Maggi Barnard

Member for Orange Phil Donato paid a visit to the Craft Corner in Parkes last Thursday. “It was lovely to meet some of the members,” he said. He received a tour of their newly renovated shop in Clarinda Street showing off the wide range of craft, art pieces, clothing, sweets, bottled preserves and unique gifts. “If you haven’t yet been in there, pop on in,” said Phil. Taking their masks off for the photo were at the back (L-R) Brett Cooke (Phil’s Senior Advisor), Rosemary Mitchell (secretary), Margaret Tanner (president), Bev Dawson, Ann Regi-nato, Kerry Buerckner (treasurer) and Phil Donato MP. In front are Shirley Michalk, Lesley Fisher and Rhonda Redenbach.

As a little kid she would sit in the corner whenever visitors came to the farm and draw them on brown paper off the bread using charcoal out of the fire.

“That’s where I started,” said Elsie Mahon, who received the Cultural Lifetime Achievement Award on Australia Day last week.

“We had a neighbour who was a really good cartoonist and he used to show me how to draw people. “We lived in the country right out past Condo and never had a classroom. We had correspondence with mum.”

Elsie loved it when someone came to the farm, so she could draw them. “If I liked them, I made them look pretty good, and sometimes I would give them big ears and noses.”

She said her father would get so annoyed with her saying she would offend them. “He used to say I would be much better off learning in the kitchen how to cook with my mum so I could look after a husband one day. Nobody had done any good with drawing,” he would say.

When Elsie moved to Parkes with her husband Henry and two children 54 years ago, she enrolled in every single creative course offered at TAFE. “I did soft furnishing, cake decorating, pottery and more, and then became an art and craft teacher until TAFE stopped hobby teaching. She continued teaching offering classes at her gallery at the nursery she and her husband had bought in Bogan Street, and did not stop for the next 30 years.

Elsie also fulfilled her passion for gardening by designing many gardens in Parkes and winning champion garden for every garden while they’ve lived in Parkes. “My grandfather was a market gardener, and I used to follow him around. Gardening is also creative and another medium to play with. There is so much friendship that goes into a garden from exchanging cuttings and plants and that creates a lot of memories.

“It is lovely to be recognised,” said Elsie of her award. “You don’t do it for recognition, but because it’s your nature. I love to help other people, and love to get involved in the community.”

Elsie is also very happy with how far arts has come in the Parkes Community. “For 40 years Warwick Tom and I and a couple of other people have worked to convince Council that we need more support. I feel like we are in a really good place now and that we have finally achieved what we’ve been chasing.”

Elsie’s passion for being creative has enriched her life in many ways. “For a kid that only went to 6th class as that’s as far as we went in correspondence as we had to start working on the farm, it was good to discover there’s a lot more to life than that.” And when she started her teaching job at TAFE, even her father had to acknowledge she had achieved the impossible in his opinion. He said to her: Well, I never ever thought anyone could make a living doing that.”

By Maggi Barnard

The Parkes Potters Group could not be happier at the start of 2022 with the arrival of new equipment.

The group obtained funds from last year’s Parkes Shire Council Cultural Grants Program, and were able to buy a new kiln, shelving, props and banding wheel along with other essential tools.

“This will enhance our ability to coach and assist in the mentoring, teaching, exploration and development of new skills both in the production of clay sculptural pieces and pottery,” said Bev Rowe, assistant secretary.

“It will also enable the Potters Group to extend their education and mentoring services to our new members through conducting in-house learning days. These learning days involve mentoring and instruction with the provision and the use of essential equipment, tools and supplies in an effort to keep costs affordable for participants. It also helps to stimulate community cultural activity in meeting the needs of our local residents and the ongoing continuation of our organisation in the Parkes Shire.”

“We would like to extend a big thank you to Parkes Shire Council for the grant.”

The Parkes Potters Group has been active for 50 years with a reputation for the production of unique art pieces.

The Parkes Potters will be celebrating their half century with an exhibition in the Coventry Room at the Parkes Library from 4th to 19th March.

A Parkes apprentice carpenter Holly McColl has received a scholarhip worth $15,000 to support her education and training.

Holly is one of 100 students to receive the Bert Evans Scholarship out of more than 1,000 applicants from across NSW.

Holly is currently in her second year of her apprenticeship and is completing a Certificate III in Carpentry with local family business, Barnes Better Building.

“I was thrilled and so grateful to receive this scholarship to assist me in my journey of becoming a qualified carpenter. Being a female in a non-traditional trade has certainly come with its challenges, but I have a great passion for the trade industry and through the support of Skillset, TAFE NSW and Barnes Better Building I have developed more confidence to chase a career that I love,” said Holly.

Member for Orange Philip Donato MP awarded the scholarship to Holly last week saying: “It’s great to see young people embracing and maximising opportunities. It’s fantastic to see a young woman in a building tradecraft, whom other women can look to for inspiration.

“As a former apprentice pastry chef myself, and as a father of four children who are and have been apprenticed in trades, I understand the financial limitations and challenges in life while learning a tradecraft.

Rodney Barnes, owner of Barnes Better Building in Parkes and Holly’s host employer said: “We are extremely proud of Holly. She started a year ago, and in this time has shown great commitment to her trade – both in her practical and theoretical work.”

The Bert Evans Scholarship is funded by the NSW Government. Holly will receive $5,000 per year totalling $15,000 to help support her vocational education and training.

Photos of the devastation in Tonga started filtering through this week after the recent volcanic eruption in Tonga that triggered a tsunami.

Nasa says the eruption was hundreds of times more powerful than the atomic bomb the US dropped on Hiroshima during World War Two, while Tongan residents said it felt like the world was coming to an end.

As the island nations struggles to deal with the ash from the eruptions, many families have stopped their children from playing outside.

While Tongans living in Australia are still struggling to make contact with their families, many donation drives have started up, including in Parkes.

Packed Cones started a Tongan Relief Fundraiser after one of its employees, Leilani Lavaka, said her sister Emeline was organising donations to go over in two containers.

“If you cannot donate money, Packed Cones also welcomes any donations of clothes, toys, toiletries and household items,” said India Rauchle. “We are open from 10am to 10pm and donations can be dropped off at our business any time.”

She said the Tongan community in Parkes counted about 60 people and that all the islanders have been very helpful since the disaster.

She thanked the public for the donations so far. “We’ve already started getting some stuff and the support has been fantastic,” India said on Monday.

The new address in Parkes for all industrial supplies, including steel, is 108 Forbes Road where Power Tools Plus has opened its brand-new store on Monday this week.

“I’m so proud of all the work our team have put into bringing this project to fruition,” said Power Tools Plus General Manager, Carrie Olsen.

“We’re thrilled to be able to expand our offering for the Parkes region and our Parkes customers, supporting their needs now and into the future. We’re here to help regional people and communities thrive, and help our customers build it, fix it and service it. This development cements our ability to continue to do just that.”

Apart from doubling in size from the original Parkes store, the biggest news is that Power Tools Plus is now supplying steel and industrial supplies all in the same location. “We have metal sheets, bars, fencing, reinforcing, structural steel and much more,” said Marketing Manager, Marianne Casey.

The store not only has more space with wider aisles and signage to find items easier, but also sports a bigger carpark for customers.

Marianne said a new range of concreting tools and materials were introduced and they expanded their range of Milwaukee and Makita tools. “We are looking to introduce more DIY, outdoor and job-site products.

“We know tool lovers like to see and feel products before they buy and that’s why more of our power tools, welding machines, compressors and tool kits are out on display,” said Marianne.

She said customers could definitely still expect the same great Power Tools Plus welcome they’ve been receiving for 17 years. “We pride ourselves on getting to know customers, taking care to help solve their problems with helpful product advice and service all delivered with a local flair.”

As thousands of local students will be returning to school next week local drivers and parents are reminded about children’s safety around schools.

Parents and carers should:

• Always make sure children wear a seatbelt or use a child restraint up to seven years old.
• Drop-off and pick-up children on the school side of the road,where possible.
• Make sure children use the ‘safety door’, which is on the footpath-side when getting in and out.
• Use a pedestrian crossing where possible and avoid being distracted by friends, mobile phones or listening to music throughheadphones whilst walking.
• Children to 10 years old should always be supervised whennear traffic.
• Children aged up to eight should always hold an adult’s handwhen crossing the road or walking near traffic.
• Make sure children always wear a helmet when riding a bike.
• Always walk with children to the bus stop.

“Drivers are reminded to slow down, pay extra attention and bepatient when school resumes as there are more cars, buses andcyclists on the road and young pedestrians crossing the streets,”said the Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Councils’ Road Safetyand Injury Prevention Officer, Melanie Suitor.

“This is especially important in country areas with higher speed limits, limited bus stop signage and no footpaths. When the orange lights on the back of a school bus are flashing, you must slow down to 40km/h, as students are either getting on or off the bus.

There are 40km/h school speed zones around all schools in NSW operational between 8am – 9.30am and 2.30pm – 4pm on school days. The school zone in Bushman Street, Parkes is operational all day from 8am – 4pm. Police will be targeting school zones to ensure drivers obey the 40km/h speed limit.