Some of the women at the Knit ‘n Natter event held at the Craft Corner last week. Holding the rugs are Rosemary Mitchell and Rhonda Redenbach from the Craft Corner and Dianne Percy from Orange.

There was a lot of catching up to be done after two years of ‘silence’ at the Knit ‘n Natter event at Craft Corner last week.

About 40 women from Orange and Bathurst joined locals from Parkes and surrounds to not only natter over a cuppa and cake, but also knit squares for the Wrap with Love project that provide warm wraps to vulnerable people all over the world.

“We donate wraps to overseas charities, but also donate to 12 local charities including to the women’s refuge, nursing homes, oncology department and more,” said Dianne Percy, co-ordinator of Wrap with Love in Orange.

The annual even at Craft Corner, going for more than 14 years, is a great way of bringing people together, but members of the public are knitting at their homes and with friends right through the year for the project.

“One rug is made up of 28 squares, and we have 604 completed so far this year,” said Dianne. All the knitted squares from the Central West go to Orange and since the start of the project a total of 7,000 rugs have been made so far.

Wrap with Love was started in Melbourne in 1992 and donations have been sent to people in more than 75 countries.

Craft Corner members and anyone else keen on knitting are encouraged to drop off their knitted squares at the Craft Corner in Parkes. The squares should be 25cm square, knitted in 8 ply yarn with no. 8 (4mm) needles in garter stitch all plain rows.

If you have any 8 ply yarn lying around at home, feel free to drop that off at the Craft Corner too.

Dianne’s group meets at the Orange City Library every Thursday from 9 to 12 in the morning. She said the group also made beanies for homeless people, twiddle muffs for people with dementia and children with disabilities, outfits for stillborn babies and trauma teddies for hospitals.

By Maggi Barnard

The dance group from Parkes High School performed two dances at the opening of the permanent Wiradjuri Exhibition at the Parkes Library and Cultural Centre last week, which is now open to the public.

Local Wiradjuri artefacts have been given a permanent home at the Parkes Library and Cultural Centre after it was identified as a priority project by the community.

Parkes Shire Council has collaborated with representatives of our First Nations community to curate the Wiradjuri Ngurambang Exhibition that was officially opened last week by the Parkes Shire Mayor Ken Keith OAM. 

Pieces in the exhibition include a range of artefacts from local Wiradjuri community members, from the Henry Parkes Museum collection as well as pieces sourced from local Wiradjuri artists. Objects include hunting and gathering tools, grinding stones, digging sticks and spears, coolamons, dilly bags and ceremonial pieces.

“The Wiradjuri Ngurambang Exhibition will give voices to our artefacts,” said exhibition curatorium member and environmental artist Ronda Sharpe. “Our local First Nations community has been working with Council to bring the project together and excitedly gathering items for the exhibition.”

The Mayor said it was just wonderful to see an exhibition of this nature produced with so much quality and taste. “The Wirajuri Ngurambang Exhibition is a cultural gift to not only the people in our shire but also to many visitors who come to Parkes giving insight into the Wiradjuri language and culture as well as the history of Parkes, present and future.”

The curatorium members included Robert Clegg, Geoff Anderson, Ronda Sharpe and Irene Ridgeway with guidance from the Elders Advisory Group and the Parkes First Nations Community Working Party.

The digital component of the exhibition, produced by Sean James Cassidy of Ub Ubbo, complements the display and provides an introduction to Wiradjuri culture. The organic filming style seeks to highlight the importance of looking closely at and listening carefully to nature, our Elders and each other. 

The exhibition was funded by the Australian Government’s Local Roads & Community Infrastructure Program and is part of the Let’s Get Digital initiative by Museums & Galleries of NSW. 

The expansion of Neighbourhood Central’s transport services to Lake Cargelligo was formalised last week. Two members of the Lake Cargelligo Community Transport management committee visited Parkes to thank Neighbourhood Central (NC) for continuing the much-needed service in their town. On the photo are (L-R) Lynn Townsend (senior manager community transport NC), Margaret McCarten from Lake Cargelligo, Lynn Rogers (NC board member), Sue Wood (chair of Lake Cargelligo Community Tranport), Graeme Dean (chairperson NC), Kay Craft (NC board member), Rowen Pearce (NC financial manager) and Dianne Scott (NC executive officer).