Maggi Barnard

She grew into the sweetest little child who mothered the babies that followed, tried to blame her older brother for her share of the mischief, competed with him for top honours, and made a name for herself by running the hair clippers straight up through the centre of her hair (both from the front and the back) just one week before her first school photo.

The second eldest of our seven children, she was the one who pulled up her little brother’s pants for him, and who cleaned up the baby when she got dirty. During those years when the pressures were overwhelming and there was never enough time in the day, I would not have survived without her willing help. Tall and lanky, she could be described as gangling – all arms and legs, loved taking part in PE and began to excel in athletics and sport.

Someone told my daughter that she might be good at high jump, so my husband happily made her a set of high jumps which we loaded into our VW Microbus every after-noon so that she could practice at the park.

Doing a scissors jump, the only one she knew, she excelled to the point that she was winning her division in high jump at each athletic carnival. Having won the right to represent her school at the 1973 Combined Convent Schools Metropolitan Sports Carnival, and still doing her scissors jump when everyone else was competing with a western roll, she broke the record by 51cm (2 inches) at eleven years of age, jumping 129cm.

She was still winning with a scissors jump when she competed in the Western Districts Combined Schools Sports Carnival in 1978. Can’t help wondering what the Olympics missed out on!

By Margaret Irwin

A generous donation by Parkes Services Club brought a lot of joy to Currajong Disability Services (CDS) on Monday.

General manager Mike Phillips donated $5,000 to CDS to cover the cost of transporting more than 30 adults living with a disability to attend a disability bowling league in Orange.

The money will cover the cost of hiring a coach to transport the bowlers to Orange and back seven times a year.

“Currajong Disability are overwhelmed with the generosity of the Parkes Services Club and our local community,” said Indigo Kriedeman, CDS Team Leader. “Without this ongoing support we could not make as many opportunities available to our participants. We cannot thank the Parkes Services Club enough for their continued support.”

CDS have been participating in the disability bowling league for 25 years. Chang-es to funding with the roll out of the NDIS meant that CDS were unable to continue to cover the transport costs.

This meant the CDS participants would have missed out on an activity that they love, give them an opportunity to play a sport and make friends with people from other towns and most of all to have fun.

Luckily the Parkes Services Club stepped up to help cover the costs and ensure the CDS participants could continue this popular and important activity.

Parkes Shire students Josie Thompson and Monique Morgan have been awarded the Jack Scoble Scholarships for 2021.

The scholarship offers funding to students for their tertiary studies, and covers relocation and accommodation costs, or the purchase of a laptop and textbooks.

Josie, a former student of Red Bend Catholic College, carried out her own research and found there was a high demand for speech pathologists in rural communities. She has been accepted into the University of Newcastle to study a Bachelor of Speech Pathology (Honours).

Monique attended Trundle Central School, and has been accepted into the University of Wollongong to study Primary Education. Monique was inspired by her teachers at Trundle Central School.

“We had a number of outstanding applicants this year of which our panel chose to interview four,” said Councillor Bill Jayet. “Parkes Shire Council is delighted to support lifelong learning by helping to kick start what will no doubt be outstanding careers for this year’s scholarship recipients.”

The Jack Scoble Education Scholarships have provided financial assistance to students to the value of $105,000 between 2006 and 2021.

There’s a place out West of the Great Divide
As bush as a bushman could seek
It’s as rough as guts on the cricket field
In a place called Reedy Creek

The field itself could be easily missed
If you don’t know where it be
It’s nothing more than a farmer’s paddock
Where they let the sheep run free

The ground is hard, with pots and divots
Spread all throughout the ground
Any ball that’s hit, soft or hard
Will twist and jump around

The wild lads from Reedy Creek
Did win the toss and bat
They played a hard and wily game
And truly gave a crack

They hit it hard, they hit it high
Dropped catches didn’t help
The boundary riders had a job
To keep the beggars out

In the end they played their innings
With barely a wicket lost
The game itself a forgone conclusion
The Parkes Crusher boys a loss

But they went on in, just as they should
To win back some missing pride
This team of B graders rarely frowned
They just enjoyed the ride

The openers they went out to bat
To try and build a score
But wicket stumbled 1 by 1
Their total looking poor

The batsmen all walked out to play
But soon were back called out
Until they came, to their last man
Who stood before a rout

But this unlikely man could hold his nerve
Yet seldom did he speak
But he played the game of his life
The Sheik at Reedy Creek

The Reedy lads did spend their time
Bowling all but the kitchen sink
But nothing put him off his game
The number eleven didn’t blink

They tried to bounce him, the balls were short
But he’d twist and turn and spin
And more good luck no-one ever had
As he caused quite a din

The ball would hit his bat then pad
And jump up in the air
But the fielder feeling too confident
Tripped over a wild hare

There were many catches dropped by the lads
Each had a good excuse
A rabbit hole, a wayward snake
And even wild goose

The strangest part of this weird day
Was when ‘the Sheik’ had hit a six
He couldn’t do anything wrong
It was like the match was fixed

He had merely tried to block the ball
From an amazing stint of spin
When a farmer’s dog came out from nowhere
And caught the ball like Flynn

The fielders all did yell and scream
Which gave the dog a fright
So he turned tail and ran past the boundary
But dropped the ball, in sight

The Parkes boys all could smell victory
With this unlikely turn of events
While the lads from Reedy Creek were livid
It just made no bloody sense

It finally came down to the last ball
Parkes only 3 away
The lads from Reedy Creek moved in
They wanted to win the day

The ball was bowled – it was a screamer
It came out like a ball of fire
But ‘the Sheik’ did swing and hit that ball
And the Creek boys were looking dire

The ball was long the ball was high
And all did hold their breath
For none had held a catch all day
This could well be their death

The fielder was an older man
As nervous as could be
He ran as fast as he could run
As the lads were running three

He set himself towards the ball
A little to the right
When a nearby pigeon had taken wing
And entered into the plight

The Reedy Creek boys, they all did groan
As the ball collected bird
It seemed like all was at a loss
But what happened next was blurred

The elderly fielder who was on his way
Had tripped and landed flat
And thinking that he’d done the worst
Just looked around and sat

But then the most unlikely thing
That only happens to the meek
That ball did land square in his lap
The curse of Reedy Creek

By Matthew Kennedy

Readers are welcome to submit creative writing for publication in this monthly column. Please send your writing (preferably 300 words) to editor@parkesphoenix.com.au.

It was the day they picked the teams for the school football. The good players were quickly sorted into teams until the only ones left were a group of 13-year-olds who desperately wanted to play football, but had no coach. One of those boys was our son, Rodney, so our eldest son, Jim, a good footballer with no experience in coaching, volunteered to train them and our other son, Alex, stepped up to help.

There was a petrol strike on at the time and we were only allowed $2 worth on al-ternate days. Our VW Microbus was really loaded with the whole football team (14 boys), two coaches, our two girls, two-year-old Michael, a variety of bags and balls, the dog and me. We didn’t have seat belts in those days!

As the boys were to play at Warragamba, I drove into the service station for my $2 worth and whilst the driveway attendant was putting the petrol in the car, I quietly asked him if he would please put some air in the tyres as they looked a bit flat. He glanced in the windows of the microbus and, just as quietly, said: “Would you like me to fill it for you, love?”

The boys hadn’t scored a point in their first few games, but the opposing teams hadn’t scored highly either, so, on the way to the game I told them that if they put points on the board today, I would shout them all KFC on the way home as a store had recently opened in Penrith. They scored! Like dogs with two tails, they couldn’t have been more pleased if they had won the first-grade premiership.

It cost me a mint to buy KFC for the whole tribe, but it was worth every cent.

By Margaret Irwin

The Country Universities Centre (CUC) Parkes welcomed the Governor of NSW, Margaret Beazley AC QC and Dennis Wilson on Friday, 19th February when they visited the newly opened centre.

The welcoming party included three CUC Parkes students, Maigan Robertson, Talesha Dunn and Connor Robertson, as well as Centre Manager Jacob Cass and CUC Chair Tracie Robertson. The Governor enjoyed engaging with the students asking about their studies, and next steps post study.

Connor Robertson, currently studying his Bachelor of Public Safety and Security with Charles Sturt University explained about his current application process to join the Royal Australia Air Force. “The dining room table was my study space before I registered with the CUC and it was hard to focus. It was in a communal space in the home that didn’t allow for dedicated learn-ing.” He said at the centre he was able to spread out, study in peace and “when I leave the centre I can just be at home”.

Mother and fulltime worker, Talesha Dunn, said working on her Graduate Certificate in Applied Digital Marketing online through Charles Sturt University was exciting but also challenging. “I enjoy the CUC Parkes as it is a quiet place to study, away from home stresses or priorities at work. I get a full day a week to come and use the centre to watch my lectures, finish my assessments and just focus on study for eight solid hours.”

Jacob highlighted the strengths of the location of the CUC and its strong relationship with Parkes Shire Council. “The Centre includes 11 computer terminals and sitting space for students to BOYD (bring your own device). Students have access seven days a week from 7am to midnight

The CUC Parkes is open for any student studying a higher education course at any Australian University. Visit: www.cucparkes.edu.au or contact Jacob Cass on 0409 119 0933 for more information.