Pictured is long-term teacher Juley Clarke, of Forbes and long-standing volunteer Michael Lynch, of Parkes. With the announcements being made on the Kinds Birthday weekend, both will receive their awards in September in Sydney.
Federal Member for Parkes Jamie Chaffey has congratulated Juley Clarke, of Forbes and Michael Lynch, of Parkes who have been named in the 2026 King’s Birthday Honours list.
Juley Clarke, of Forbes, has been recognised with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to primary education.
Mrs Clarke has been a teacher since 1988 and is the founder of the Forbes North Wiradjuri Choir, as well as the chief steward of the Forbes School Artwork Show Society.
Initially Juley was shocked to hear she had been nominated, “I received an email back in March stating that I had been nominated for an Order of Australia Medal. My first thought was ‘Yeah Sure’, I truly thought it was a scam.” But then she finally heard back stating she was successful. “That was when I finally realised this was actually real. I was in total shock,” Julie said.
Michael Lynch, of Parkes, has also been recognised with a Medal of the Order of Australia for service to the community of Parkes.
Mr Lynch has been an important part of the St Vincent de Paul Society, the Diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes, the Parkes Prostate Cancer Support Group and the Parkes Veterans Golf Club. He was Parkes’ Citizen of the Year in 2021 and is a life member of the St Vincent de Paul Society.
In Michael’s own humble words, when he heard the news he felt “Undeserving, chuffed, honoured and blessed.”