Two young Parkes boys took centre stage in the welcome to country ceremony at the significant occasion of the opening of the 47th Federal Parliament at Parliament House in Canberra on Tuesday morning.

Tyrece (11) and Keanau (8) Robinson-Towney, who are known as the Dyagang Boys with their seven-year-old twin brothers, performed two dances and a smoking ceremony with their uncles Daniel and Nagara Williams from Canberra.

They were seated just off the stage in Parliament House for the welcome to country ceremony conducted by Aunty Matilda House and her son Paul, and then led the procession outside where they performed two dances, Speak the Truth and Brolgan Moth, to the Prime Minister and members of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

“It was nerve wracking, but went really well,” said mum Jade of the big occasion that made her heart swell with pride. “I cried so much watching them.” She said the boys were besides themselves with excitement afterwards.” The event was live streamed, and they think they are famous now!”

They did steal the lime light with Aunty Matilda, who was the first Aboriginal woman to do a welcome to country at the Parliament House in 2008, who rugged the boys up in her traditional skins. Ministers and senators also took photos with them.

Jade said the twins were going to take part too, but during rehearsals on Sunday and Monday they were just too nervous.

It is still a bit unreal for Jade and Abel that their sons have come so far with their performances after Tyrese started playing his didgeridoo in public just over a year ago.

The 21st addition to the Sculpture Down the Lachlan trail depicts a child playing the violin while balancing on the back of a life-sized bull. 

The Warroo Reserve, 45km from Forbes, is home to this new sculpture called Sonata by Suzie Bleach and Andrew Townsend that is an exploration of the delicate relationships between humans and nature.

“The bull represents the powerful forces of nature in contrast to the fragility of the child and her violin. It is as if the bull is held under a spell by her music,” said Suzie. 

“At the heart of it, Sonata expresses the need for an accord with nature. When properly appeased, the raging bull can become surprisingly tender. This sculpture is especially significant at this moment in human history. It explores our relationship with nature and of the delicate and careful balance required if we are to survive the challenges of climate change and the viral pandemic.”

Working with 3mm corten steel plate, the creative duo from the Sapphire Coast in NSW took seven months to design and create the 800kg piece. 

“Our process begins with anatomical research and life-sized drawings. A friend’s enthusiastic daughter was our model for the child figure. She chose the outfit, gumboots and all!” 

“The sculpture consists of hundreds of individual steel panels traced from cardboard patterns and then pressed, hammered and welded to assume the desired form,” said Suzie. 

Forbes Arts Society Chairperson Trudy Mallick said the latest installation looked at home within the striking landscape of Warroo Reserve. 

“Not only does Sonata continues the trail’s unofficial theme of environmental sustainability and preservation, the sculpture also commemorates a significant moment in history and will play an important role in our region’s post-pandemic recovery.” 

Forbes Shire Council Mayor Phyllis Miller OAM said: “I think it is a beautiful piece which connects this amazing art program with our strong agricultural legacy. It is a great honour to be fostering an inclusive and culturally rich community with our world class permanent public art trail.” 

She said the dynamic arts and events program made Forbes a regionally iconic tourist destination. 

Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Sam Farraway said the unveiling of the new sculpture would provide onlookers with a unique experience, while adding to the region’s growing reputation as an arts and cultural destination. 

“The Sonata sculpture is a fantastic addition to the Lachlan trail, providing visitors with a unique experience and a powerful and timely message. I urge locals and visitors alike to take a stroll along the trail to see this new addition for themselves.” 

For more information about the project, visit www.forbesartssociety.com. 

 

A Parkes photographer is one of only a handful of Australians to be named finalists in the prestigious International Portrait Photographer of the Year competition.

Of the 618 entries received, two photos of Marc Payne made it to the top 101 portrait photographs in the world, while a third image missed it by one per cent of getting through.

The two images were of Parkes local Bill Bourke and the artist Scott ‘Sauce’ Towney from Peak Hill.

“It is a privilege to know my work can match the best in the world,” said Marc.

His two images will be published with all the other finalists in the International Portrait Photographer of The Year annual book. The highly respected Australian Photography Magazine and the top selling Capture Magazine also published Marc’s photos with the other Australian finalists. They are Mariana Zilbershteyn, Mark Chamberlain and Kris Anderson. Karen Waller won the Portrait Story category.

Marc entered the same competition last year with the purpose of getting feedback on his work and never expected to make it to the top 101 photographs in the world. He was named a finalist for his image of Dustin Howarth, a friend and artist.

“Photography is like a drug to me,” said Marc. “I’m addicted to it, and take photos every day. I’m now on the hunt for five subjects for next year’s competition.”

Marc has also entered the international landscape photography competition Epson Panorama Awards and the David Malin Awards, Australia’s most prestigious astrophotography competition. 

By Maggi Barnard 

Today is the beginning of a new era as we bring you the very first edition of The Forbes & Parkes Phoenix.

As the two shires share so many interests, including some ‘sibling rivalry’, with hundreds, if not thousands of residents travelling for work, sport and leisure up and down the highway every day, it makes sense to open up the news landscape between the two communities. 

“Regional print media is doing it tough at the moment, and is not showing any signs of changing,” said Phoenix Group of Newspapers owner Joshua Matic. “As such, we needed to adapt to ensure our local publications in Forbes and Parkes can continue to deliver news absolutely free to read each week.

“We decided to combine our printed product for both towns into one as many news stories relate to both shires.”

Josh said the merger would not affect the digital publications and the websites and social media pages would remain independent as The Forbes Phoenix and The Parkes Phoenix.

More exciting news for our readers is that the Phoenix Group is boosting its digital platform and has started to release mobile apps. The Parkes Phoenix app is now live and ready to download from the app store for free, while The Forbes Phoenix app is in production.

“While other regional media are now hiding most of their stories behind digital paywalls, and continue to charge readers for a printed newspaper, we continue to ensure our news content is completely free to read both in print and online,” said Josh. 

By Maggi Barnard

There are many fun ways to raise money for charity, but last weekend Robert and Judy Shore chose to spend a cold night outside sleeping at the Jemalong Weir near Forbes.

As members of the Parkes Rotary Club, they were part of the Australia wide #offthegrid Challenge asking participants to spend 24 hours without electricity or electronic devices sleeping out to raise money for Shelterbox.

“It was a reasonably warm day, but still very cold at the weir,” said Robert. “Once we were in our swags, we were nice and warm. We had a fire earlier but the green wood didn’t put out much heat. I cooked a Fireball damper (with whiskey) and that seemed to take the edge off the cold!”

He said a few Rotarians from Parkes drove out to enjoy afternoon tea with them. “We really appreciated their support.”

Shelterbox provides emergency shelter for people who have been made homeless due to natural disasters or military conflict. The charity started 20 years ago in England but quickly grew to become an international Rotary project. A green box, provided by Shelterbox contains a family tent, cooking gear, eating equipment, tools, blankets, water purifying containers and a solar light to support a family who have been made homeless in a disaster.

So far, Robert and Judy have raised over $1,200. It is not too late to donate, simply search #offthegrid.raisely.com to sponsor them.

All the elements came together last Saturday to make the 2022 edition of the Parkes Picnic Races a massive success.

The weather remained dry for the hundreds of patrons who did not want to miss out on the social event of the year, while the track and grounds were in top notch condition for the day’s five-race program.

The prestigious Coradgery Cup, sponsored by the Parkes Services Club, was won by Neon Moon with jockey Tony Cavallo and trainer Dean Mirfin.

The other highlight of the day attracted a good number of entries and a huge crowd of supporters. Judges Elizabeth Packchung and Dixie Coulton, who returned for the second year in a row from Sydney, had a big task picking the winners for the popular Fashions on the Field.

This year’s Miss Priscilla, Ashleigh Smith, added another title to her name winning the Elegant Lady category, while another local Baeden Wakefield won the Stylish Man category. Deb Parish won Millinery and Best Dressed Couple went to Ian and Carmel Hatherly from Orange.

President of the Parkes and Districts Picnic Races Committee Tim Keith said the day was a major success.

“The day would not have happened without the generous support of the many sponsors who recognised the importance of the Picnic Races in Parkes’ social fabric,” said long-standing publicity officer for the Picnic Races Stafford Orange.

Johnno from the Railway Hotel said the tent trackside at the races was filled to capacity with patrons enjoying first class meals and drinks. Johnno has put out the challenge to the rest of the Parkes hoteliers to put the saddle on, tent up and get involved next year. “We need your support to keep this iconic event going for another 122 years,” he said.

Patrons young and old commented on how much they enjoyed the vibe of the races, particularly the music provided by local band Foxxy Cleopatra.

It was agreed that the organising committee had done a marvellous job with their meticulous planning, their finger on the pulse attitude, and their want to encourage and please all that is part of their DNA.

“This lovely town of Parkes needs to be very thankful for the unfailing generosity of this grand group of country folk that are the Parkes Picnic’s lifeblood,” said volunteer Mark O’Neill.

COVID touched many aspects of our lives over the past two years and even resulted in the creation of two of the winning entries in this year’s Waste to Art competition and exhibition.

Sonia Tilley’s plastic debutante ball gown creation called Miss Poly Ethylene not only won the open functional category, but was also the winner of the Yearly Theme – Soft Plastics. “I am over the moon,” said Sonia about her win. “I am a weaver and have never worked with plastic before, only natural materials. It was a big challenge.”

Sonia was part of the COVID response team and had to wear lots of plastic every day. “I wanted to make something beautiful from plastic.” For her first ever entry in the competition, Sonia used her weaving technique for the bodice made from black embossed plastic sheets she found at Parkes Bricks and Pavers, while the bottom part of the dress was made from clear, soft plastic made from polyethylene from Big W that is used to wrap around packaging boxes on pallets. She even used the plastic bar codes attached to the clear plastic to make bows for the gown.

Boredom during COVID saw Erik Lensson create two entries from garden shed junk. Shovelback Yellowbill (spadeus roostericus), his rare and endangered bird sculpture took out two prizes, and was inspired by a pair of magpies who would visit his house every day for breakfast. The magpies unfortunately succumbed during the mouse plague after eating poisoned mice, but Erik has rediscovered his artistic side hoping to make many more creations.

Bold hairstyles and charity are a popular combination to raise funds for a good cause, and Saturday night brings a great opportunity for Parkes residents to support the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS).

The annual Just Cuts Cut-a-Rama night is coming to Parkes this year to kick off the Outback Car Trek and raise funds for the RFDS.

Just Cuts Stylists will service trek participants and the public from 7pm at the Coachman Hotel Motel, creating bold styles for the drivers before they begin their seven-day journey.

Driving a wide range of older model vehicles, participants in the Outback Car Trek will depart Parkes on Sunday morning and arrive at Hervey Bay in Qld on 11th June.

Since 1998, Just Cuts clients and stylists have raised over $500,000 for the RFDS through the annual Cut-a-Rama event and donation boxes in over 190 salons Australia-wide.

Just Cuts founder Denis McFadden is looking forward to his 22nd Cut-a-Rama, and is calling on the people of Parkes to join the fun and support the cause.

“From Mohawks to moustaches and grandparents to kids, Just Cuts stylists do it all for the Doctor,” said Denis. 

“People in regional communities can live hours and hours from medical care. The RFDS are the GPs of regional Australia, with a waiting room that spans millions of kilometres.”

Outback Car Trek 2022 route will go from Parkes to Nyngan, White Cliffs, Cameron Corner, Thargomindah, Augathella, Taroom and Hervey Bay.