Parkes Phoenix Editor

Since 1981, Forbes local Dianne Decker has been organising the annual Forbes Special Sports Day, and despite the event almost ceasing in 1984, it will celebrate its 35th birthday on Wednesday. The event will be held at the Red Bend College gymnasium, starting at 9.30am with a morning tea, before progressing to a team march-past behind local bagpiper Brian Tisdell.

After this, sports such as walking races, relays, dressing races and three-legged races will begin, culminating to a game of musical chairs at the end of the day, and if people still have energy to expend, there may even be some dancing.

The Special Sports Day is an annual event that provides activities for people of all disabilities to get involved in. The event is not just for Forbes-based competitors either, with people from Dubbo, Orange, Condobolin, Parkes and Young expected to make the trip. Intellectual disabilities are normally well represented at the event, and Mrs Decker said it was this that kept the event alive back in the 1980s.

“When we started we held a lot of wheel chair events, but once wheel chair events became officially recognised as a professional sport, a lot of competitors went to other events,” she said. “But the intellectual disability groups really wanted us to keep going with the event, and it’s been going ever since…we now run sports for all disabilities.”

The official march of all competing teams will also be judged, with Red Bend Principal Br Michael Flanagan and Forbes Mayor Phyllis Miller to be joined by other local personalities to judge the winner for the best march. Mrs Decker said that while the event gave an opportunity for people with disabilities to compete in selected sports, the most important thing was the social aspect of it.

“It’s a great chance for people to renew friendships and just get together and have fun,” she said. Mrs Decker said she had also written to Prince Harry, a well-known advocate for disability sports, to invite him to the event. She said she received a response from him, and while the Prince stated he will not be able to make it to the event this year, he stated he would like to keep receiving invites, and would endeavor to attend the event in the future.

As part of Forbes Heritage 2016, two Interpretive Panels in the series will be unveiled at the Forbes Medical Centre. “Our practice has been working on this project for close to four years and I’m pleased these panels will be unveiled as part of Forbes Heritage 2016. We are committed to acknowledging the lives, work and dedication of former doctors who served our town.

The panels give the Forbes community an insight into the men who were the town’s doctors.” said Dr Neale Somes. This year’s panels explore lives of two doctors who enlisted in the Army Medical Corps. Dr Edward McDonnell practised in Forbes at the beginning of the 20th Century and served in both the Boer War and World War I. Dr Edward Palmer who practised for 15 years in Forbes was a Lieutenant Colonel in Rabaul, New Guinea during World War II.

The Forbes Medical Centre acknowledges the military record of these doctors and in keeping with this theme has asked current Forbes Medical Centre University of Wollongong medical student and army reservist Tristan Scott to say a few words. “These were two extraordinary doctors with unique stories. As I am keen about all facets of the history of Forbes, I’m excited with the prospect of revealing yet another layer of the town’s history. Members of Dr Palmer’s family will be attending. We are attempting to locate descendants of Dr McDonnell, unsuccessfully so far”, said Dr Somes.

Dr Somes and his colleague doctors extend an invitation to the Forbes Community for this unveiling. The Interpretive Panels will be unveiled on Monday, 2 May at 6.30 pm at the Forbes Medical Centre where light refreshments will be served.

If you would like to attend please contact Forbes Shire Council on 6850 2300. Numbers are limited and bookings close on Thursday, 28 April.

Forbes will be doing all it can to make sure the ANZAC spirit is alive on Monday, with a full day’s worth of events taking place on Monday. Two marches will take place on the day, with each one starting at the Forbes Services Memorial Club and finishing at the Cenotaph in Victoria Park.

The first march will take place just prior to the dawn service at 5.20am, while the second one will start at 10.15am before the mid morning service. Each service will include a wreath laying ceremony, hymns, and speeches from Forbes Mayor Phyllis Miller, the Salvation Army, local schools, and Forbes RSL subbranch President Michael Walker, amongst others.

The Reveille and Last Post tunes will also be played at the services. Breakfast will be available after the dawn service at the Services Club, while a luncheon
will be held at the Services Club after the morning service. ‘Two Up’ will start in the Services Club auditorium from 2.30pm, and the day will end with the lowering of the flag at the Cenotaph at 5pm.

Forbes RSL sub-branch Secretary Trevor Currey said the day would be a big one. “I’ve been organising ANZAC Day here in Forbes for the last 14 years, and I can tell you, ANZAC Day really starts in January,” he said with a laugh. “It’s always a great day in Forbes, and an opportunity for us to reflect on the sacrifices our service men and women have made for us.”

Most members of the local RSL are expected to march. Of the 75 members, 16 are World War II veterans, while the rest are made up of Korean, Vietnam, Gulf, Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.

Preschool children in Parkes and Forbes will have an exciting opportunity to learn another language this year using play-based mobile tablet apps. “I’m delighted to announce that the Forbes Learning Ladder, Parkes Bluebird Early Education Centre and Victoria Street Children’s Centre in Parkes have been successful in obtaining a place in the Coalition Government’s Early Learning Languages Australia programme,” Federal Member for Calare, the Hon John Cobb said today.

“This means our local children will have the opportunity to experience Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian, French or Arabic languages through apps which are being delivered in selected preschools across Australia. The Parkes Bluebird Early Education Centre was one of the 41 preschools who participated in the trial last year.

Centre Manger Rachael Westcott said the children responded to the new way of learning wonderfully. “The children not only practice their words at the centre during their time on the iPads but also continue using the greetings and familiar words at home with their families”. Mr Cobb said, “The ELLA programme is a great opportunity for our preschoolers to make an early start on becoming familiar with another language and I commend the three providers in Calare for committing to the programme and giving our children this opportunity.

The Coalition Government has invested $9.8 million in the languages app to help to revive language study in Australia’s early education centres, schools and universities. Following the success of the ELLA programme and Polyglots apps, the Coalition Government has committed $6 million through the National Science and Innovation Agenda to the development of a similar app focused on inspiring students’ interest in science, technology, engineering and
mathematics.

For more information about the ELLA programme visit: www.education.gov.au/earlylearning-languages-australia