Maggi Barnard

Maggi Barnard has been with the Parkes Phoenix since it was established in March 2016 and loves writing about her community.

Soccer Returns To Harrison Park

July 10, 2020 By Maggi Barnard

Last Saturday saw the return of the Parkes & District Amateur Soccer Association’s competitions after a short delay due to COVID-19. It was great to welcome everyone back to Harrison Park and to see lots of smiling faces enjoying the great game of soccer.

Although Round 2 kicks off this weekend, it is still not too late to register for the 2020 season. Registrations will be accepted until 31st July. For more details regarding registrations go to www.pdasa.sportingpulse.net.

Draw for tomorrow, Saturday 11th July:
• UNDER 6: 12.20pm G1 Panthers v Cheetahs; 12.20pm G2 Lions v Tigers.
• UNDER 8: 12.00pm G8 Eagles v Hawks; 12.00pm G9 Falcons v Emus; 1.10pm G9 Budgies v Magpies.
• UNDER 10: 12.15pm G4 Jets v Mari- ners; 12.15pm G5 United v Roar.
• UNDER 12: 12.30pm G11Olympic v Vic- tory; 2.00pm G11 Power v Warriors.
• UNDER 17: 12.10pm G6 Thunder v Rovers; 12.10pm G7 Rangers v Wolves.
• OPEN LADIES: Friday Night 6.00pm G10 Parkes Hotel Football Club (PHFC) v Star Hotel Cougars. Saturday 1.30pm G10 Raptors v Commercial Kookaburra’s; 3.05pm G7 Peak Hill All Stars v Forbes Wildcats.

Why The Art Of Resilience?

July 10, 2020 By Maggi Barnard

Nathan Tessmann and Roger Kitson.

Before my role as Drought Response Officer I worked with disabled and special needs youth, and saw first-hand the benefits of art as a tool to overcome mental health problems.

The process of engaging with art is in its self very calming. However, it also provides time and space for people to process the internal monologue attached to mental health problems. It can help to find reason within the chaos.

Nathan Tessmann comes to mind. He was born with a severe degenerative condition, and doctors are still not sure exactly what the problem is. Nathan needs assistance with the basic things in life. As a result, his outlook on life was extremely bleak.

He was “the boy in the wheel chair” and he felt a burden on society and his family. Nathan did not want to live any more, but did not even have the capabilities to take his own life which threw him into a spiral of depression.

I was running music workshops at the local high school and Nathan approached me one day with a hip-hop song he wrote. I was extremely impressed. The content of this song was so heart-felt and a real window into Nathan’s life. This started our six-year journey, coaching him as much as I could with song writing and performance.

This led to other hip-hop artists jumping on board to take Nathan to the next level. He ended up on stage in front of 16,000 people at Australia’s largest hip-hop festival, Sprung Fest. He shared the stage with the Hilltop Hoods and Bliss n Eso, two of Australia’s biggest hip-hop bands.

Nathan found his gift. He found his sense of place and purpose as well as using hip- hop as a platform to express emotions and feelings that had been locked up all his life. Nathan went from wanting to end his life to living a life he could never have imagined, simply by having the courage to express himself and try something new.

These experiences inspired me to use art as a way to deal with the emotional impact of drought, bushfires and COVID-19. The Art of Resilience Competition provides a platform for Parkes Shire Youth to process these unprecedented events and to try and make sense of complex issues and challenges.

By Roger Kitson

Many Visitors Scope Out The Dish

July 10, 2020 By Maggi Barnard

CSIRO Parkes Radio Telescope staff ready to welcome back visitors. L-R are Maggie Sarkissian, Lyn Milgate and Tricia Trim. (photos: John Sarkissian)

The CSIRO Parkes Radio Telescope has been abuzz since its re-opening last Saturday. “It is great to be back,” said CSIRO Operations Scientist John Sarkissian. “We had a great response, with many families visiting with their kids.”

John said a range of new safety measures were implemented to create a safe environment for visitors, including only allowing 50 people inside the centre at any given time, limiting numbers in the 3D theatre and signing in on arrival. The Dish Café is also open with appropriate social distancing measures in place. The Visitors Centre is open from 8:30am to 4:15pm every day with lots of fun activities, and things to see and do during these school holidays.

Social distancing rules apply in the 3D theatre at the visitors centre.

Brolgan – A Fascinating History And Exciting Future

July 10, 2020 By Maggi Barnard

Brolgan School photograph from 1903 with teacher Mr Carson. (Source: NSW State Archives)

Brolgan is another place name with Aboriginal origins – the word ‘brolgan’ means ‘native companion’. In Wiradjuri, the word for ‘brolga’ is burralgan.

A place called Brolgan is first mentioned in 1853 in New South Wales Government Gazette article about Crown Lands Beyond The Settled Districts. There is also mention of Brolgan Plains, Brolgan Plains Run and Back Brolgan Station. When cadastral maps were drawn up, Brolgan became a parish, in the county of Ashburnham.

Throughout the latter part of the 19th Century, Brolgan is mentioned at least weekly in either newspapers or NSW Government Gazette. The land was highly prized and Brolgan had a proactive branch of the Farmers & Settlers Association, who campaigned for the release of more land for settlement.

In its heyday Brolgan had two schools (Brolgan Public School and Brolgan Siding Public School); a hotel (Brolgan Hotel on Trundle Road); a horse racing course (Brolgan Race Club); a weekly mail service; a cricket club; and Francis Foy‘s horse stud “The Monastery”.

In 1972 a British film company came to the Parkes district to film most of the Australian scenes for the Harry Secombe-led Sunstruck. While the local newspaper of the time reported the locations as being “near Nelungaloo”, both current and former residents of Brolgan will highlight that it was their town, not Nelungaloo, as the actual location. “Braeside”, owned by Joe Venables, was used by the film crew to become “Mayfair Hotel” the central hub for the fictional town of Kookaburra Springs. “Braeside” was in Brolgan and not far from the location of the Parkes National Logistics Hub. Brolgan has a fascinating history and an exciting future.

(Abridged from the history blog on www.historyparkes.org)

By Dan Fredericks

Time To Do Something Kind For Your Health

July 10, 2020 By Maggi Barnard

A happy group of bowlers at the return of social bowls on Tuesday.

After four months of isolation, lockdown, following the rules, baking pies and growing broader (anything but flattening our curves!), it was time at last, for our own OUTBREAK!

As our hands have seen more alcohol than our favourite wine glasses lately, it was time to down the wipes, shake the wrinkles out of our uniforms, and do something kind to our health.

On Tuesday social bowls returned at the Parkes Bowling and Sports Club with the semi-finals of the Club Championship Singles: Maree Grant vs Rhona Went and Liz Byrne vs Betsy Johnstone in action.

“It is so good to be back,” said Rhona Went. “We just sat and ate and drank for four months.”

Brenda Davies and Marja Iffland said they missed the company the most. “Seeing everyone and socialising. That is the main thing.”

Club Manager Paul Henry is also very happy to have the bowlers back who supports the club so much. He said they were able to accommodate up to 90 people under current regulations. “We can do events and weddings, but just not big crowds.” The club is open every day from 3pm and on Friday nights Dev’s Kitchen is also back.

The greenkeepers, gardeners, painters and assorted helpers worked hard to ensure the club looks spectacular! Huge thank you to all our volunteers!

By Lea Orr and Maggi Barnard

Tuesday also saw the semi-finals of the Club Champion- ship Singles played by (L-R) Betsy Johnstone, Maree Grant, Liz Byrne and Rhona Went.

One Of A Kind Monaro Makes Parkes Its Home

July 10, 2020 By Maggi Barnard

TRUE BLUE… No one else has a car like this. Dave Littlewood’s name was picked from half a million entries as the winner of the custom-build V2 Holden Monaro.

A Parkes resident is the envy of thousands of Holden lovers in Australia after he became the very proud and happy owner of a unique custom-build Monaro.

Dave Littlewood of Littlewood Smash Repairs was picked from half a million entries as the winner of Project Monaro, an exciting custom-build of an iconic VZ Holden Monaro. Tipping the scales of this amazing win was being handed the keys in person by V8 Supercar Driver Craig Lowndes in Sydney last week.

Cathy Littlewood is just as excited as her husband Dave about the unique Monaro. Here they are in Sydney receiving the keys from V8 Supercar Driver Craig Lowndes (right).

“It was pretty cool meeting such a legend,” said Dave. He had a good chat with the seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner about the car. Craig is the front man for Holden and presented a series of videos about the rebuild of the Monaro watched by close to a million people.

Although Dave’s business had a good number of entries in the competition, he never ever imagined he could be the winner. “When I received the phone call I was very sceptical and thought it was a prank.” It was only when he received the email from Holden, that he was convinced it was for real.

“I’ve been driving Holden for 30 years, and to be the owner of this one of a kind Monaro is just unbelievable.”

After picking up the Monaro at Heartland Holden in Penrith last Monday, he did not want to risk driving it back to Parkes and put it on a trailer. “It was straight back to work and getting home after dark every day.”

One out of one – a plate under the engine cap shows how special this car is.

The first opportunity he actually had to take it for a drive was last Saturday before he put it on display at Wholesome Blend for the public to see. “It felt so good taking it out on the open road. So powerful, just amazing,” said Dave with a twinkle in his eye.

For those who did not get a glimpse of it last Saturday, you might not be able to spot it around town too often. “I am only going to take it out on rare occasions and take it to motor shows,” said Dave.

He plans to take it to Australia’s biggest horsepower party and automotive lifestyle festival, the Summernats in Canberra, later this year. Otherwise the Monaro will keep Dave’s other prize possession, a 1969 Ford Mustang, company in his caravan shed most of the time.

By Maggi Barnard

We’re All Going On A Trike Adventure

July 10, 2020 By Maggi Barnard

Azalia Brown sits with her Pop, Michael Brown at the back, and Harleigh in front.

School holidays are a time to do something out of the ordinary as two Parkes kids experienced this week.

Azalia and Harleigh Brown treated their Pop, Michael Brown from Newcastle, for an exhilarating hour-long trike ride around Parkes on a motor trike ride.

“There were lots of screams of joy during the outing,” said Peter Judd from Trike Adventures in Dubbo who was the ‘chauffeur’.

Harleigh said it sounded amazing when the trike made a lot of vroom-vroom noise at the Coles carpark. It was a very enjoyable ride for Michael, but he said the best part was the smiles on the kids’ faces. Azalea was not so sure what to make of it, but her Pop said he could see her enjoying it.

Peter took them all around Parkes including the look-out and out on the Forbes road. It was a beautiful sunny day, and although a bit chilly, the excitement and adrenaline quickly warmed them up again.

Peter is a well-known face in Parkes as he offers trike rides every year at the Elvis Festival. He said it was no problem coming here to give the family a fun holiday experience.

With COVID-19 restrictions lifted, there are more opportunities this holiday for families to enjoy the parks and other activities.

Grains Industry Critical For Regional Jobs

July 3, 2020 By Maggi Barnard

A new report has revealed a strong correlation between Australian grains production and jobs in regional areas – about one job for every 1,000 tonnes of grain produced.

The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) report outlines research conducted by the Regional Australia Institute. GRDC head of industry and government relations, Justin Crosby, says grains comprise about a quarter of the value of Australia’s agricultural industry.

“This report clearly shows that grain growers are the backbone of many of Australia’s regional economies and demonstrates the critical importance of ensuring that they continue to be profitable.”

“The number of grain production jobs – people involved in the growing of grain, which may be in combination with the production of other crops and livestock – increases with raw grain tonnage and gross value,” he said.

“For every 100,000 tonnes of grain produced there are, on average, 87 grain production jobs in Queensland and NSW; 121 in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania; and 54 in Western Australia.

There were 34,745 direct grain production jobs at the time of the last census, with the bulk in NSW (29%).

While the grains industry continued to be a significant source of Australian employment, the number of grain production jobs fell from 50,707 jobs in the 2006 census to 34,745 grain production jobs in 2016.

“In the face of tight labour markets in regional Australia, grain growers have been able to adapt through adopting improved technologies and achieving increased efficiencies,” Justin said.

“Regions with a high proportion of grain production jobs, compared with the national average, have a specialisation in grain production and are more dependent on the success of the grains industry for economic outcomes,” he said.

“These ‘specialised regions’ are strongly concentrated in the WA wheatbelt, the Yorke and Eyre peninsulas in SA, the Grampians region in Victoria, central NSW and inland southwest Queensland.”

Northparkes Reaches 400 Shipments Milestone

July 3, 2020 By Maggi Barnard

CMOC-Northparkes Mines reached a major milestone last week of its 400th shipment.

“In just over 25 years, we have produced 1.168 million tonnes of copper and 1.464 million ounces of gold,” said Northparkes Managing Director, Hubert Lehman.

“To all the people who work here today and to those that have come and gone, each and every single one of you has played an integral role in contributing to the milestone. I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank you for your hard work and dedication to our operations.”

Hubert spoke of the support and encouragement of the community, and the role they have played in the success of the operation. “I would like to formally extend my thanks to both the local communities of Parkes and Forbes for their continued support enabling us to achieve this milestone.”

Northparkes has been operating for over 25 years. The operation is made up of an underground block cave mine, a sub-level cave and an ore processing plant which produces copper concentrate for export.

The ore is processed onsite to produce a high-grade copper concentrate which is then transported by road train to the Goonumbla rail siding, located approximately 13km from the mine. The containers are then placed onto a train and transported to Port Kembla, south of Wollongong for shipping to customers primarily in China and Japan.

During the past five years, Northparkes has contributed $409.7 million to the Central West through salaries, sponsorships, government dues and payments to local businesses.

What’s On @ The Library

July 3, 2020 By Maggi Barnard

VIRTUAL SCHOOL HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES
Due to COVID-19 restrictions for libraries, our school holiday activities will be available on Parkes Shire Library Facebook. Call into the library to collect your holiday activity pack to join in the fun.

PAINTING WITH SCISSORS
Explore the world of the artist Henri Matisse and create an artwork using his techniques.

MAKE YOUR OWN PET HORSE
Learn some interesting facts about horses then use the template to decorate your own pet horse.

STORY BOX
We provide free access to a fabulous online library suitable for preschool and primary aged children. Just head to our online library catalogue and you’ll find Story Box under Reading at Home.

ARE WE THERE YET?
Are you planning on taking a road trip? Your library has an extensive collection of Audio Books and eAudiobooks to entertain the whole family. Our collection has something for everyone, such as Alexander McCall Smith’s School Ship Tobermory or Enid Blyton’s classic Magic Faraway Tree series.

STAFF PICK OF THE MONTH
“There’s a lot of it going around” – A GP’s Odyssey by Leon Piterman
This book is a combination of entertaining and educational tales and is essential reading for medical practitioners and their patients.Through personal anecdotes – sometimes humorous, others quite poignant – the author highlights the challenges and rewards of being a modern general practitioner in Australia. A collection of short stories, it is ideal for those wishing to break “reader’s block” and get back into reading. As a self-confessed slow reader, I consumed it in one sitting. While containing medical terminology, the majority is explained for the layperson and gives a greater understanding in the complexities of diagnosing every person’s ailments. Both patients and professionals will learn something from this book.

By Dan Fredericks

Maggi Barnard

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