The National BBQ Championships are just around the corner, being held at Grinsted Oval, Forbes, on Saturday 28th October 12 noon – 8pm.

Celebrity guest chef Hayden Quinn will be accompanied by three local judges in deciding who is the best on the barbecue!

Forbes’ BBQ Championships promise something for everyone with a range of entertainment by local favourites Em, Jo and Cler and Georgia Sideris, along with market stalls, children’s entertainment and bar.

“The competition is the real focus of this event and judges will be looking for winners in four cooking sections – beef, pork, chicken and lamb, as well as the best dressed team, tent, and best team name,” Forbes Mayor Phyllis Miller OAM said.

“This event is about food, but it is also about having fun – make a day of it, dress up, come up with a great name – put all your culinary and creative skills to the test!” Mayor Miller said.

The $10,000 prize pool is just as enticing as the aroma of a good steak on the chargrill, including Why Leave Town Cards, a Weber and so much more lined up for the day’s winners.

Registration forms, information and rules can be found on Council’s website; www.forbes.nsw.gov.au/events. Spectator tickets are free but must be booked online at 123tix.com.au. This event is proudly funded by the NSW Government via the Reconnecting Regional Communities Event Funding.

This Saturday, 14 October 2023, Australians will have their say in a referendum about whether to change the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing a body called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. Voters will be asked to vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on a single question. The question will be:

“A Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. Do you approve this proposed alteration?”

The Voice will be an independent, representative body for First Nations peoples. It would advise the Australian Parliament and the Government and give First Nations peoples a say on matters that affect them.

If approved at the referendum, the following words would be added to the Constitution: Chapter IX Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples 129 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice In recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia: there shall be a body, to be called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice; the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice may make representations to the Parliament and the Executive Government of the Commonwealth on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; the Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws with respect to matters relating to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, including its composition, functions, powers and procedures.

The Pink Up Parkes (PUP) Committee welcomes support from community members to join their fundraising efforts during the month of October to raise funds for the McGrath Foundation Breast Care Nurses. 

In Australia, one in seven women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women in Australia.

There are currently 200 McGrath Breast Care Nurses in communities across Australia, who have supported over 123,000 families since 2005. It costs around $140,000 to fund a McGrath Breast Care Nurse for a year including training and development.

You can help support the Pink Up Parkes campaign in so many ways: pink up your business, pink up your school, hold a pink up event, fundraise, attend a pink up parkes event, donate and support the pink up parkes campaign on social media.

PUP Chairperson Carolyn Rice said, “The Committee is still encouraging organisations and businesses to register to be a contributor to Pink Up Parkes. It isn’t too late to be involved. Just go to our webpage at www.pinkupparkesnsw.wordpress.com and all of the information on how to be involved or donate is in one place.” 

“We want to support the McGrath Foundation to raise funds and awareness for our Breast Care Nurses, of whom we are fortunate to have one working to support patients and their families in Parkes, Forbes, Condobolin, Trundle, Tullamore, Tottenham and Peak Hill,” said Carolyn.

Parkes Shire has welcomed a new leadership team with Neil Westcott successfully elected as Mayor and Marg Applebee as Deputy Mayor. 

Mayor Neil Westcott went on to say, “To the directors and staff at PSC, to my fellow councillors, to the people of Parkes and to my family present with me here today. I am truly honoured to stand here now as the newly elected mayor of Parkes Shire.

“A newly elected Mayor in this place doesn’t happen very often. In fact, before today it has only happened four times in the last 57 years.

“I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to our previous Mayor – Ken your leadership has taken Parkes Shire from good to great, your hard work and passion for our patch on this earth is an inspiration and I look forward to continuing and hopefully building on all you have initiated. Thanks most certainly also goes to your wife Sue for the huge role she has played in making your civil service possible. Enjoy the back benches – go easy on me.

“Congratulations Cr Appleby, Parkes has a wonderful new Deputy Mayor, one whom I already know will be a more than adequate spare to the mayor. 

“My family bring me great joy, great support and they give me courage and strength. Thank you once again for this huge honour, I don’t take it lightly and look forward to building on your significant legacy Ken.”

The Parkes NAIDOC celebrations were launched last week at the Cooke Park Pavilion, with special guest, Australian Elder of The Year, Dr Matilda House-Williams. The day featured awards, performances and speeches, with a focus on bringing the youth and the elders together and showcasing the many talents of the local indigenous groups. 

This year’s theme, “For Our Elders,” is a beautiful way to acknowledge and show gratitude for the older generation’s wisdom, guidance, and resilience in preserving and passing on the cultural heritage to future generations.

NAIDOC celebrations will continue with a Family Fun Day this Saturday, 16th September at the Wiradjuri Amphitheatre on Bushman Hill. It will be a fantastic event that celebrates the Wiradjuri people’s rich Indigenous culture and heritage and is expected to be bigger and better than ever.

The day will showcase various cultural activities, including local performances, a smoking ceremony and Wiradjuri artefacts on display, providing insight into the rich heritage and craftsmanship of the Wiradjuri people. This display serves as a reminder of the rich history that continues to shape the local community. There will also be service information stalls, a free sausage sizzle, and children’s activities.

The Parkes NAIDOC Family Fun Day promises to be a joyful and inclusive event for anyone interested in learning more about indigenous traditions, supporting the community, and having a great time with family and friends.

Parkes Arbour Shopping Centre has sold for $8.9 million to a Sydney-based private investor, as demand for neighbourhood centres with value-add opportunities continues to outstrip supply.

JLL’s Sebastian Fahey, Dylan McEvoy, Nick Willis and David Mahood sold the shopping centre via an Expressions-of-Interest campaign on behalf of a Brisbane-based private investor.

In 2021, parent company Wesfarmers announced the closure or rebranding of more than 160 sites with many of the locations being rebranded to Kmart/K-Hub. The increasingly competitive market was too much for the Target business with landlords scrambling to backfill the vacancies.

Parkes Arbour is anchored by a Coles supermarket and supported by a Liquorland and two speciality retailers. The asset included a 4,019sqm vacant ex-Target space, allowing an opportunity to reposition and or redevelop the centre.

“Parkes Arbour Shopping Centre offered the purchaser an attractive repositioning play with the potential to significantly increase the centre’s income by splitting the major vacancy into smaller offerings. This resulted in the campaign attracting unprecedented demand for a regional neighbourhood centre with over 200 groups and 10 offers being received at the close of the campaign.”

Colleague David Mahood added “Parkes Arbour reaffirms the increase in demand for retail assets with value-add initiatives. Investors are continuing to seek these opportunities as they provide a secure holding income with significant upside through a repositioning.”

The Country Education Foundation of Australia (CEF) has made it possible for dozens of aspiring country university students to see a university campus, with fully subsidised trips to three of Charles Sturt University’s campuses for their open days in August.

Thirty-four students took advantage of this amazing opportunity provided by the CEF, which covered their costs for transport, accommodation, and meals in partnership with Charles Sturt University.

The opportunity allowed students to visit Charles Sturt’s Wagga Wagga, Albury and Bathurst campuses, with 16 students checking out Wagga Wagga, eight students seeing Albury, and 10 students experiencing Bathurst.

CEF transported students from many different towns, including Forbes and Parkes, to attend the open days, to experience what university life is like at Charles Sturt.

Kelsey Mann and Cameron Frogley from Parkes High School, Clarissa Azzopardi, Hunter Kriedemann and Laura Jones from Red Bend Catholic College, and Grace Barbary and Czarah Saladino from Forbes High School, took part in the Wagga Wagga trip.

Students took the opportunity to learn about each campus, the courses they offer, and all other benefits of studying there.

CEF Manager of Partnerships Hilary Matchett, who organised the trip, said, “CEF are excited to partner with Australia’s leading regional university, Charles Sturt University, to give the opportunity to regional students to access their Open Days across three of their campuses. 

“Students made the most of experiencing all that Charles Sturt can offer, from hands on learning in their state-of-the-art labs and facilities, to chatting to academic staff about course options, and accessing affordable and vibrant on-campus accommodation options”.

These experience camps offer more than a chance to see a university campus; they give regional students the chance to connect with like-minded peers, hopefully to then become friends for life.

In a separate program through its department ‘Three Rivers Department of Rural Health’, Charles Sturt has partnered with CEF for the last five years to offer scholarships to students studying a health-related degree at Charles Sturt. Students awarded grants by their local CEF foundation, from 18 local CEF foundations across the west are eligible to apply.

The CEF is a national for-purpose organisation that helps rural and regional youth aged between 16 and 25 access post-school education, training and employment through grants, scholarships, support services and resources.

Since 1993 CEF has awarded over 7000 individual grants and scholarships totalling over $15 million, with over 400 volunteers across its network of local foundations working hard to provide local students the support they need.

For more information on the CEF please visit www.cef.org.au or phone 1300 652 144.

Week to week throughout the 2023 season, the Parkes Boars struggled to get all grades on the field. Yet despite heading into the finals as the underdogs, the Boars took the honours from the fancied Mudgee Wombats last weekend.

Led by their Captain, and possibly the hardest working man in New Holland Cup rugby, Ben Ryan, the team streamed onto the Glen Willow rugby pitch.

Mudgee took the first points of the game after the Boars were penalised on the 15m line. But the conversion was spread wide.

Return of play saw Boars gifted a penalty attempt on the 22m in front, with Luke Bevan putting the Boars on the scoreboard. 

The players settled, and the Boars gathered a pod and worked the ball down the field with a well executed pick and drive to within 10m. The ball was passed to Soropepeli Soqe, who scored next to the posts. Luke Bevan added the extras and the Boars took the lead 10 points to five. 

The second half saw a lift in both sides but Boars Luke Bevan found a small gap in the Mudgee defence and put the ball over for a try, following with a successful conversion.

Mudgee found their rhythm and crossed the line twice to chase the Boars down, evening the scores at 17 a piece. Discipline let Mudgee down, and at the 57 minute mark, Luke Bevan was gifted another shot putting the Boars in front by three points. 

With seven minutes left in the match, another penalty was awarded to Parkes, Bevan took the shot and scored the three points. 

Moments before regular time was up Mudgee found a gap running on the wing and added another seven points to the tally, taking the score to Mudgee 24 to Parkes 23.

The Mudgee crowds went wild, but from somewhere deep, the Boars held tight and kept their discipline, focused on their own game and worked the ball down to within 15m. Mudgee couldn’t help but take that step too far and on the fourth minute of injury time, Luke Bevan took the penalty kick of his life right in front of goals, to give the Boars a two point lead and the win. The final score was Parkes 26 to Mudgee 24.

This was a record breaking match for the Boars, being the fourth Championship in as many years.

The whole team worked harder than ever for this honour and it was difficult to single out any individual player. The front row Jason Lowe, Rory Nock and Lewis Gravatt, although monstered by a much bigger pack, held their own making tackle after tackle to disrupt the Wombats flow. 

Chris Parker and Mitchell Westcott as flankers kept running all game, Mackenzie Green and Jacob Hardy in the second row put in the hard yards to keep the forward momentum. 

The whole forward pack was locked together by their Captain Ben Ryan both physically and emotionally.

Callum Reed in half back, Will Bevan and Mick Watt on the wings were well supported by Tupou Verti, Soropepeli Soqe and Mesake Kurukitoga.

Congratulations to the finishers, Dylan Hood, Jackson Guy, Rohan Kopp, Dyllan Philips, Tom Woods, Will Woods, Will Smith and Uraia “Junior” Sartibau.

A massive thank you is extended to team Manager Brendan Guy, Club President Kev Oliver and the families, friends and fellow Boars who came and supported the team throughout the year.

I wish to advise the residents of Parkes Shire, my fellow Councillors and Council staff of my desire to see a succession plan to a smooth transition to a new leadership team.

I thought it was appropriate to give advance notice of my intention to step down as Mayor so that my fellow Councillors have time to properly consider a new Mayor and Deputy Mayor they believe will be best placed to lead our team into the next election and beyond. I express my gratitude to all the dedicated Councillors I have served with over the years and the extremely talented staff that have helped guide our Shire.

In September of this year, it will be my privilege and honour to complete my 40th consecutive year serving the Parkes Shire Council and thus the Parkes Shire communities. I commenced my 17th year as Mayor in July, after serving my mentor and friend, the late Robert Wilson OAM, for 17 years as his Deputy Mayor.

I would like to acknowledge the outstanding leadership and advice of the two General Managers, the late Alan McCormack PSM and Kent Boyd PSM with whom I have worked closely during my term at the helm. As Sir Isaac Newton is credited to have said “I am standing on the shoulders of giants”. I believe as the current Councillors of Parkes Shire we are doing just that, as our predecessors have shown vision and foresight.

Parkes Shire Council is now highly regarded in Local Government circles around the State and has a very exciting future. 

In making this decision I acknowledge the wonderful support of my devoted wife, Sue, who was only engaged to a prospective Councillor way back in 1983. Our three sons, James, Max and Douglas, have accepted sharing their father’s time with his passion for Parkes Shire, for which I am most grateful. It is now time to repay their unwavering support. More time for visiting our beautiful grandchildren and having some holidays and travel without worrying about clashing with a Council meeting! 

I have also appreciated the support of my brother Tim and the many people who have assisted me in my farming operations over the years, this has allowed me to devote the time needed for this role. 

In closing, I have had the pleasure to meet so many kind and compassionate residents, who care deeply about the various communities which comprise the Shire we all call home. I thank you sincerely for your mostly voluntary contributions which I believe is the glue which holds us all together. 

By Cr Ken Keith OAM