The recent Trundle ABBA Festival might have grabbed the headlines, but the night before an extraordinary event took place that put the town’s real heart on show.

The Pink Night was not only filled with many moving stories, but raised an incredible $20,458 for women’s cancer. “We laugh a lot, and we always cry,” said Carolyn Keep, who organised the event with Debbie Veale for the fourth time this year.

“It’s a night filled with emotion, compassion and determination to help in any way we can to end the loss from cancer,” said Carolyn, who was diagnosed three years ago.

When Carolyn secured celebrity sports presenter Michael Cain from Channel 10 to host the night, she knew it was going to be great. Michael managed to collect some amazing sporting memorabilia for auction with the NRL premium grand final tickets getting the highest bid of the night. A woman from Forbes, who lost her husband to cancer, bought it for $1,275.

“And that’s how the night rolls – so many beautiful people all with a cancer story.”

Another highlight was Janette Fry’s story about how dragon boating has become a big part of her life since surviving cancer.

Carolyn could not thank her community and donors enough for the support. “We don’t ask for any donations or advertise for helpers, it just comes. Everything in the auction is dropped off leading up to the event. We had over 36 prizes and items in both raffle and auction.”

The Trundle Central School’s student representative council joined in and held their very own Pink Day selling lollies and cupcakes and managed to raise $400. The school captain Harrison Williams presented the money on the night providing another “warm, fuzzy moment”. According to Carolyn the school principal also insists on printing its newsletter on pink paper every year. “Need I say any more about the true beauty of this event?”

As live music played at the back of the Trundle Services and Citizens Club keeping the dance floor packed, the Pink Night has become a fun filled event for the community and ABBA fans with a five star feel good rating.

“I feel so lucky to live in Trundle, the tiny town with the biggest heart on the planet,” said Carolyn.

By Maggi Barnard

The small town of Trundle transformed into a paradise of white boots, glittering hotpants, platform shoes, sequined jumpsuits, ponchos, retro hippie outfits and colourful psychedelic dresses as thousands of ABBA fans sang in unison ‘Thank you for the music’.

More than 5,000 people came from every state in Australia, and even as far as the UK, South Africa and New Zealand for ‘the time of their lives’, and they were not disappointed.

“This is the happiest place in the world,” said one fan on Facebook. “If you have ever thought to come here, don’t put it off.

It’s just amazing fun!”

Other glowing responses include: “We love you Trundle”, “It was a fabulous day, thank you Trundle!”, “First time and what a great time it was!”

Festival Organiser Pete Docwra said the highlight for him was seeing everyone having a great time. “We could not have hoped for more than that.”

Pete also thanked Trundle residents and the Parkes Shire Council for all the support in making the event such a success.

A major positive spin-off of the event is the economic benefit to the towns of Trundle, Parkes, Forbes and Condobolin. Pete said the region received a boost of about $1.3 million.

Parkes Shire Mayor, Ken Keith, who donned his signature Benny outfit, thanked the crowd as he welcomed everyone to the festival and said their support meant a lot to the community during one of the worst droughts ever in the region.

The Mayor and three representatives from the Swedish Embassy in Canberra helped to hand over the prizes for the popular Fashions of the Festival that include the Celia Vild Memorial Trophy. This year it went to a group from Melbourne who attended for the first time.

But it was the 85-year-old Margaret from Adelaide who enthused the crowd with her spirit and love of life. She won the individual Fashions of the Festival prize, and stood right in front of the stage singing and dancing as the world famous tribute band Bjorn Again served up all the ABBA favourites.

The band, who returns to Trundle every year, glowed with pleasure as they let the massive, colourful crowd take over the singing.

The entertainment line-up included five other acts this year, with the popular Parkes group Amitie energising the crowd to channel their inner ‘dancing queens’.

With ‘absolutely overwhelming positive feedback’ to the organisers, all that is left to say is: “Mamma Mia it was fABBAlous!”

By Maggi Barnard

Local author Margaret Dwyer was not only the most popular person in Parkes on Saturday, but a new title was conferred on her.

At the double celebration for the launch of her fourth book and marking her 90th birthday, Councillor Bill Jayet told the more than 100 people attending “Mardie is Parkes’ Barbara Cartland!”.

Mardie, as she is known, sparkled and radiated youthfulness during Bill’s question and answer session about her life and her writing. “You do have the strangest questions,” she quipped when Bill asked her how she managed to get into the heads of her characters of the opposite sex.

Staying with her characters, Mardie said the biggest surprise of the writing process was how her characters became very real.

“They seemed to take over, and I wrote what they wanted me to write.”

Following the “hard chat” session, Bill and some of Mardie’s 14 great grandchildren launched her second book of fiction with confetti poppers.

“We are all very proud of you,” said Bill.

Mardie’s second book of fiction is a sequel to A Chain of Dreams published in 2016 and brings the O’Reagan family into the 21st century.

Philippa O’Donnell read an excerpt from the book, Gemma Churchill shared a collection of amusing family stories and Hope Kealley-Smith performed songs while a long line of fans formed for Mardie to sign copies of her book.

Bill quoted from You Never Walk Alone from the musical Carousel, sung by Mardie in the Parkes M & D production years ago:

“Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart and you’ll never walk alone”.

By Maggi Barnard

The $10 billion Melbourne to Brisbane Inland Rail project is gaining momentum at Parkes where Pacific National’s logistics terminal is expected to be in operation later this year.

Pacific National owns 365-hectares, located in the Parkes Shire Council’s National Logistics Hub, where the logistics terminal is currently under major construction.

“Once fully operational, Pacific National’s Parkes Logistics Terminal will consolidate more than 450,000 cargo containers each year; many to be hauled on the Inland Rail between the ports of Melbourne and Brisbane,” said Pacific National CEO Dean Dalla Valle.

“In the future, Parkes will be akin to the major freight and logistics hub of Memphis in the interior of the United States.” Dean said 1,800 metre freight trains double-stacked with cargo containers were expected to be hauling from the Parkes Logistics Terminal to Perth later this year.

Pacific National, Australia’s largest rail freight operator, congratulated Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) for moving ahead with construction to connect the north-south Inland Rail and east-west Transcontinental Railway via the company’s Parkes Logistics Terminal.

“Connecting Inland Rail to the Transcontinental Railway via Pacific National’s Parkes Logistics Terminal is imperative to help shift freight volumes from road to rail.

“Australians want real trains, not road trains hauling big volumes of freight,” he said. As the infrastructure manager for both Inland Rail and the Transcontinental Railway, ARTC has engaged Martinus Rail to construct the connections (called turnouts).

Weather permitting, the turnouts to the Parkes Logistics Terminal will be completed by the end of August this year.

The Transcontinental Railway runs to Port Augusta in South Australia, where it joins the Trans-Australian Railway stretching across the vast Nullarbor Plain to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.

“Australia’s rail freight industry will only grow and prosper if below-rail managers like ARTC and above-rail operators like Pacific National work together to help shift more container and bulk volumes from road to rail,” said Dean.

Hauling containers and bulk commodities like grain and steel by rail over long distances is safe, green and efficient – rail freight is on the right side of every debate.

“For every tonne of freight hauled a kilometre, road freight produces 16 times more carbon pollution and 14 times greater accident costs than rail freight.

“A single 1,800-metre freight train hauling containers is equivalent to removing 70 B-double trucks or 50 B-triple trucks from our roads,” said Dean.
Parkes Logistics Terminal:
• $35 million to develop the Parkes Logistics Terminal.
• Terminal construction is generating about 40 jobs; the future logistics terminal will have a workforce of 100 people.
• Parkes Logistics Terminal will act as a future facility to consolidate hundreds of thousands of cargo containers, including boxes filled with regional commodities destined for overseas markets, to be hauled by rail across the length and breadth of Australia.
• Construction commenced in October 2018. Freight trains 1,800-metres in length are expected to be hauling from the terminal to Perth later this year.

Anzac Day is about mateship, respect, loyalty and freedom and the acknowledgement that war is terrible, but our way of life is worth fighting for.

Parkes Services Club is reminding Parkes Shire residents to reflect and remember on Anzac Day next Thursday, 25th April.

“Respect the day, celebrate our freedoms, remember their sacrifice, honour our traditions and look after your mates,” said Club President Terry Knowles.

“We’re not saying don’t have a drink and a punt. We’re saying enjoy the day, the atmosphere, your mates. But do it in a respectful manner, after all mateship is one of our proudest Australian values.”

“We want to attract greater numbers to services and marches, and we want positive behaviour by younger people, treating veterans with respect,” said Terry. “It’s a day to celebrate everything that unites us as a nation, and to remember all of those who fought so hard to preserve and protect all that we hold dear.”

The Parkes Services Club will host the Anzac Day breakfast from 6:30am for all who attended the Memorial Hill Dawn Service. The Anzac Day Luncheon at 12 noon is for serving and ex-service men and women and invited guests, while the traditional Anzac Day Two Up will be held in the bistro section from 12 noon to 5pm with proceeds going to Parkes Legacy.

It is not only the biggest one so far, but has also been described as the best. The 15th annual Sims Metal Waste to Art
and Design Community Art Exhibition attracted a record number of 64 entries.

“We have some amazing talent in this community,” said Mayor Ken Keith to a packed audience at the opening in the
Parkes Library last Thursday.

First time entrant Ann Olson’s colourful arrangement of flowers made with baling twine, called Drought Flowers, won the Yearly Theme prize, as well as the Open 3D category. “I did not expect this,” said Ann.

Helen Standen won the Yearly Scrap Metal prize with her entry Old Keys Won’t Open New Doors, as well as the Building/Sculpture 2D category with her work called Tools Down.

Andrea Lovell, acting Cultural, Education and Library Services Manager, said the level of entries kept on getting higher making the task of the judges very difficult to pick the 17 winners.

The annual event was the brain child of Steven Campbell, Director Planning and Environment of the Parkes Shire Council, who will be retiring soon. The Mayor paid tribute to Steven for his initiative and the hard work to turn it into a regional event comprising 17 councils in the Netwaste region.

The exhibition will be at the Parkes Library until the end of the month when the winning entries will move to Oberon for the regional exhibition.

By Maggi Barnard

Tiffany Steel is back home where it all started in 1993. As the Parkes Elvis Festival’s newly appointed Sponsorship and Marketing Coordinator the wheel has turned full circle for Tiffany who helped to coordinate the early Elvis festivals and served 20 years on the Elvis committee.

“I remember that first street parade,” she laughs, “Mum and I wearing vests waving our arms to stop the traffic, a couple of sad floats in the rain – and ours fell apart – and the singers, dancing in the drenching rain on the back. Oh, but those early nights at Gracelands were just awesome.”

It was there in those early days that Tiffany fell in love with organising events – a talent that came naturally.

“Dad (Bob Steel) was working the bar, while Mum (Anne Steel) was cooking, so she said to my brother and me ‘you host it’, and we did.”

Tiffany enjoyed growing up here and has always loved Parkes. Since her marriage ended five years ago, she has thought about coming back with her 11-year-old daughter, Ruby.

“I knew I’d need a great job if I were to come back,” said Tiffany. “When this position came up, friends said ‘look it’s got your name written on it’ and I had to agree.” Along with her enthusiasm and great new ideas, Tiffany brings a wealth of experience in event organising.

She has organised conferences and events around the world. She worked in local government in a tourism and marketing role in Port Macquarie Hastings; for the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service in Newcastle; and managed events and fundraising for children’s charity Variety in Brisbane – all stemming from her roots of being the first paid coordinator of the Elvis Festival in 2007.

Tiffany also brings a personal passion to the Elvis Festival, and it quickly shines through her bright personality when speaking with her. She is full of great ideas and is working on a really big one at the moment – to be kept under wraps for now.

She would like to see the number of festival days extended, and an increase in international visitors, currently measured at 1%. She has a very high regard for the volunteers and would like that community spirit to continue.

“Everyone is friendly, helpful and having a good time and that is something that you just don’t get in the city.”

She also feels the festival can be enjoyed by everyone with about 80% of the 200 events this year being free. “I’d like to see even more. It’s fabulous for families to enjoy free entertainment in the park.”

While Tiffany is grateful to be back home with her family and have the opportunity to work on the Elvis Festival, Parkes should feel very lucky the wheel has turned to bring Tiffany back to where she belongs.

By Beth Thomas

While gold was discovered in Parkes more than 150 years ago, one resident is on a serious search to discover the new gold of our Shire.

“Gold is our history, it is precious once you find it, but it is not a matter of just scratching the surface. You have to dig deeper,” says Local and Family History Officer of the Parkes Shire Library, Dan Fredericks.

“My job is to do the digging, to do the research, and try and find the stories and truth behind stories and to make them presentable and accessible.”

Dan started the library’s history blog (https://historyparkes.org/) in April 2015 after discovering some very rich story veins. “I have an incredibly interesting job, it is fascinating,” says Dan, who is also a passionate writer who loves turning his discoveries into interactive and well researched stories.

Dan’s mining efforts are causing a new gold rush with views on the blog increasing from just over 3,000 in 2015 to almost 10,000 last year.

“The blog highlights another part of our Shire, and while Parkes Elvis Festival is our most international event, the blog draws readers from all over the world. We have amazing stories, and unless we preserve and promote them, people will forget.” The history blog first started with war stories as it was the centenary of Anzac and Gallipoli, but he soon found many more veins of stories and credits the Facebook page ‘Parkes in photos of years gone past’ as a good source of inspiration.

He says sometimes urban myths surface, such as the origin of the name Rosedurnate. There were various theories, and while researching it, Warwick Tom came in one day to do his own research and Dan discovered the true story resulting in another blog post. An international event like the Olympics was the instigator of another exciting story
discovery for Dan. When Scott Westcott was still waiting for his qualification for the marathon in the 2016 Olympic Games, someone mentioned that Scott would be the third one from his class to go to the Olympics.

That was the spark to get Dan’s interest and the digging started resulting in an exciting project with a deadline on the eight Olympians to have come from the Parkes Shire. “Each one of them was an amazing story in itself – some very happy and some quite sad.”

With over 50 blogs already written, Dan feels he has not even scratched the surface. “I’m in the job for life – there is so much more to research, dig up and discover.”

With a steady stream of locals and visitors using the library for research, he is never short on new ideas. “It’s like finding treasure.” And every story seems to blow him away, as the one he is currently working on about the RAAF pilot Rawdon Middleton.

Dan aims to post a new blog per month, and tries to promote new blogs as much as possible. “The more people know about it, the more ideas come through.”

“My history teacher said if we don’t learn from our mistakes in the past, we will just make them again. Apart from the historical stories, there are also some fascinating tales, while others are just joyful things, like Parkes getting snow about every ten years.”

With so much passion and dedication, Dan will remain ‘a miner for a heart of gold’, as Neil Young sings, to keep on digging up all the fascinating stories of our shire.

By Maggi Barnard

 

For over 50 years rural communities in the Parkes Shire have been asking for it and last Friday the upgrade and sealing of the Middle Trundle Road was officially opened.

“It is a terrific day,” said Deputy Mayor Barbara Newton, who travels up to 1,000km per week between Tullamore and Parkes. “What a difference it makes to all of us.”

Member for Riverina, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack said good roads were vital to ensure productivity and efficiencies, and to ensure people get to their destinations sooner and safer.

Middle Trundle Road is not only the most direct link from the Parkes Shire area to the Newell Highway, Mugincoble Silos and Central West Livestock Exchange, but it also provides Trundle and Tullamore more direct access to the Parkes urban centre.

For safety reasons, heavy vehicles often had to bypass Middle Trundle Road and instead pass through the village of Bogan Gate, adding 8km to each trip.

The sealing of Middle Trundle Road cuts travel time by about 10 minutes in each direction, which will boost productivity and save transport costs for local businesses.

Trundle resident Andrew Rawsthorne said the upgrade was very popular among residents. “It also means residents can now easily travel to Parkes for work instead of moving there. With all the new development projects in the shire and improved roads, people can now choose where they want to live.”

By Maggi Barnard

The spotlight was on the Little Theatre in Parkes on Monday for the official opening of the venue’s completed upgrades and renovations.

One year ago Parliamentary Secretary for Western NSW Rick Colless announced a grant of $162,000 from the Stronger Country Communities Fund, and on Monday Rick and Nationals candidate for Orange, Kate Hazelton, witnessed the realisation of this major revamp. The project included 170 new seats, a beautifully refurbished
foyer, larger access doors and a fully repainted interior.

“The foyer sets the scene,” said Rick, “and when you walk in you get an appreciation of the results of how this money has delivered.”

“There is a true sense of ‘coming to the theatre’, of coming somewhere that is special,” said Deputy Mayor Barbara Newton, who was impressed with the comfort and the view of the stage from every seat in the house.

Barbara reiterated a point made by Parkes Musical & Dramatic Society member Christa Radley, that many regional centres import directors, designers and choreographers, but in Parkes this is all drawn from local talent, and so the talent here is being nurtured.

President of the Parkes M & D, Lyn Townsend, thanked Rick Colless, the Parkes Council, all previous presidents
and workers of the theatre saying: “We are continually striving to raise the bar.” Guests were treated to performances by Neil Westcott, James Whalan, and a quartet of children, before the official plaque was unveiled.