There is a lot of joy at the Parkes Toy Library with the opening of its brand new room filled with fun toys to help kids develop fine and gross motor skills.

The new room aptly named Go Active Kids! was made possible with a $3,000 grant from Northparkes Mines.

“Toys are very expensive, especially toys for children with special needs,” said Kate Anderson, a co-ordinator at the library. “You never know whether these specialised toys are going to work with your child.”

With the help of Angela Wilson of the Central West Autism & Special Needs Awareness Group and an occupational therapist at the Parkes Hospital, they were able to buy a wide range of toys including wobble chairs, scooterboards, speech cards, timers, exercise balls, stepping stones, tunnels and many more.

Like the rest of the library, the toys can be borrowed by all children for a period of two weeks.

“So far the kids love the new toys,” said Kate as four kids jump away in an impromptu sack race. The main idea is to get kids moving, to play outside and get them away from the screens,” said Kate.

For Mel Ingram, who also helps out at the library, the toys are perfect for kids who are always on the go. Cheryl Thompson of the Parish Council said the new room would not have been possible without the grant from the mine.

“We are excited to bring this service to the community.”

By Maggi Barnard

CMOC-Northparkes Mines officially celebrated 25 years of operation on Thursday, 15th August.

Onsite celebrations were held with employees, Northparkes’ owner and operator, China Molybdenum Co, Ltd (CMOC), and joint venture partners, Sumitomo Mining Metal Oceania and Sumitomo CorporationMineral Resources – who have been part  of the Northparkes Joint Venture since its inception.

CMOC Executive Chairman Steele Li said: “When CMOC had the opportunity to purchase Northparkes in 2013, they recognised the potential in not only the business and its future, but the people. We are excited to watch Northparkes continue to grow and develop, as it plays a pivotal role in our strong and long-term presence in Australia and as an internationally renowned mining company. The quality and excellence of the people at Northparkes, ultimately contribute to the success and reputation of our operation.”

Northparkes also celebrated eight employees who reached 25 years of service: Ian Cowle, Rob Cunningham, Dave Little, Tony Melhuish, Ian Rowe, Brad Mill, Alan Macdonald and Geoff Tilley. “This is an incredible milestone that needs to be recognised – we are extremely grateful to have these people as part of our team,” said Managing Director Hubert Lehman.

“We know the exploration potential of Northparkes and we believe we will discover more copper and gold deposits to take us even further into the future,” said Hubert. “We will continue to focus on our commitment towards our local communities as we strive towards achieving our vision of a century of mining together.”

As part of its celebrations, the mine has a shopfront at 203 Clarinda Street until 24th August where the public can view its history and buy some merchandise.

If you have missed out on all or some of the significant celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the moon landing last month, don’t fear as the Henry Parkes Museum’s special exhibition is still ongoing.

One of the Parkes & District Historical Society’s members, Rosemary Prior, put in alot of work and care into correlating lots of information into an amazing story. “We are all amateurs and volunteers doing the best we can,” said Rosemary. The feature piece of the exhibit are two items on loan from Dorothy MacDonald. Her parents, Jean and George Stanford from Peak Hill, both worked at the telescope during construction and the moon landing. They received a NASA certificate signed by all three astronauts for their support of the first lunar landing. The second item is a signed framed photo of George with his dog at his tractor looking at the telescope being built. Five times more visitors than usual streamed to the museum over the anniversary weekend from all over Australia and overseas. “People enjoyed our display, especially our feature on how the radio telescope was build,” said Rosemary.

She remembers driving out to the construction site on Sundays as a child to look over the fence, and watching the moon landing at school. “My husband, Bruce, lived opposite the site and grew up with it.”

Rosemary said it was very special compiling the exhibit as it is so much part of the history of Parkes. “It put Parkes on the map!”

By Maggi Barnard

A Year 6 Parkes Public student started her week with an act of bravery to help a friend diagnosed with brain cancer.

On Monday morning 11-year-old Araluen Fraser stood up in front of her school assembly as Parkes Mayor Ken Keith cut each of her six braids measuring up to 60cm long.

A beautiful smile lit up Araluen’s face as Parkes Public Principal Coral O’Neill collected the plaits to resounding applause by the students, knowing she was doing something extraordinary.

This was her first proper hair cut ever apart from a few trims, and she did it all for the charity Cure Brain Cancer Foundation.

She said it was a difficult decision to cut her hair as she has always had long hair, but when she found out about her 14-yearold friend’s diagnosis she really wanted to do something to help.

Araluen aimed to raise $3,000 and by Monday morning she had already reached that target.

The Mayor, who said he felt privileged to cut her hair during the NRL Beanie for Brain Cancer Week, pledged $100 from the Parkes Shire Council. Donations can be made at https://www.mycause.com.au/page/207693/cutting-4-a-cure

Araluen’s beautiful long plaits will also not go to waste as she will donate them to Variety Kids to be made into a wig for children with long-term medical needs. “She will be making someone else very happy,” said mum Raen Fraser.

Araluen said it felt very weird not having long hair, but she was already planning to grow her hair and cut it again for charity.

By Maggi Barnard

Almost 20,000 people visited the famous Parkes Dish for the 50th anniversary of the historic moon landing last weekend.

The Parkes Radio Telescope’s pivotal role in relaying high quality television images around the world was celebrated by a huge array of activities from guided inside tours, ground tours and astronomy talks, to space-themed face painting. The screening of the movie The Dish on Saturday night was introduced by actor Roy Billing, who played the part of the Parkes Mayor.

“It was a wonderful weekend and a huge success,” said Tricia Trim of the CSIRO Visitor’s Centre.

Perfect weather added to the happy atmosphere, while Australian-born NASA astronaut Andy Thomas enthralled the large crowd on Sunday talking about day-to-day life in space, the effects of zero gravity and keeping fit in space.

“The view from up there was spectacular,” said Andy when he talked about his personal experience of looking at earth through space. “I can show you the view as we had helmet cameras,” he said showing a video. A massive collective ‘wow’ erupted from the captivated listeners.

CSIRO partnered with ABC Radio for live broadcast coverage over the two days with the official ceremony on Sunday broadcasting the Moon landing as it happened in 1969.

“While it was NASA’s moment, it was Australia’s too: sending astronauts to the Moon and sharing the momentous occasion couldn’t have happened without the pivotal role Australia played,” said the CSIRO in a statement.

By Beth Thomas

The countdown is on until the world celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, with a weekend of astronomical proportions planned for Parkes.

On Monday 21 July 1969, six hundred million people watched as Neil Armstrong took the first steps on the moon. Those iconic pictures were thanks, in part, to CSIRO Parkes Radio Telescope. ‘The Dish’ received the television signals that allowed one fifth of humanity at the time, to watch  the broadcast.

To mark the milestone, there are a stellar line up of events and activities being held across the Parkes Shire.

Parkes Shire Mayor, Cr Ken Keith OAM, said “as a community, we are extremely proud of the role that the Parkes Radio Telescope played in this significant moment in history, and for its ongoing contributions to astronomical discovery.”

“We are delighted to welcome visitors to the region to showcase our Shire and arguably our most iconic attraction.”

“While in town, I encourage everyone to explore the Parkes Shire and experience all the unique and quirky attractions and activities that the region has to offer,” said Cr Ken Keith OAM.

Only a 20-minute drive from Parkes, The CSIRO Parkes Radio Telescope is opening its doors to the public on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 July. The Open Days are a rare opportunity to see inside The Dish!

There’ll be plenty of activities for everyone across the two days with science talks and presentations, observe pulsars in real time, face painting, roving performers and live entertainment, vintage car display, as well as a delicious range of food from The Dish Café.

There will also be free Apollo Express shuttle buses running return trips out to The Dish on both days, picking up at Cooke Park. To find out more about the Open Days, visit www.apollo11.csiro.au/parkes-open-days/.

In July 1969, the CSIRO Parkes Radio Telescope played an important role in history, when it received and broadcast the television pictures of the first moon landing.

‘The Dish’, as it has affectionately come to be known, was one of three tracking stations receiving signals of the moon landing, which were being relayed to Mission Control in Houston, Texas. The quality of the pictures being received by The Dish were of such superior quality that NASA  used the Parkes signals for the majority of the 2.5 hour broadcast. The images of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon were viewed by six hundred million people, one fifth of humanity at the time – thanks in large part to Parkes!

On 20 and 21 July 2019, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing, CSIRO will open the doors to the Parkes Radio Telescope – a rare opportunity for visitors to see inside.

The Cedar Café will be showcasing an art exhibition titled ‘To the Moon and Back’, featuring artwork by local youth. There’s also plenty to see in Parkes after dark, with stellar Apollo 11 light installations, projections, and multimedia artwork lighting up our dark skies at various locations throughout the weekend, including a special Dish installation in Cooke Park straight from Vivid Sydney 2019!

To help plan your activities for the weekend, download the Parkes Destination Guide from www.visitparkes.com.au or pick up a copy form the Parkes Visitor Information Centre.

Never again will so many tea towels and tea pots be seen in the same place. There was a vast array of tea towels with colourful images and wonderful sayings from places all over the world. One tea towel showed a family tree and the owner discovered three more relations!

What a great gathering of over 100 people all enjoying the Anglican Ladies’ warm soups, yummy slices and appreciating each other’s company. Reverend Ron and Reverend Crystal were amazed at the tea pot collections, which had to be seen to be believed.

Rhonda Dunn’s collections showcased an unbelievable range of tea pots, and these were only a small portion of all that she has been collecting for the past 6 months or so. Many of her other pots can be found in her ‘teahouse’ at home, where she grows a wide range of succulents.

Jan Tanswell showcased a 150-year-old teapot, and Maureen Stirling some miniatures. There was also a Kombi VW collection from Paula, and other collections from Joan, Cheryl, Betty, and Rodney. As with all of the Anglican ladies’ activities, the main thing was the enjoyable company and fellowship.

All profits for this event go to the ongoing care of the St George’s Church buildings, which is always an ongoing project, employing local trades people to keep it looking good. Thank you to all who came and kept out of the dust storm raging outside.

Hundreds of people gathered at last week’s rally to provide a loud, clear and strong message of support for the Parkes Hospital’s Maternity Unit.

As the speakers commented on the impact that the loss of maternity services would have on the local community, I was reminded of stories I heard from my mother, Leona (Lee) Ramsay, who was Nursing Unit Manager of the Parkes Maternity Ward from the early 1970s through to the late 1990s.

Although there were many positive reports of successful childbirths, I particularly remember the stories of critical situations that had developed very quickly and unexpectedly.

Some of those unforeseen situations had been as a result of people having to travel from out of town, with babies being delivered in a car, or under a bush.

I mentioned this to my mother at the rally. “Through those years there were also quite a few doctors skilled in birthing and you could rely on them and call on them at any time of day or night,” my mother replied.

The current lack of qualified doctors in Parkes has impacts beyond practicality and the potential risks of having to travel to Forbes. Being able to give birth in your own community is an important part of people’s lives. This is evident when people continue to stop my mother in the street to say, “thank you for delivering my son/ daughter/s,” or “my mother says you delivered me,” with a warm smile.

By Lisa Ramsay

The Parkes community is called on to rise up today for a rally at the Hospital at 12:30pm to stop the downgrading of maternity services.

The Parkes Hospital has been in the news all week after a decision to temporarily close the maternity service due to an alleged shortage of medical proceduralists.

Residents can also sign a petition of the NSW Nurses and Midwives Union at the rally and at local businesses to get to 10,000 signatures to present it to Parliament.

On Tuesday the Parkes Chamber of Commerce stepped forward in support to organise a ‘field of babies’ for the rally. “We, as the business community, want to show our support for keeping the Parkes Maternity Ward open by decorating the lawn with named baby outfits. We live and work in Parkes and want to ensure that children continue to be born in our wonderful Shire.”

According the Parkes Chamber of Commerce President Geoff Rice “It is just devastating to lose such a basic necessity. We are trying to entice families to our town, but if you can’t offer them such a basic service, they might reconsider.” Geoff encouraged all residents and business owners to attend today’s rally to support the cause.

Parkes Shire Mayor, Councillor Ken Keith OAM also expressed alarm and frustration over the decision and said: “It is exasperating that the situation has reached a crisis point. This dilemma has long been foreseen, as our long serving proceduralist neared retirement and should have been proactively planned and managed by Western NSW Local Health District.

The Mayor said the community had done its part in attracting doctors through the GP Working Group and fundraising initiatives, like the GP Cup which had invested over $100,000 in attracting doctors (including proceduralists) to Parkes.

“With the Special Activation Precinct, construction of Inland Rail and other major developments, our region is experiencing unprecedented growth,” said the Mayor. “This decision seems to be contradictory to the growth that Parkes is experiencing and defies belief.”

Member for Orange Phil Donato reacted to ‘the genuine concern brewing in Parkes and Forbes’ on his Facebook page saying: “I want to reassure the communities of Forbes and Parkes that I will be working feverishly to get to the bottom of this.”

On Tuesday he delivered a notice of motion in the Legislative Assembly that he would move the house to demand that the Government immediately restore maternity services and maintain level 3 birthing at the Parkes Hospital, and he would call on the Government to urgently source and locate obstetric and anaesthetic services to Parkes Hospital, and implement contingency and succession planning for future resignations or retirement of medical practitioners.

The Western NSW Local Health District released a statement saying there is a shortage of medical practitioners to support maternity services at both Parkes and Forbes. “The WNSWLHD is working hard to find ways to attract doctors to our communities.

It is the intention to continue to provide birthing services at both Parkes and Forbes.”

“To maintain safe maternity services the right medical, nursing and midwifery staff need to be available; there must be sufficient numbers of births to maintain skills and experience,” said a spokesperson for the Western NSW Local Health District.

By Maggi Barnard and Beth Thomas