Maggi Barnard

The Parkes Radio Telescope was commissioned on 31 October 1961. The Dish will be celebrating its 60th anniversary throughout this month.

The pictures tell some of the story of its construction and when the Governor General came to Parkes for the opening of the telescope. (Photos: CSIRO)

I have been on the Parkes Shire Council for 38 years, including 17 years as Deputy Mayor and current Mayor for the past 14 years.

I am also the chair of the Country Mayors Association of NSW, chair of the Newell Highway Taskforce, chair of the Regional Integrated Transport Group, former chair of CENTROC, and former executive of the Local Government and Shires Association.

Locally I’m a life member of the Parkes Sports Council, and had involvement in cricket, touch football, soccer, hockey and rugby. Golf and swimming are my current activities for relaxation.

I’m a past president of the Parkes PA & H Association, member of the Parkes Showground Land Manager, and has been the chief steward of the District Exhibit of the Parkes Show for the past 40 years.

Other community involvement include: board member of NSW Life Education (Healthy Harold); and past president and life member of Parkes Early Childhood Centre (PECC).

I’m a recipient of a Centenary Medal and Order of Australia (OAM) for services to community and local government.

My philosophy of government is to have a council that works as a team for the benefit of all the shire. Diversity in terms of age, gender and experience is important as everyone brings a different perspective to the chamber.

I believe it is essential not to have politics or factions in the chamber in order to achieve the best results.

Parkes has a very exciting future, and I am standing because I can offer experience and stability to try and bring some of the visions of past councils together in the development of the National Logistics Hub and the Special Activation Precinct.

I believe it’s important for councillors to ensure they represent and listen to all the communities that make up our wonderful shire.

After 54 years, Cunningham’s IGA in Parkes has a new owner and a new manager.

Tyrel Knott will be managing the shop for Vic’s Fresh, a group with five other stores in Sydney.

As Peter and Janine Boschman were handing over the final bits of their life’s work of 43 years last week, Tyrel said they had done a great job in the community. “Everybody knows them, and over the past two weeks I’ve never heard a bad word said about them. Peter and Janine were always so willing to do anything for the community, and people really embraced that.”

He said he had very big shoes to fill taking over from Peter and Janine, and keeping their loyal clientele happy.

It is the Sydney group’s first venture into the country, but Tyrel said that was why he wanted to come to Parkes. “Sydney is very different to the country. I did a stint in the country about 15 years ago and I felt so comfortable with the clientele. It was a good fit for me. My parents also lived in the country. I think once you’ve left Sydney, you never really want to go back.” He said he would first settle in and then bring his family to Parkes.

While the group plans to keep the name of the business the same, there would be some other changes. “We are a pretty dynamic group and we are expanding all the time. That was why we wanted to take this great opportunity in Parkes. We will definitely look at putting our stamp on the business.”

He said they would be looking at new signage, doing a new layout for the store and introducing new products like roast chicken.

Cutting the ribbon to officially open Cooke Parke Pavilian on Monday were (L-R) Cr Bill Jayet, Cr Kenny McGrath, Deputy Mayor Barbara Newton, Mayor Ken Keith, Michael McCormack MP, Cr Pat Smith and Cr Neil Westcott.

The Cooke Park Pavilion, the beautiful new home for the Parkes Elvis Festival and many other exciting events, was officially opened on Monday.

“This is just the bones and what happens now is the exciting bit,” said MC Neil Westcott. “We can start to dream of the amazing events that we can hold here starting with the Overture event on 2nd April next year with headline acts Lucy Durack and Josh Piterman. We hope over 2,000 people will fill Cooke Park on the day!”

Before unveiling the official plaque, Michael McCormack MP commended Neil and his committee on getting top class acts to Parkes. “These events invite people to come and they tell others when they go home to go to Parkes,” he said. “Why shouldn’t Parkes and regional NSW have the sort of infrastructure that is going to attract and lure people to visit, and not just visit, but also to stay and to live in the future. COVID has taught us one thing and that is you can live in a regional community and still take part in metropolitan board rooms. It has also taught us that regional communities are the safest, friendliest and best communities in which to live.”

Parkes Shire Mayor Ken Keith thanked his fellow councillors for their vision and support for this project, and making the big decisions to realise the project. “Building facilities that this community will remember for years to come is really important and vital to our success.”

Cooke Park Pavilion forms part of the $8.5 million Main Street Revitalisation Project which also included the upgrade of Lower Clarinda Street completed late last year, jointly funded by Council and the Australian Federal Government.

The new facility includes an outdoor event stage, a multipurpose/conference room and kitchen facilities, a separate meeting/flexi-room, a large storeroom, and toilets.

FRIENDLY SERVICE… The four co-owners of Dazconn Taxis, a new family business in town, are Connie Elsley, Darryl Charlton, Allan Elsley and Tracy Sloane. Their aim is to offer a friendly service in the Parkes community.

With Parkes starting to expand rapidly, it was only a matter of time for the taxi service to grow too.

On 1st September Dazconn Taxis started operating offering a friendly, fast and caring service to the community.

Using a combination of their names to create their family business name, Darryl Charlton, Allan Elsley, Tracy Sloane and Connie Elsley are all born and bred in Parkes and have more than 20 years of experience in the industry.

“Our aim is to go the extra mile for our customers, especially the elderly,” said Darryl. “We don’t mind spending an extra five minutes with a client to help load their groceries, or whatever their need might be.

“In addition, we offer an excellent and quick service, clean vehicles, and pride ourselves in our friendly staff. We do our best to accommodate every request as best as we can, and are happy to work with community groups for special transport requirements,” said Darryl.

Dazconn is a booked service available 24/7 on Friday and Saturday, and from 4:30am to 2am from Sunday to Thursday with set fares to different locations.

The four co-owners are working hard to accommodate all requests and have build up the service to cater for trips all over NSW, medical appointments to Dubbo and Orange, accepting taxi vouchers from Neighbourhood Central and the Taxi Transport Subsidy Scheme, and offering a wheelchair accessible vehicle soon.

The Dazconn app makes booking a taxi very convenient. It is easy to scan the QR code below to download the app, or call 0459 757 711 to book the service.

“It is a win-win for our town to have two taxi services to choose from. It keeps us on our toes and the customers get a better service,” said Allan.