Maggi Barnard

The Carols in the Park preshow on Sunday was a very special occasion for one young member of the Lachlan Regional Orchestra. Eighteen-year-old Matthias Kelly from Trundle conducted the orchestra for the very first time in public after a five-week internship under the orchestra’s conductor
Ben Macpherson.

“I was fairly nervous, but it went pretty well and the orchestra played well,” said Matthias of his debut performance as a conductor. Matthias is a viola player in the orchestra and was able to do the training with a Charles Sturt University (CSU) grant.

Five other members of the orchestra are excited to have received scholarships to attend the Sydney Youth Orchestra Summer School in Sydney from 7th to 11th January. They are Reuben Kelly (cello) Gracie Mcfadyen (clarinet), Carmel Kelly (violin), Simeon Kelly (Bassoon) and Anton Mcfadyen (violin).

The streets were lined with masses of people, the floats sparkled in the late afternoon sun and an air of excitement prevailed as the annual Christmas Parade set the tone for the festive season in Parkes last Friday.

The 30 float entries, including two ponies, the Rural Fire Service and a dragon boat, and 300 plus students marching for their schools created an ocean of Christmas colours as the procession flowed down the street cheered on by the crowds.

Some people remarked it was the biggest crowd seen in Parkes after the Elvis Parade in January each year.

“It was an outstanding success,” said Peter Guppy of Parkes Action Club, who organises the parade. “The Action Club
would like to thank everyone who put a lot of effort into their floats.”

Geoff Rice from the Parkes Chamber of Commerce, who judged the float entries, said they were all of a high standard. The TWW $300 voucher for best business float was awarded to McPhersons, and the school prize of $100 went to Parkes Christian School.

The Action Club also thanked the SES for doing an excellent job of crowd control, and the students for their exemplary behaviour. “The Parkes community is to be congratulated for supporting the parade and enjoying this great community event,” said Peter.

There was singing and partying in the street last Saturday as Parkes celebrated its 145th birthday. The informal birthday bash was held at Christmas Central in Clarinda Street and many of the town’s citizens stopped by to join the party.

Councillor Bill Jayet, surrounded by some very excited children, cut the huge cake and shared it with the crowd, while Sharon Klarner and Katrina Newham handed out party hats and whistles. Jenny Short took time off from Christmas Central’s free giftwrapping service to join the party.

“It was great to be able to play the big kid again,” said Bill, “and share such a big birthday cake on such a milestone event.”

Local busker and Parkes High School student Hannah Dun lent her amazing voice to add a beautiful touch to the atmosphere of the celebration. Hannah, who at 13 years of age has won runner-up in the Australian National Busking Competition for the last two years running, was delighted to accept Council’s invitation to sing at the town’s
birthday event.

The area of Parkes, first known as Currajong and later as Bushmans, began to flourish in 1862 with the discovery of gold. Then, 145 years ago on the first of December 1873, the town was renamed Parkes after Sir Henry Parkes, then Premier of NSW, and the main street was named after his wife, Lady Clarinda.

Happy Birthday Parkes!

By Beth Thomas

The future looks promising for Parkes as benefits of the Inland Rail Project are starting to flow to local businesses. With the Parkes to Narromine (P2N) section of the project due to commence in the near future, the joint venture INLink, engaged by Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) have started to mobilise in Parkes.

A broad range of opportunities are already available in the Central West, while there have been local procurement opportunities for a range of service providers such as signage services, personal protective equipment and furniture and office appliances in Parkes.

“It has been a long-term vision of the Parkes community to see our town as a national logistics hub and the Inland Rail project is the major link in the chain that will start to see this vision realised,” said Parkes Shire Council’s General Manager Kent Boyd.

According to ARTC Project Director Colin Ford INLink had very positive responses from the community with more than 380 expression of interest (EOI) registrations from local companies, partnerships and sole traders. “INLink have been working with them throughout the process to understand the kind of variable skills and opportunities to price work that is available.

“An extensive list of services will be required which will include, but is not limited to, concrete supply services, transportation, fencing, earthmoving, drainage, electrical works, concrete works, security and water bore drilling,” said Colin. “There will also be a positive flow-on effects for motels, retailers, cafes, restaurants and a range of service providers.

“We are looking forward to securing the right people and businesses who have the capacity, skills and experience to deliver the work on-time, on-budget and with minimal disruption to the community.”