Parkes turned 147 years on Tuesday! The township was officially named Parkes on 1st December 1873 in honour of the then premier of the colony of NSW, Sir Henry Parkes. Parkes Shire Councillors joined in a cutting of a birthday cake in the Council Chambers, while the staff at the Henry Parkes Museum (above) also celebrated. They are (L-R) Bruce Prior, Dorothea Tom OAM, Rosemary Prior, Rose Jones and Bruce Hall.
PARKES MADE… The team at Midland Industries in Parkes who are building 42 trailers for the Snowy Hydro 2.0 project. Sales Manager Roy Trimmer is standing on the far right.
A family business in Parkes is playing a major role in the largest renewable energy project in Australia.
Midland Industries landed a contract in May this year to design and build delivery trucks for the massive Snowy 2.0 pumped-hydro project.
The contract to build 14 sets of custom-made trailers totalling 42 trailers presented a massive challenge to the specialist truck trailer manufacturer in Parkes.
“It is a pretty unique story and we have come up with an innovative design that is a first for Australia,” said Sales Manager Roy Trimmer at a media event on Tuesday. “This is record-breaking stuff,” said Snowy 2.0 Relations Manager Dean Lynch of the project that is a first in the world to build a 27km tunnel of 11m in diameter. “Parkes helped solve the problem of transporting 130,500 concrete segments to the two sites.” He said it would’ve taken 45,000 loads on a semi-trailer, but the Midland unique trailer design reduced it to just un- der 15,000 loads.
Midland had to come up with a design to transport nine concrete segments at a time weighing 6.5 tonnes each from the factory in Cooma to the building sites navigating public roads and roundabouts, harsh weather conditions, very steep roads while reducing noise, ensuring no cracking and no failure on the trailers.
“We started with a design used in Iceland and did over 60 simulations with GPS coordinates to eventually come up with this unique design of three axles on each trailer carrying a total load of 91 tonnes,” said Roy. The weight had to be distributed over the axles to lessen the impact on the road surface. A completed truck and set of trailers are 27m long, 2.5m wide and has 46 wheels.
The first six completed trailers were on display this week to the media. Three more are in fit-out stage, while another 33 are yet to be built.
Midland has employed an additional eight people for the project to bring the team to a total of 28, “but we need many more employees,” said Roy. The contract, which has secured jobs for employees during COVID, is said to inject $9 million into the local economy. “It is great for our company, but it is also about the flow-on effect to everyone else,” said Troy.
Dean said the CEO of Snowy 2.0 was very big on getting Australian manufacturers involved in the project.
“It is just so exciting to be out here in Parkes and see design innovation and manufacturing expertise in regional NSW. It is awesome that we can support a business like this. They are not just making trailers, there is so much more to it.”
By Maggi Barnard
The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) is urging the public to do a quick online check on a charity’s credentials before donating this festive season.
“It takes a minute to check the ACNC online Charity Register to see if an organisation you would like to support is a legitimate charity,” said ACNC Commissioner Dr Gary Johns
“Unfortunately, fraudsters masquerade as charities, exploiting goodwill — scams are on the rise. It is crucial to do at least a quick online check before giving to be confident your donation is going to an organisation that genuinely does good work.
If you get a call from someone claiming to be from a charity, ask to call them back. Search the Charity Register and call back using the phone number published there.
Don’t click on links in unsolicited emails and social media posts. It is safer to visit a charity’s website, to avoid clicking a link to an imitation website.
Don’t give out your credit card and bank account details on social media and be cautious when doing so online.
Always ask for identification from door-to-door and street fundraising collectors.
Parkes Shire Mayor Cr Ken Keith OAM was elected chair of the Country Mayors Association of NSW (CMA) representing almost 70 rural and coastal councils across NSW. “It is a wonderful privilege and I look forward to carrying on the good work of the previous chair Katrina Humphries, Mayor of Moree Council. I am proud to be working with other driven country mayors and to be a part of a group that supports each other and our communities.” Some of the key priorities for the CMA is looking at converting waste to energy, improving roads, attracting country doctors and investing in new technologies.
Helium balloons can travel long distances creating litter hundreds of kilometres from the release site and pose a potential threat to wildlife.
Council resolved at its monthly meeting to educate the community about the environmental risks and controls associated with releasing helium filled balloons outside.
“It is in fact an offence to release 20 or more gas-filled balloons in the open air under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act (200,” said Council’s Director Planning & Environment Brendan Hayes.
“It is important that the community is aware of the environmental impact caused by balloons and the legislation regarding their release,” Brendan said.
Chair of Council’s Waste Committee, Councillor Alan Ward said releases often happened at times of difficulty or celebration. “Council is aiming to encourage residents to consider alternate ways to better commemorate these events.”
“There are more environmentally friendly options such as bubbles, lighting candles, scattering flower petals or planting native trees for those wishing to commemorate the passing of a loved one or celebrating an occasion or event.”
For more information about the impact and controls around releasing helium filled balloons visit https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/questions/release-helium-balloons
Book into one of our ART WORKSHOPS in the new Makerspace Studio. Only $25 per workshop with limited places. Book in person at Parkes Library.
Monday 14: Lovin’ Lino Printing with Helen Gray
Tuesday 15: Painting with Acrylics with Karen Ritchie
Wednesday 16: Assemblaarrge using found objects with Pol Cruz
Thursday 17: Medicine Basket-Mindfulness with Jo Laurie
Friday 18: Banners from Recycled Materials with Deb Jones
REVIVAL ART EXHIBITION
14 Dec-26 Jan @ The Coventry Room. Come and experience what the idea of ‘Revival’ means to artists in the Parkes Shire.
POP-UP ART & CRAFT STALLS
Selling locally made items just in time for Christmas! Saturday, 19th December 9:30- 1pm @ The Makerspace Studio
Join in our fun summer school holiday activities!
• Reading Challenge (all ages) 21 December – 23 January
• Ugly Box Animals (Kinder to year 2) Wednesday, 6th January
• Animal Magazine Art (Years 3 to 6) Wednesday, 13th January
• Fancy Fish World (Kinder to Year 6) Wednesday, 20th January
Limited spaces with bookings essential (in person @ the library) with a cost of $2. You must be a library member to book in, it’s FREE to join. Bookings open 7 December.
The Parkes Shire Library will be closed from 25th December and we will resume our normal hours on Monday, 4th January 2021. From all the staff at Parkes Shire Library we wish you all a very happy and safe festive season!
Leaner driver Jordan Moody
Parents and other supervisors of local learner drivers can dial into a free online workshop next week full of practical advice and information about completing the 120 hours of supervised driving.
The ‘Helping Learner Drivers Become Safer Drivers’ workshop is scheduled for Thursday, 10th December from 6pm running for about 75 minutes.
Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Council’s Road Safety and Injury Prevention Officer, Melanie Suitor, said while the usual face to face workshops were not possible due to the current COVID-19 restrictions, the online delivery would hopefully make it more easily accessible for participants to attend.
“Parents and supervisors of learner drivers have a crucial role to play in making our roads safer. That is why we have teamed up with Transport for NSW.”
The workshop covers the licencing system, how to use the Learner Driver Logbook including the use of digital logbooks, licence conditions for learner and P-plate drivers, the benefits of on-road driving sessions, tips on supervising a learner driver and more.
Bookings are essential and can be made online via Eventbrite, through the Councils’ Facebook pages or by calling Melanie on 6861 2364.
The St George’s Anglican Church in Parkes was able to repaint the church hall and kitchen with funding of $16,045 through the 2019 Community Building Partnership Program. Member for Orange Phil Donato MP (back left) met with Rev Natalie Quince (front right) and church wardens Bruce Hall and Cheryl Thompson to see the end result of the renovation.
How long have you lived in Parkes and what do you like about it? All my life, 45 years. I like the community – it never ceases to amaze me, how when the chips are down, a small town community will always step up.
Where do you work or what do you do currently and what do you enjoy about it? I work with my husband on our family farm. I get to work side by side with my best friend every day.
What is your favourite thing to do when you have free time? I like to spend any spare time crafting, making things with resin and practising photography.
What makes you proud? My family and their achievements.
If you could be an animal which one would you choose, and why? An elephant. They are strong and great leaders, they keep in small groups and are extremely loyal to those around them.
What is your all-time favourite movie, song and/or book, and why? I don’t get a lot of time to read or watch tv.
Tell us about your best holiday. Holidays are few and far between being farmers. I think our last holiday was over five years ago. We did the theme parks in Queensland.
What is on your bucket list? To see more of Australia one day.
Looking back, my stepfather was one of the most highly principled men I have ever known.
I remember watching him one day and thinking there was no reason why we couldn’t get on. I later came to realise that this was my decision to love him.
During the great depression, as a young man and the eldest of a family of eleven living children, and being the only one with a trade, it fell largely to him to earn enough money to keep his family going.
He had an old two-stroke motorbike which used very little fuel and he travelled around all the engineering shops in the Sydney area looking for a days work. Eventually, he landed a permanent job, working a 12-hour night shift, seven days a week.
When I was young, he worked for the railways in the marshalling yards at Chullora and loved working on the big steam trains. He also loved driving one when he had to move it around the yard. He never wanted to work at anything else. Everything he did, he did well and could fix most things.
He loved his chooks too, and things weren’t good the day he came home from work to find his Rhode Island Reds staggering around the yard after Mum had dusted them with insecticide powder in order to eradicate lice.
Mum stayed somewhere else that night.
By Margaret Irwin