Maggi Barnard

Not many people would think of ways to use old postie bikes, let alone use them to raise money for an important cause.

On Monday a cavalcade of 18 postie bikes and six support vehicles drove into Parkes to deliver a very important message and raise awareness of prostate cancer as part of the Male Bag Foundation’s big ride from Perth to Melbourne.

The group of volunteers are raising funds to provide regional NSW with transperineally biopsy machines that are used to diagnose prostate cancer.

Using the familiar red Honda CT110s they can only travel at a maximum speed of approximately 80km/h, covering about 120 km on one tank of petrol.

Arriving from Griffith, they travelled about 300km on Monday. According to Patron David Parkin, a former Australian rules footballer and four-time premiership coach, and prostate cancer survivor, they would be well on their way to reach $1 million by the time they reach Melbourne this weekend.

The group was welcomed in Parkes by the Parkes Prostate Cancer Awareness and Support Group with a barbeque at Lions Park.

John, the Highwayman, passed through Parkes this week carrying his huge swag, heading west for Condobolin. John left his job and decided to backpack around Australia in 1977 living off the land. He has been walking the highways and byways ever since – with no plans to end his journey. “There used to be a lot more swagmen around back then,” said John who has become a rarity in today’s modern world.

Some people think he’s an icon, an Aussie legend, but John shrugs his shoulders at the thought, “I’m just me.” The freedom of John’s lifestyle means no commitments, no deadlines, no stresses of modern life. John plans his route from town to town. “But I don’t always stick to it. Don’t have to.”

He goes where he wants when he wants. There’s no exact routine to his day. He packs up and walks when he feels ready. He stops when he feels like it. John has no favourite season, though he does like the longer daylight of summer, and deals with the weather as it comes. “Sometimes on frosty mornings I can’t feel my fingers and toes for a while, but I just get up and shake the ice off. In rain or duststorms I pull the tarp over me and shelter in the trees.”

John lost touch with his family for 20 years, but is now reunited. He calls his 89-year-old mother in Ballarat and sometimes spends Christmas with his sister in Victoria. These days John has supporters with a Facebook page who provide him with his basic needs, such as his new boots which make him feel a bit taller after his old down-at-heel pair. Loneliness has never troubled John, but he’s happy to have a chat with whoever comes by. So, if you’re heading
out Condo way, pack an extra sandwich and a coffee for John and pull up for a yarn.

By Beth Thomas

Marriages

How do you legally become married in Australia?

Firstly, you have to decide to marry and who is going to be the celebrant. Priests, ministers of recognised religions and registry officers are nominated by their religious bodies to be marriage celebrants.

How do you become a civil marriage celebrant?
Being appointed a Justice of the Peace does not allow you to be a marriage celebrant. Before applying to become a
Commonwealth-registered marriage civil celebrant you must:
(a) be 18 years of age;
(b) complete Certificate IV in Celebrancy at a registered training organisation and;
c) be a fit and proper person and be of good standing within the community.
Secondly, you are required to give a marriage celebrant at least one month’s notice and not more than 18 months’ notice of an intended date of marriage.

The priest or marriage celebrant will provide you with the Notice of Intended Marriage (NOIM) to complete. The marriageable age is 18 years. If a person is 16 or 17 and wishes to marry prior to their 18th birthday, a court can give authority for the marriage to be solemnised, although parents may also give their permission. A NOIM may be lodged prior to the 18th birthday, as long as the marriage occurs after the birthday.

Both parties are required to provide original birth certificate or passport. If either party has been previously married, you must provide evidence of the termination with either a divorce certificate (if divorced) or a full death certificate (if widowed). Certificates in a foreign language must be translated into English by an authorised interpreter/translator service. Photocopies are not accepted.

If we can help further at Matthews Williams please contact us.

Education in regional NSW has been strengthened, following the integration of two leading schools in Bathurst. The Scots School and All Saints’ College were combined and named Scots All Saints College.

Scots All Saints College Scots Campus will open its doors to the community on Saturday, 27th October from 11am-2pm for their Open Day. Interested families are invited to come along to an information night to hear about the opportunities offered at the new Senior School on Friday, 26th October at 7pm in the Aikman Hall.

There has been strong interest from families enquiring about the new school. Scholarships for 2020 offer students an opportunity to attend the college, applications are now open.

Co-curricular programs will be on offer for all students from pre-Kindergarten to Year 12, including a Junior School from K-Year 4 and unique Middle School for students in Years 5 – 8 on All Saints Campus to prepare them for Senior School studies, 9-12 on Scots Campus.

More information is on the websites or contact Lynda Ireland on 6331 2766 or email scots@scots.nsw.edu.au.