Parkes Phoenix Editor

Maggi Barnard has been with the Forbes Phoenix since 2021 and loves writing about her community.

Snippets

April 29, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

Congratulations to Noah Brunt who won the 0 – 3 years category of The Forbes Phoenix Easter Colouring Competition. The other winners will be featured next week.

Forbes Heritage Festival: After the madness of the Elvis Festival last weekend, the Forbes Heritage festival will bring something completely different to town tomorrow (Saturday) in Victoria Park in the heart of Forbes’ heritage district from 10am to 2pm. There will be live demonstrations from heritage trades including blacksmiths, cheese making, woodturning and more, displays on our town’s rich heritage from the Forbes Historical Society and Forbes Family History Group, and some tall tales at the Bush Telegraph stage. Get up close and personal with some amazing vintage vehicles from the Forbes Historical Machinery Association, while the roving bushrangers from the interactive theatre troupe Convict Footprints will set your heart racing with their daring adventures, and the Swamp Dawkins Bush Band are sure to have you dancing. Don’t miss out on the Annual CWA Damper Competition, and demonstration cooked over real coals on site! Deliver your damper entry to the CWA stall at Forbes Heritage Festival in Victoria Park before 10am tomorrow to be in the running. Make sure your entry is on a paper plate with your name and contact number on the bottom.

Vintage and Collectables Fair: In celebration of Heritage Week, Rotary Ipomoea is holding a Vintage & Collectables Fair at Forbes CWA Hall from 10am – 4pm tomorrow with all day tea and scones, and gold coin entry. This is the first time Rotary Ipomoea have tried to hold a vintage and collectables Fair. It will be a great event for those interested in history and collecting, and some items for sale.

Brain and Body Workshops: The 2022 Grease and Oil Change Workshops will return for the 7th consecutive year as a free event. These not-for-profit gatherings were started by Cherie Quade in 2015 as a way of creating conversation in our community about mental health, wellbeing and real-life stories of how people in rural communities stay afloat when the rest of the world seems like a lot. Rather than having one large gathering, there will be several smaller workshops to accommodate different schedules and needs. The next one-hour workshop will be an online event on Sunday, 8th May from 7:30 – 8:30pm presented by Amanda Bainbridge. Join in to turn off the fight or flight reflex and treat the symptoms of your stress in the privacy of your own home. Find out more and register for this FREE event here: https://stressrecovery.eventbrite.com.au/

Don’t miss out on the Annual CWA Damper Competition in Victoria Park tomorrow that forms part of the Heritage Festival.

Forbes Young Judge Second Best In Australia

April 29, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

The 2021 Merino sheep judging winners are (L-R) first place Ben Hartwich (VIC), runner-up Campbell Rubie from Forbes (NSW), third place Sym Hood (TAS), and fourth place Will Hacker (QLD).

Campbell Rubie (18) from Forbes is the second best young judge in Australia after being named runner-up for 2021 in the prestigious Agricultural Shows Australia young judging championship. Campbell competed in the Merino Sheep judging category.

Ben Hartwich (22) from Bullygrogran (Ararat), Victoria and Patrick Davis (18) from Harden, New South Wales have taken out Australia’s top spot in the competition at the Sydney Royal Easter Show for 2021 and 2022 respectively.

Agricultural Shows Australia (ASA) staged the national championships of young judges and paraders competitions with finalists from each state of Australia and New Zealand.

Campbell have grown up on a family farm, which is a mixed farming enterprise, with the major focus on Merino and Poll Merino Stud. “I am actively involved in all farming activities, including sheep work, machinery work and many other activities.”

The Red Bend Catholic College student plans to work on the family farm after school, with a trade under his belt.

He competed for the first time in 2020 in the junior judging competition, when he qualified for the Royal Easter Show, and came first in the Merino sheep section in April 2021.

“My Dad (Glen Rubie) and my brother (Mitchell Rubie) have had a huge influence on my judging.”

Judging is objective, while there are characteristics about an animal to look for, what the judges will be paying close attention to is how clearly competitors express their decision and how they validate it. A competitor’s appearance is also important and judges can mark down for poor presentation.

The national championships are held in a different location each year. This year, the Sydney Royal Easter Show, celebrating its bicentenary, hosted the 2022 championships including the 2021 finalists who were unable to compete at Ekka due to COVID cancellations.

The National judges and paraders competition brings together the best young judges and paraders aged from 15 to 25 in each state to compete at the national finals. Qualification is via success in competitive regional and state competitions.

Overall there are nine categories for judging and parading each year under the Agricultural Shows Australia national competition program: beef cattle, dairy cattle, alpaca, poultry, Merino sheep, meat breed sheep and Merino fleece judging, as well as parading competitions in beef and dairy cattle.

Dr. Rob Wilson is chairman of ASA, the peak body overseeing 572 agricultural shows in Australia which attract six million visitors annually and contribute nearly $1billion to the national economy. Rob says the competition is designed to recognise the best new talent in livestock judging nationwide.

“It’s an extremely prestigious event and positions at the nationals are keenly contested,” he said.

“These young people are the future of agricultural show competitions which are crucial to the continual improvement of Australia’s food and fibre. The national competition is a coveted opportunity to grow personally and professionally by practising skills against the cream of the crop.”

The Merino sheep and fleece judging competitions are sponsored by Australian Wool Innovation.

Be Seen @ Carnival Of Cups Day

April 29, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

The Forbes Diggers Harness Racing Club presented its Carnival of Cups day on Anzac Day at the Forbes Showground on Monday with seven feature races. Don’t miss the next meeting on Sunday, 1st May.

1,000 Plus Netball Players In Forbes On Sunday

April 29, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

The Forbes Netball Association will be starting the winter season with a big bang this weekend with NetSetGo and junior skills, games on Saturday morning, and the annual Regional All Age Carnival on Sunday.

NetSetGo and junior skills and games: NetSetGo will start at 9:30am and junior skills and games to be played at 10:30am. NetSetGo is a great way to start the younger boys and girls from 5 to 10 years, who will play fun games for the hour. Junior skills are more advanced skills and games, and is an extension for the older NSG children, who would like to stay after the NSG program. Everyone is welcome to come and try NSG and junior skills before they decide to register. Registration is free, if you use the Active Kids Voucher, with no other charges to pay.

Regional All Age Carnival: The annual regional All Age Carnival on Sunday will see over 1,000 players, officials and supporters packing Stephen Field for a very full day of netball. Games start at 8:30am and continue throughout the day with about 350 games of netball to be played. Players are aged from 9-10 years to open ladies and will be played on 12 courts for in seven different age divisions.

The Forbes All Age Carnival is one of the biggest in the region with all parts of the West/Central West and Riverina represented. Associations represented are; Lithgow, Bathurst, Orange, Cowra, Dubbo, Cobar, Far West Academy, West Wyalong, Blayney, Cootamundra, Temora, Leeton, Parkes and Forbes. Help will be needed to cater for the huge crowd and donations of goods welcomed. The recently renovated Forbes NA canteen will be put to the test.

Come down to Stephen Field on Sunday and watch some great netball in action.

By Robyn Kenny

Croquet Numbers Keep On Growing

April 29, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

The Forbes Croquet Club donated $1,200 to Forbes CanAssist from money raised at the club’s Gala Open Day on 29th March. Rex and Cheryl Barton and Maureen Field from CanAssist (left) receive the cheque from Elvy Quirk, Colleen Liebich, Marie Spry and Kevin Rubie of the croquet club.

We had 26 players for Aussie Croquet on a chilly morning on Saturday 23rd. There were five players who managed three games: Ray Burridge, John Farah, Joan Littlejohn, Kevin Rubie and Neville Spry.

Big Winners: 14—7 Kevin Rubie and John Allegri; 14—8 Barry White and John Allegri, Elvy Quirk and Kevin Rubie; 14—9 Neville Spry and Joan Littlejohn, Bruce Field and Bill Scott, John Farah and Tony Thomson.

We had 41 players for Golf Croquet on Tuesday. There were five winners of three games: John Browne, Ray Burridge, John Farah, Sandy Hepburn and Mal Smith.

Big Winners: 10-3 Bill Scott, John Farah and Neville Spry; 9 – 4 Elvy Quirk and Ray Burridge, Noel Jolliffe and Mal Smith

Close Games: Lorraine Todd and Bruce Field 7 Jenny Job and Tom Hana 6; John Browne and Bill Scott 7 Allan Jones and Sue Jolliffe 6; John Cole and Jeff Liebich 7 Elvy Quirk and May Jones 6; Sally Perry and Mal Smith7 Dorelle Scott and Noel Jolliffe 6; Jill Rubie and Shirley Chamberlin 7 Rex Toole and John Job 6; John Browne and Noel Jolliffe 7 Collaine Liebich and Joan Littlejohn 6; Sandy Hepburn and Tom Hana 7 Dorelle Scott and Tony Thomson 6; John Farah and John Allegri 7 Jenny Job and Robin Poles 6; Harley Stewart and Noel Jolliffe 7 Irene Ford and Dorelle Scott 6; John Farah and Sandy Hepburn 7 Elvy Quirk and John Allegri 6; Bob Murray and Peter West 7 Merv Langfield and Jill Rubie 6; Sue Jolliffe and Ray Burridge 7 Lorraine Todd and Tony Thomson 6; Bob Murray and Tony Thomson 7 Elvy Quirk and May Jones 6; Alex Todd and Sandy Hepburn 8 Jill Rubie and Collaine Liebich 5; Kevin Rubie 8 Rex Toole 5

By Pegging Out

Mayoral Notes

April 29, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

What an amazing weekend in Forbes. As an Elvis Festival travel partner we hosted a couple of fantastic Elvis events including our Amazing breakfast and the very popular Swinging Speedway night at McFeeter’s car museum.

See all the pics on our Amazing Forbes facebook page. Events like the Elvis Festival mean so much to communities like ours – it was wonderful to see people out and about again.

Federal Member Michael McCormack was in Forbes last week to announce a $5 million Federal grant to Southern Cross Nutrients, a compost and natural fertiliser maker who will be starting production at the Central West Industrial Park in Forbes. This is the first of many industries to be established at our new industrial park and Forbes Shire Council has been busy working to attract businesses like Southern Cross Nutrients to our area.

We have a very busy schedule of road resealing and a dedicated program of trimming trees. After all the rain, so many of our trees have had increased growth and our team is working from our CBD out to maintain trees.

Last week alone our engineering department resealed 18 sections of road within our town limits to keep up with continually improving our streetscapes. A big thank you to all our residents who moved cars and kept the streets clear for the work to go ahead. A shout out to the teams who completed the work as they worked early and quickly to cause minimal interruptions.

Your Mayor,
Phyllis Miller

Elvis Rocks Forbes Mornin’ And Night

April 29, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

With the Parkes Elvis Festival tentacles reaching into the Central West, Forbes residents did not hesitate to dust off the blue suede shoes and boogie in the street last weekend.

Forbes hosted some fantastic Elvis events including the Amazing breakfast in Templar Street on Friday morning and the sold out Swingin’ on the Speedway event at McFeeter’s Motor Museum on Saturday night.

Who said an early morning boogie and breakfast in the CBD is a crazy idea? It was funky and the best way to get the weekend starting with wonderful music by ‘Ray of Elvis’ and Georgia Sideris.

For those still with itchy feet Swingin’ on the Speedway on Saturday night continued the fun with a sit down dinner catered by Eat Your Greens, drinks by Club Forbes and toe tapping tunes by Gracey Denham-Jones, Nic ‘The King’ Nicolas and Jake & the Cadillacs, who ensured everyone danced the night away at Mcfeeters Motor Museum. The dance performance of the incredible Sydney Swing Katz was a show stopper to marvel at.

“It really was an incredible night. We had a blast,” said Monica Wren on facebook. “A massive thanks to everyone invovled. What a success.”

As the Parkes Elvis Festival Director Tiffany Steel said: “I think people had been missing that shared connection and celebration over the last two years, and it felt like a moment where we could all come together, see old friends, make new ones and just have a party fit for The King.”

The Sydney Swing Katz and their incredible dance moves vowed audiences in Forbes and Parkes during the Elvis Festival.

A dance floor in Templar Street to have a breakfast party for Elvis, yes it’s all part of the fun of the festival.

Gracey Denham-Jones performed in Forbes and Parkes during the festival.

(Photos: Amazing Forbes NSW facebook page)

Our Gal – Sarah Auld

April 29, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

How long have you lived in or around Forbes and what do you like about living here? I lived in Parkes most of my life and moved to Forbes three years ago. I love the lake, walking around it and barbeques. I love the fact I met my soon to be husband here, and bringing up our beautiful daughter in a lovely town.

Where do you work and what do you enjoy most about where you work? I run my own family day care two days a week with Cabonne FDC. I love all my beautiful families and children, love watching them play, grow and learn. I also work at Bright Beginnings Childcare Centre, love the team, the children and the beautiful environment.

What do you do to unwind on weekends? I love spending time with my partner and Tilly our daughter, we love walks around the lake and just being around each other.

What are you really good at? I believe I’m good at my job as an early childhood educator, good at listening to the children, caring and teaching them new and exciting things.

What makes you laugh the most? My partner Hamish.

What’s on your bucket list? Travel to Greece.

Tell us an interesting fact about yourself….I own three silkie chickens named Fettuccine, Penny and Baba.

If money was no object, what would you do with your time? Spend quality time with my baby all day every day.

What was your first job? Working at Woolworths.

Grants For Netball Clubs

April 29, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

Netball clubs can apply for the Woolworths Pick Fresh Play Fresh grants program to support the return of grassroots netball across Australia in 2022.

A total of 15 grants will be on offer with clubs and associations able to apply for five grants worth $10,000 each and 10 grants worth $5,000 each. The grants program is designed to assist with initiatives including facility improvements, equipment and training programs.

Over the last five years, Woolworths has shown its continual support for grassroots netball, donating over $1.1 million to more than 285 netball clubs and associations across Australia through its community grants program.

To be eligible for the grant, clubs and associations must have a Woolworths NetSetGO centre and specify in their application the tangible project, activity, or equipment they would like to utilise the grant money for.

Applications for grant funding will need to outline how their project will support young netballers to Pick Fresh or Play Fresh. Entries are open until Sunday, 19th June with grants winners announced during the week of 4th July.

Visit pickfreshplayfresh.netball.com.au for more information and to apply.

Stay And Explore

April 20, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

Whether you have some down time between concerts, a few extra days to explore or plan to visit again in the future, Amazing Forbes has an abundance of activities for every kind of explorer.

From its stunning natural environment, including the Lachlan River, Lake Forbes and Forbes Wetlands (Gum Swamp bird hides) to exciting public art trails, history and Wiradjuri culture.

Sculpture Down the Lachlan is an exciting trail of larger-than-life sculptures situated along the Lachlan River from Forbes to Condobolin (including the towering goanna sculpture at the Forbes Wetlands). Discover more sculptures and murals in town, including sculptures and Story Poles at the Forbes Wiradjuri Dreaming Centre on Lake Forbes. Why not stop in for a yarn and discover more about Forbes’ Wiradjuri heritage?

Forbes boasts a rich and colourful history, and gold rush past – a giveaway is the magnificent architecture that lines the streets to this day. Many of the buildings are part of the Heritage Trail (and several appeared in the hit film ‘The Dish’).

Not to be underestimated is the unique boutique shopping district where you’re bound to find something amazing. So, when will you next Find Yourself… in Amazing Forbes?

Parkes Phoenix Editor

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