Australian actor, radio presenter, voiceover artist and philanthropist Samuel Johnson will be the celebrity speaker at a gala dinner on 19th October at the Forbes Services Club.

Samuel raised thousands of dollars for CanTeen in 2003 when he rode over 1,000km on his unicycle from Sydney to
Melbourne. In 2013 he set a new Guiness World Record when he went right around Australia on his unicycle. He also raised $2 million for cancer research and assisted his sister Connie to spread awareness of breast cancer.

In 2001 Samuel was awarded the Australian Centenary Medal, Queen’s New Year’s Honours List, for his services to Australian society and Australian film production. He has been named GQ Magazine’s Social Force of the Year, he shares the 2015 Research Australia Advocacy Award with his sister Connie and in 2016 he was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for his services to cancer research.

An acclaimed Australian actor will be appearing in a mental health play in Tullamore in November. Tullamore Inc and Parkes Shire Council will host Gold Logie Award-winner John Wood as the leading actor in Carpe Diem at the Tullamore War Memorial Hall on 3rd November.

Supported by Chris Pidd, Carpe Diem is a contemporary portrayal of Australian males, dealing with issues of health, grief, loss and depression. Set in a fictional town, the play portrays the friendship of Nev, a hard-working farmer, and John his stock agent friend. Both have been impacted by the long running drought and are each suffering their own personal crisis.

Carpe Diem is a didactic comedy that delivers mental health messages in an entertaining, immediate and highly relevant way. It stresses the importance of mateship and professional care in times of crises. “It’s a very Australian thing (not just male, necessarily) to feel that it’s none of our business and that someone knows what they’re doing,” said John. “But men need to ask the questions and not ignore their apparent depression or inner pain.”

The play will be followed by a Q&A and meet and greet with the actors. Tickets are $20, available at Casho’s Café, 123tix.com.au and at the door. BBQ dinner from 6.30pm. For all enquiries call Megan 0478 438 052.

Excitement is building for the gala presentation night hosted by the Parkes Chamber of Commerce at the Parkes Services Club on 19th October following the announcement of The Henrys finalists. Tickets are selling fast for the night to celebrate the business super stars of Parkes. Head to parkesservicesclub.com.au/events to get your ticket for $85.

It will be a brilliant night of networking with drinks and platters on arrival followed by dinner and dessert. The presentation of the awards will kick off the celebrations, and local duo Tom and Holly will be the entertainers for the night! There will also be a photo booth this year to add an element of fun to the night.

Apart from the finalists who have been announced in various categories, there will also be awards handed out for Excellence in Small Business, Excellence in Business and Parkes Business of the Year. The finalists for these categories are being kept a surprise for the evening!

Thank you to all the sponsors who have made the event possible, and to all the businesses for putting in the hard work to nominate.

More than 130 vintage cars attracted much attention at the Henry Parkes Museum’s fifth annual Smoke, Rust and Noise Day on Monday.

The Veteran Car Club of Australia’s National Rally combined with the museum event. The collection of rally cars included a 1912 Cadillac, the first car to ever have a starter motor and the youngest of the lot at 100 years old; a 1910 Brush with wooden axels and chassis, and the first vehicle to cross Australia from west to east driven by
Francis Birtles; and a 1903 Ford, the equal oldest of two cars still in existence.

Eighty-year-old Francis Ransley OAM, who owns 23 vintage cars, arrived with his 1905 Darracq from Wynyard, Tasmania. In earlier days Francis enjoyed flying and speedboating – he still holds the national water speed record of 228km/h set in 1983.

“When I was 42 I lost my boat and plane licences on the same day after heart trouble, so I used the garage space to start my interest in vintage cars.” Francis has restored more than 80 cars.

Drivers and passengers in their historical finery were treated to morning tea and lunch, while Parkes Public School students and members of the public enjoyed the smoke and noise of engines and the history of the antique cars.

By Beth Thomas

Parkes Shire Council is encouraging locals and visitors to ‘be out there’ these school holidays as part of its new spring campaign. The campaign reflects the 2018/19 Destination Guide theme which promotes the Parkes region as a place to ‘be out there’, explore, and see first-hand what makes the region an appealing tourist destination.

“There’s plenty of affordable and memorable experiences for the whole family to enjoy these school holidays,” said Parkes Shire Council’s Brand and Marketing Manager, Katrina Dwyer.

“With the generous support of our local tourism operators, we have compiled a fantastic list of special offers to entice people to discover why it all adds up in Parkes to keep the kids entertained over the holiday period.”

The list of special offers and activities can be accessed via the Visit Parkes website until 30th November. Be amazed by space + science with free astronomy talks at the Dish. Be active at the Parkes Skate Park with the Bluntside Skatepark Competition Series. Be entertained at one of the Parkes Shire Library’s school holiday workshops. Be cool and enjoy free entry at the Parkes Shire public swimming pools. Be inspired by classic car displays at the Central West Car Show and Shine. Be fulfilled at the Parkes Upmarkets with a great range of local produce, food and gifts.

Once the school holidays come to an end, the message will be directed at a broader audience to showcase the region as the perfect place to visit over summer.

Parkes Shire lifeguards are expecting their busiest pool season to date with all Parkes Shire pool facilities offering free entry this summer. Parents and carers are reminded to keep a close watch this summer and know the
pool rules ahead of the Parkes pool opening tomorrow (Saturday) and the Township pools on Saturday, 3rd November.

“To enable us to keep track of how many people are using the facility, we will be asking everyone to sign a register at the gate this year,” said Parkes Shire Aquatic Coordinator, Nicole Thornhill.

“We will also be closely monitoring the bather load at each of the facilities. If we reach the maximum number, we may ask swimmers to hop out of the water temporarily to ensure we maintain a safe supervision ratio.”

Parkes Aquatic Centre will be running free introductory water safety lessons and child capability assessments for children under the age of 5, during Learn2Swim Week 2018, for the first time.

The Learn2Swim Week lessons will run from Tuesday, 2nd October until Friday, 5th October, between 1 and 3pm daily. Lessons run for 30 minutes and aim to educate parents on the importance of teaching children under five to swim, and the importance of water safety.

To register your child for their free Learn-2Swim lesson, contact Parkes Aquatic Centre on 6862 6206. Council’s regular Learn to Swim program commences Monday, 29th October. To enrol your child in the Learn to Swim program, download and complete the enrolment form on Council’s website www.parkes.nsw.gov.au

Trundle has become the latest stop in the Parkes Shire Public Art Trail featuring works of local school students and community members. The Trundle Community Wall was unveiled last Friday celebrating the cultural and artistic diversity of the town.

“The Parkes Shire is emerging as a vibrant arts and cultural scene, and we are delighted to expand the Public Art Trail to include Trundle,” said Parkes Shire Deputy Mayor, Councillor Barbara Newton. The Trundle Community Wall is now showing ‘Trundle through young eyes’, featuring works created during a series of workshops curated by local Trundle artist Helen Gray.

“A fantastic group of people ranging in ages from five to 90 years old, met for four workshops to brain storm ideas about what Trundle mean for them,” said Helen.

The featured local artists are Maggie Anderson, Sophie Wright, Phoebe Wright, Isabel Aveyard, Brooke Morgan, Aliethea Stokes and Paddy Williams. The Community Art Wall is part of a series of community walls in the shire, with the iconic ‘Plus’ also featured in Parkes and Peak Hill.

A new home might be beautiful, but will not show its true potential to buyers when it’s empty. They need to visualise themselves living there! The magic of staging a home for sale can dramatically increase the chance of a quick sale. The same applies to styling your new home – the total package of great furniture, rugs, cushions and artwork takes it to the next level of enjoyment.