts a challenging outlook for businesses already grappling with labour shortages, higher prices and global disruption.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has announced a projected deficit of $36.9 billion for the 2022/23 financial year, an improvement of $41.1 billion.
“In a challenging economic environment, there is no doubt this budget makes the hard decisions to kick off the process of getting us back in the black,” said Business NSW, Regional Director – Western NSW, Vicki Seccombe.
“With energy prices forecast to skyrocket next year, we welcome a $62.6 million boost for an energy efficiency grants program and a commitment to establish a $20 billion fund for energy transmission.
Jessica Ashcroft with her NRL Award.
“When they announced the award and the prize, I thought in my head ‘oh wow that would be nice, especially watching the NRL grand final’, and then next minute my name was called up!”
Jessica Ashcroft of the Forbes Magpies was named the 2022 Women in League Award winner recently.
She had no idea she was nominated for the NRL award, which is presented to someone who has acted as an exceptional advocate for the advancement and opportunity of women in rugby league.
“I had so many mixed emotions and was shocked and excited, but most of all proud. Everyone knew except me! When I was standing up there, I had to say a speech and to be quite honest I couldn’t say much as I was still speechless.”
Jessica has played rugby league for Forbes Magpies Junior Rugby League Club from a young age and is an exceptional player for the club’s senior competition. She always looks for opportunities to pass on her knowledge and skills to others.
She has been described as a wonderful role model for the youth of the club, girls, and boys. Coaching the under 8s, refereeing for the club and mentoring upcoming referees are just some of the ways Jessica makes a significant impact on youth at her club.
Going forward Jessica said: “My goal within the footy aspect would be to referee at an NRL game. This has been a goal of mine for a while and I’m slowly getting there refereeing different ages and events. I went to Tuggerah, Central Coast to referee the women’s state titles.”
She said the recognition of the award had inspired her to push harder and further as a referee and player.
‘Rory in the mud’ taken by Amelia O’Reilly from Tullibigeal received a special mention in the junior category of the 2022 Central West is Best Photography Competition.
Thanksgiving Service: On Sunday, 6th November the Alectown Annual Thanksgiving Service will take place in the Alectown Soldiers Memorial Hall at 4pm. The event has been held annually for many years just prior to harvest to give thanks for the upcoming harvest and for all the blessings received throughout the year. Quite often rain is needed to finish crops off, but this year has been extraordinary and we pray for fine weather to dry out the soil so that the crops can be harvested. Afternoon tea is served afterwards and everyone is welcome.
Funding For Country Arts: Applications are now open for Arts OutWest’s Country Arts Support Program (CASP), a small annual funding round supporting arts activities in the NSW Central West. Grants of up to $3,000 are available that will help to generate new arts activities. Applications for 2023 close at 5pm on Monday, 5th December. Projects could include (but are not limited to) arts or heritage-based workshops, classes, performances, installations, exhibitions, tours, screen/film making, writing or composition, development of new work, tours or talks, artist-in-residence programs, recordings or podcasts, and new arts activities attached to festivals or events – as long as they have some element of public outcome.
Arts OutWest will run a free grant writing workshop in Parkes on Wednesday, 2nd November and an online CASP information session on Wednesday, 16th November. To apply you must discuss your idea with Arts OutWest before submitting an online application. Read the full criteria at www.artsoutwest.org.au/pf/casp/ and contact Arts OutWest on 6338 4657 or artsoutwest@csu.edu.au
Help Improve The Great Outdoors: Residents of Central West are encouraged to help shape the future of open spaces by completing the NSW Regional Outdoor Survey. The survey will only take about ten minutes to complete. To have your say go to www.planning.nsw.gov.au/nsw-regional-outdoor-survey.
New Rules To Boost Agritourism: More farmers across NSW will soon be able to welcome visitors thanks to a new policy that makes it easier to set up agritourism opportunities. Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW Paul Toole said: “We’re making it cheaper and easier for our farmers to diversify their income by starting, running and growing agritourism experiences, such as farm stays, cafes, cellar doors, retreats, roadside stalls, fruit picking and small wedding venues.”
Ella Gibson from Baldry was the runner-up in the junior category of the 2022 Central West is Best Photography Competition with her entry called ‘If a shed could tell a story’.
The 1.65kg of gold for this year’s Melbourne Cup came from Evolution’s Cowal Mine 100km west of Forbes. The Melbourne Cup Tour included Forbes in September when residents could get a photo with the famous trophy.
The Melbourne Cup is Australia’s most famous thoroughbred horse race held over a distance of 3,200 metres at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne.
With a total prize money of almost $8 million, it is the richest “two-mile” handicap in the world and one of the richest turf races.
It is held on the first Tuesday of November each year, and known as the ‘race that stops a nation’.
This year the Melbourne Cup will be held on Tuesday, 1st November at 3pm.
The Melbourne Cup has a long tradition, with the first race held in 1861 when the winner received a gold watch. The first Melbourne Cup trophy was awarded in 1865 and was an elaborate silver bowl on a stand that had been manufactured in England. This is currently owned by Australian wine personality Wolf Blass and is on display at the Wolf Blass Gallery & Museum/Adelaide Hills Wine Bar in Hahndorf, South Australia.
In 1876 Edward Fischer, an immigrant from Austria produced the first Australian-made trophy. In the Second World War years (1942, 1943 and 1944) the winning owner received war bonds valued at 200 pounds.
A new trophy is struck each year and becomes the property of the winning owner. In the event of a dead heat, a second cup is on hand. The present trophy is hand spun from 1.65 kg of 18-carat gold, and the gold for this year’s trophy came from Evolution’s Cowal Mine west of Forbes.
That is why Forbes was included in the annual Melbourne Cup Tour this year. Many residents lined up last month to get a photo of them holding the 18-carat trophy.
The Parkes Shire Concert Band with regional musicians at the concert in celebration of Lindsay Morehouse on Sunday. (photo: Caroline Chapman)
A wonderful celebration of music to honour Lindsay Morehouse and what he contributed to the Parkes Shire for 40 years was held on Sunday.
The Spring Fling Festival event saw 150 people and musicians enjoy an afternoon of music at the Parkes Services Club. Many of the musicians had played with Lindsay in the Parkes Orchestra, and some in the audience were taught by him, while others enjoyed the concerts he had organised over all those years.
The concert achieved our expectations of a wonderful afternoon of music to celebrate Lindsay. It was a showcase of musicians who are playing in the Parkes Shire Concert Band, and also the Forbes Town & District Band.
“It was a great event and Dad would be so pleased that everyone was still enjoying music,” said Caroline Chapman, Lindsay’s daughter who attended the concert with her husband Steve and their son Patrick.
They also put up a wonderful display of memorabilia for everyone to reminisce about. The timeline depicted Lindsay’s career of years working in radio, teaching and conducting music in Parkes.
Thank you to our wonderful musicians, we all collaborated and supported each other. The stirring sounds the didgeridoo created with Welcome to Country. Thank you to Charlie and Tyrone… it was a memorable day for Lindsay.
Lindsay came to Parkes in 1973 as a radio engineer and violin and piano teacher who became a trailblazer for promoting and sustaining music in the Parkes community.
By Ellen Tom