Parkes Phoenix Editor

Community members are invited to attend Vietnam Veterans Day, which will be held at the Cenotaph in Victoria Park on Friday, 18th August commencing at 11:00am.

The commemorations for the Battle of Long Tan this year will honour all Australians who served their country during the Vietnam War.

Some 60,000 Australians served their country in the Vietnam Conflict from 1962 until 1975.

Australian suffered 521 dead and more than 3,000 wounded during this conflict and many more veterans suffered, and continue to suffer, as a result of their service. It was a war, though undeclared, that Australians did not seek, but they were young, proud, determined and confident. They had wonderful qualities and values taught to them by a previous generation who had also seen war.

As young men and women, they lived in a time when draft-dodging was a dirty word and the domino theory was a constant theme. Service of country was never questioned. Australians were involved in many engagements, including Operation Crimp in January 1966, the Battle of Long Tan 18th August 1966 (and, hence, the date for this day of Remembrance), 1968; heavy fighting around Bien Hoa and Long Binh during Operation Coburg at the time of the Tet Offensive, the battles for Fire Support Bases Coral and Balmoral, actions during Operation Goodwood around Hat Dich in 1968-69, the battle of Binh Ba in 1969 and in 1971 the Battle of Long Khanh.

We must never forget the price that our Vietnam veterans paid for their service.

The bravery, tenacity and sacrifice of the Australian and New Zealand soldiers in the Battle of Long Tan, and the support provided to them by the RAAF and by artillerymen from Australia, New Zealand and the United States are remembered as one of the Vietnam War’s defining moments.

Have you noticed any changes to the old shed at 38 Dowling Street in Forbes? Well, it’s now a shed filled with interesting old furniture awaiting restoration and repair.

Forbes Furniture Restorers have moved into the shed and are people with a passion for furniture restoration. From upholstery to French polishing, they have master craftsmen to complete any restoration job.

Paul and Lyndee Lynch are the owners of Forbes Furniture Restorers and bring 40 years of experience in furniture restoration to the Forbes district. Their business was established in Gilgandra in 1980, where after they purchased the upholstery business from Harry Waddington in November 1989 and moved it into the Aussie shed. Paul and Lyndee have always been thankful to the people of Gilgandra, their many customers and Paul’s parents, Vilma and Wally, for all their support during the start-up years. In 1991 they relocated to Mudgee and after 26 years they had restored nearly all of the old furniture in the district.

Paul is a French polisher by trade and still uses shellac, the natural polish used specifically for antiques. He is a master craftsman with all repairs and resetting chairs, recaning seats, repairing recliner rockers and is qualified to carry out furniture warranty work.

Lyndee, is the upholsterer and is also an expert at repairs and recovering of dining chairs, lounges, cushion covers and foam for your seats. She has a great range of fabric and vinyl samples or bring your own fabric. She can do your industrial sewing jobs and has foam which can be cut to size plus webbing and upholstery supplies for the do it yourself restorers.

Call in to discuss your furniture restoration needs with Paul and Lyndee or phone them on 6851 2490.

With 99 percent of NSW suffering extended drought conditions, the NSW Business Chamber is examining the flow on effects to regional communities and businesses.

Whilst it has been pleasing to see both federal and state government responding with farm aid packages, the extended drought has much broader implications.

“The Western NSW Business Chamber believes there is clear evidence the impacts of drought flow on significantly to regional businesses that support and make up the fabric of our rural and regional communities.

We know many of our members are already struggling with increasing cost pressures in areas such as fuel, gas and electricity prices, then on top of that comes the impact of the drought resulting in falling sales, stifled business growth and employment in the region,” said Vicki Seccombe, Regional Manager, Western NSW Business Chamber.

In order to better understand the broader situation, the Chamber recently introduced a survey, which seeks to understand the impacts of drought on businesses that support our regional and rural communities.

The survey can be found on the following link and is open until Thursday, 16th August. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/nswbcdroughtsurvey

“We urge all regional business owners and operators to complete the survey. In times like this, we need to come together to support all our businesses, both farming and non-farming business and look for solutions that help our communities to remain strong and viable during this time.”

“The NSW Business Chamber will ensure our state and federal governments have a clear picture of the impact across our regional communities, and can implement strategies to address these issues with our support,” said Vicki.