On Monday, 23rd January the Peak Hill Local Aboriginal Land Council (LALC), community members and representatives from the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) Inland Rail, spent the day visiting sites across Peak Hill to return more than 150 stone artefacts found during construction of the Parkes to Narromine section of Inland Rail. 

The artefacts, including a complete hand-axe and fragments that could be used for cutting tools, were discovered during a site survey in 2019. On discovery, and in line with the project’s Cultural Heritage Management Plan, ARTC, the relevant Aboriginal party and their specialist technical advisers have been working closely together to develop a solution that is appropriate to the significance of the site. 

Judy Bell, Board Director of the Peak Hill Local Aboriginal Land Council, said: “As a Wiradjuri woman from the Upper Bogan River people of Peak Hill, on behalf of the Peak Hill LALC and our community, we appreciate ARTC Inland Rail’s commitment to working closely with our people and respecting our culture and heritage in a culturally responsive way. 

“We are very pleased with the process, and for us Peak Hill Traditional Custodians, returning artefacts in a culturally safe way back to country is necessary for our local cultural history and is central for us as a people. Each object is unique and has a connection to its place of origin and tells a story that plays a vital part in a shared history.” 

Frances Robinson, Chairperson of the Peak Hill Local Aboriginal Land Council, said: “It is important for our current and future generations to see the return of their ancestorial objects and cultural material, back home to country in Peak Hill, to the place where our old people, our ancestors left their footprint on our traditional land’.” 

Rebecca Pickering, ARTC Inland Rail Interim Chief Executive, said: “We acknowledge that Inland Rail will be built and operated on the traditional lands of many Aboriginal communities. 

“We value our relationships with Aboriginal communities and recognise their inherent connection to their traditional lands and their continuing responsibility of stewardship and caring for country and culture. 

“We will continue to consult with Aboriginal leaders at every opportunity to ensure progress on the Inland Rail program is carried out in cooperation with those Aboriginal communities. 

“Inland Rail offers a unique opportunity to survey and explore areas previously untouched by cultural heritage investigation. Potential discoveries will add to the wider community’s knowledge of and respect for Aboriginal people’s use of the land and Australia’s shared cultural heritage.” 

For more information on our work with Indigenous communities, including the Inland Rail Indigenous Participation Plan, please visit Working with Aboriginal communities – Inland Rail (artc.com.au), phone 1800 732 761 or email irculturalheritage@artc.com.au. 

Our Indigenous Participation Plan 

The Inland Rail Indigenous Participation Plan sets out our commitment to working in partnership with Indigenous communities to create meaningful opportunities that deliver lasting benefits for individuals, families and communities. 

The Parkes Elvis Festival sadly lost one of its most dedicated volunteer photographers when Cathy McPherson passed away on 28th August last year.

Cathy joined the photography team of the Parkes Camera Club when they were invited to join the media team in 2014 at the festival. She enjoyed the atmosphere of the festival and the people. “She loved catching all the characters in her photos, and it gave her great joy watching everyone enjoy themselves,” said her close friend and fellow photographer Maree Tanswell. 

“Her favourite events to photograph included the street parade, gospel service and the Wall of Fame concerts.”

While Cathy had fun taking photos at the festival, she took her nature photography more seriously. She loved taking landscapes, flowers, sunrises and sunsets and especially birds. She would spend hours watching and waiting for the right time to catch a bird in her lens.

It was also her love of birds that led to some of her images ending up as giant artworks at the Manildra Flour Mills. The mural artist Jimmy Dvate used her images of a king parrot and grass parrot for his first mural on a tank near the Mandagery Creek Bridge.

Cathy said she was thrilled he used her photos, but sadly she never got to see the mural in real life.

She was only two years old when Elvis died on 16th August 1977, her mum’s birthday.

She was 5 when her parents Bob and Anne Steel opened Gracelands. (Named after Elvis’s home, but they applied to use the ‘s’ at the end.)

She was 17 when the first Parkes Elvis Festival took place and she literally had to become her mum’s right hand.

“I was at boarding school in Orange and home for the holidays when mum broke both her wrists and nose when a ladder collapsed,” said Tiffany Steel.

“Mum was basically running the show, so my brother and I and dad had to become her arms. She gave us instructions of what to do and I ended up being MC and hosting the night.”

Tiffany enjoyed the experience so much that is set her up for her career. “I caught the event bug at that first festival and spent the next 30 years in events. I worked on big conferences, trade exhibitions, and for major charities here and all over Europe, and lived in London.”

Even though she had moved away from Parkes, she continued to help Anne with all her scheduling and run sheets on the computer, and then returned for the festival to help out with main stage events and launching new events.

She did not stop even stop when her daughter Ruby was born. “In 2007 I put up my hand to become the temporary festival coordinator when Ruby was only four months old. She came with me to all the sponsorship meetings. That was also the year we launched Miss Priscilla, the Poet’s Breakfast, Elvis Golf Day, formalised the volunteer program and launched the first paid program. It was crazy!”

After that eventful year, she kept on helping her mum and when she was back in Parkes for the 2019 festival a friend said there was a job advertised with her name all over it. “I was working on the Gold Coast at the time in a contract role, and I thought it would be good to bring Ruby to Parkes.

Tiffany became the sponsorship and marketing coordinator in March 2019 and loved it so much that by December 2021 she took on the role as director of the Parkes Elvis Festival. “I never imagined it would turn out this way for me. Mum was always set on making it a big festival.

“My parents were absolutely thrilled when I arrived at their house with a bottle of champagne to tell them I had become director.

“I love the fact that I get to work with Mum and Dad as they are still heavily involved and still portfolio holders, and to work with the other committee members who have been here since the start and continue the work they’ve done for so many years. It is very special.

Tiffany said she realised just how special the Parkes Elvis Festival was when she was always asked about it at job interviews. “Even if it had nothing to do with the role I’d apply for, they always wanted to hear all about it.”

Tiffany says there are enough new fans to keep the festival going. “People who came to the early festivals, their kids grew up with it and now they are coming. It’s great to see all these generations. The demand is there, if only we had double the accommodation.”

She feels the Parkes Elvis Festival can’t be replicated. “Others have popped up, but they’ve been very different to the whole Parkes experience. I really love how our town’s people and shop owners have embraced the event, the friendships made and all the wonderful things that have happened because of the festival. It is a really happy event. We don’t have any problems and everyone is having a good time.”

She recalls standing in the main street just before street parade in 2022 and thinking how amazing it was. “The vibe, the happiness, it gives me the biggest kick.”

 

You had a direct input into the start of the festival, but can you tell us how it all came about? The festival actually came about after a party my family held at Gracelands. We had a great time dancing and singing, and Elvis music was a big part of that. After the party, we were having a few drinks of red wine with Bob Steel, who owned Gracelands and was serving us all night. We thought having a party for Elvis would be quite a hit. 

After the first festival, did you ever imagine it would grow this big? The first party did work well, but mainly with devoted Elvis fans – not many of them from here, and quite a few travelling from around. The following early years were rough in terms of numbers, and local interest, but it just kept on going. But never in a million years did anyone think for one moment it would get to 30 years with 25,000 visitors, five days of events totalling more than 200, and $15 million injection into the economy.

What are your fondest memories of the past 29 years? Fondest memories are hard to pinpoint because I have enjoyed every festival. Meeting visitors to our town and seeing them having such a great time – and then returning each year with even more in their party. Meeting some of the key men and women in Elvis’s life over the years including his manager and one of his closest friends, Joe Esposito, who organised the Elvis Comeback Special. I also met some of his leading ladies and last year, Elvis’s road manager.

What do you think the festival has meant for our community? The festival has had an enormous influence on Parkes. We were always known as the town with the big dish, but now world-wide, we are also known as the town that hosts Elvis. In recent years, there have been more than 300,000 news reports each year about the festival world-wide. That’s not bad publicity for our great little town. Not to mention the $15 million it generates for our economy each year – and the people who have actually moved here because of the festival.

Is there one memory that really stands out for you? Probably one of the fondest memories was only recently when I helped to judge the Elvis Tribute Artists competition – and Toki Toyokazu from Japan won it – unbelievable!

What do you look forward to at the festival every year? I just love every aspect of the festival but probably more than anything else, the obvious enjoyment everyone is having. You can see people dancing, singing, laughing…they’re just so happy enjoying themselves. Of course, the artists are a big attraction – I have seen every feature artist we have had – not to mention the street parade (and taking part in it as well!), a drinks crawl to every establishment listening to the in-house artists, the arrival of the Elvis Express, the tribute artists competition… the list just doesn’t end!

Anything else you would like to say? It is hard to imagine the reception locals gave the Elvis concept and festival all those 30 years ago. It was cringeworthy, they said, we’re leaving town, this is embarrassing, but now locals thoroughly endorse and support it so much that they are inviting people into their homes just to ensure they have a bed so they can come. The Blue Hawaii theme is the most popular of the lot – and it is the theme for this year so it should be a fantastic festival. I can’t wait. 

The 29th Parkes Elvis Festival is one Bob and Anne Steel would rather forget. Not because the festival’s traditional January time slot was moved to April, but they both had COVID and had to isolate in their home a mere stone’s throw from Cooke Park.

As the founders of the now world-renowned festival, the pandemic was not going to stop them working from home, but by Sunday their tests were negative, and they took their chairs to Cooke Park. “We sat by ourselves enjoying the last two hours of the main stage program,” said Anne, who has been an Elvis fan since she first heard him at 11 years old.

“From the very first Parkes Elvis Festival in 1993 when it went pretty well and people loved it, I wanted it to last this long. I am very happy we have reached the 30-year milestone.”

Bob feels the festival has created many new Elvis fans. “In the beginning many of the guys said they just came along with their wives, but they caught the vibe very quickly.”

Despite some fierce opposition from people in Parkes who did not think it was right to honour a ‘drug addict’ with a festival, an Elvis Revival Incorporated committee was formed after the first event to start organising the next one.

It soon became clear there were many more Elvis fans than they had expected. “We had a story in the paper asking for any Elvis memorabilia and you would not believe what came out of the woodwork from people you would never believe would have any,” said Anne.

And that is how the festival started growing. “Every year people would bring their friends with them, and their friends would bring more friends,” said Bob. “It became known as a family orientated event for all ages with good and wholesome entertainment. You did not have to be an Elvis fan to have a good time.”

Thanks to the lamington drives, and endless raffle tickets sold, the committee started to cover their expenses. Anne clearly remembers the first time they received a $300 grant from Parkes Shire Council to help them with advertising.

Anne also felt very strongly they needed to get more locals on board and the idea of entertainment in the park was born. “We wanted to give something to people who could not afford to go away on holiday to be part of the festival. They could make their vegemite sandwich and bring a bottle of water to the park and have a good time.”

Looking back over 30 years, it is the fun and hard work of the early festivals that bring back lots of memories and smiles for Bob and Anne.

“The second year our theme was Clambake and we turned our staff car park at Gracelands into a beach,” remembers Anne, who was also responsible for the dinner that was part of the program.

“Our Roustabout year in 1999, we were still at Gracelands, and we set up a carnival in the staff car park. Bob built sideshows around the car park, we had a gypsy fortune teller, and the carnival people came with their cotton candy and with clowns.”

Bob remembers taking Wall of Fame honoree Judy Stone, who was big on TV at the time, on her first ever bike ride to Forbes where her grandmother grew up. “It was her birthday on the 1st of January and we gave her a cake. She cried and said she had never had a cake.”

After some years of winning hearts and minds, things really took off in 2007 with the first big stage in Cooke Park. Little did they know that the crowd of about 4,000 that year would multiply six-fold about ten years later, and the big stage would become a permanent stage with a five-day program featuring international tribute artists. 

For Anne, who shares a special connection with Elvis as he died on her birthday, seeing how their initiative had exploded into attracting 24,000 plus people could not make them happier.

“It makes us feel extremely good, and we can’t wait for the 30th anniversary,” said the pair.