Charlie Oraha: I have enjoyed everything about the program, it’s definitely something I would recommend because I love learning about my culture. We also get to make new friends. My favourite thing on the program would have been zoom calling Jonathan Thurston.
Trudy Richardson: Getting to know other people and to know what the community does to give back to society.
Jayden Pope: Learning more about our culture and making new friends.
Pictured L-R: Sarah Knowling, Leah Knowling and Rebekah Knowling.
Sarah Knowling (8): It looks really nice and smells good too. There are lots of nice areas to play inside and outside. My favourite place is the seat in the wall where you can sit down.
Leah Knowling: It is very inviting and has a lot more space where different groups can sit and read, study or meet. They’ve done a fabulous job – to be able to reimagine the space and make something that seems so much bigger, while keeping more or less the same footprint. The space has been utilised so well. I really like it with all the little nooks.
Rebekah Knowling (11): It’s awesome! I am just flabbergasted and if I was a little girl I would’ve fallen on my back and looked at everything. I like the outside area, the big screen TV. I like everything. It smells like a new place too.
Doreen Nash (91 years): I am very disappointed, but it is the right thing to do because of COVID. Luckily I have many wonderful memories as I have attended every festival from the very first inaugural dinner that Bob and Anne Steele held at their Gracelands restaurant. In the beginning everyone laughed at such a silly idea to have an Elvis Festival in a town like Parkes and said it would be an embarrassment. The things I loved most about the festivals have been the street parade, the Cooke Park festivities and most of all the Elvis shows at the Parkes Leagues Club and Parkes Services Club. My favourite Elvis has been Mark Andrew Tabone. I also attended the early gospel services in the Big W undercover carpark with my late husband Stewart Nash. These services also grew in popularity and had to be moved to Cooke Park.
Christian Martin (left) with his grandmother Jean Wright and brother Dane at the Olympic Games: I was 14 years old and went with my family to the rowing and the water polo. The excitement and energy I felt being at such a unique sporting event with people from all around the world cheering their respective countries was just the best.
Bob and Bev Bokyar: The friendliness of the people – everyone was talking to everyone on public transport and everywhere. The atmosphere was just electric. The cheering of the crowd and Mexican wave in the stadium when Australian Louise Sauvage won her gold medal in the wheelchair event at the Paralympics is something we’ll never forget. We felt a lot of pride being there. We just looked around in amazement at everything. We saw hockey, the end of the marathon, tennis, various Paralympic events and the closing ceremony.
Gregor and Marty Sammut-Paul (owners of Regional Business Supplies): We love the new main street. We are extremely happy. It makes a huge difference and people tend to stay longer and not just go through the area. It has brought vibrancy to this end of the street.
Susannah and Allan Blatch (owners of AA Blatch): It is now much more pleasant and was definitely worth it. The landscaping is lovely. We love all the plants and trees. We have made a lot of improvements to our business to complement what Council has done. We are very pleased to have a well-known business in the renovated part of the main street.
Kalvin Dargin: I love going to the pool and I like to see the leaves come back and the flowers bloom.
Tyson Gustowski: My favourite thing is that we can play football on the weekend and at school. I like all the flowers that come out in spring.
Kyanna Dargin: In spring I like to hear the birds singing and see the butterflies and the bees flying around in the nice warm sun and the warm wind.
Jason Nielsen: Spring is the best because you get good sunshine and the leaves grow to give you shade in the heat.
Warren Tanner: I’m the only welder here and enjoy making metal stuff and repairing items for people like strollers and wheel chairs. We have all the necessary equipment here to help us with any repair job. But the best part is coming here to talk a lot of nonsense with everyone else! It is good for my mental health.
Trevor Rowney: I like giving them all cheek to lighten them up a bit because they are so dull… (he said with a glint in his eye)! I also enjoy fixing whatever people bring in, anything from antiques to chairs. I once did an antique rocking horse that was also a high chair. It was a very rewarding project to work on.
Jessica Clarke: I wear it every time I go to Woolies as I am asthmatic and cannot afford to get sick, and people get too close.
Belinda Toland: If it’s necessary I will wear it. I have one in my bag, but for now I stay away from people as much as possible.
Jo Vanunen and Glenda Moir: We will do it if it is required as it makes sense. We don’t have a problem with it.
Jo: I have worn at mask at Coles and will do it again.
Pam and Mal Nankivell:
Pam: I was only 13 and at boarding school at SCEGGS Moss Vale. There was great excitement and we went over to Tudor House, the preparatory school for Kings, and celebrated there.
Mal: I was in the Sydney South telephone exchange when the news broke and everyone in the city went mad. So did the phone calls! I went down to watch the gauge that monitored the number of calls and when it went on to the red, which happened very quickly – the danger line of course, they cut off all the lines except for the essential ones and the ones in public phones. After that I went outside into the crowd where I was swept along up to Macquarie Street and retreated into the Mitchell Library.
Kathleen Hutchison (with her husband Keith on their honeymoon at Sydney Central Station in June 1948):
I was 21 years old and living with my parents and two younger sisters. My older brother was serving in the forces. I vividly remember the day WWII ended. It was 15th August, which was the feast of the Assumption. I went with my girlfriends to mass in Griffith, a four mile bike ride from my home in Hanwood.
After mass we heard that the war had ended. We didn’t have to go to work as the shops had closed for the day. People gathered around the town, it was an exciting day. A wealthy man in Hanwood had been preparing for the end of the war and held a huge bonfire where everyone gathered to celebrate. Mr McWilliams of McWilliams Wines provided the wine for the festivities. Soldiers started coming home soon afterwards. The war years were very sad with many families losing family members.
I also remember food coupons being used to purchase the basic foods. Soldiers would travel by train from Temora to Griffith from all around the place and the girls loved going to the “two bob dances”. The soldiers were great dancers.
Warwick Tom:
Friday, 14th August 1945. I attended Parkes Primary School as usual and was in year 6, the year before progressing to high school. The school had installed radios for class lessons but this morning was to be a special broadcast, the announcement of the end of the war. We had already absorbed the fact that Japan had been hit with two atomic bombs but the announcement that they had surrendered still came as a surprise. The whole school paraded out on the playground cheering as many of the bells around town rang out. For a 12-year-old it was quite a day, needless to say we all had the rest of the day off.