Forbes Preschool has been selected to deliver the Ninganah No More program, Parliamentary Secretary for Western NSW, Rick Colless announced on Monday.

Rick said the Preschool would receive $20,000 to deliver this much needed program. It is designed to increase the level of Aboriginal languages being taught and embed awareness and understanding for children from an early age.

“The $400,000 program will support young children in appreciating and understanding Aboriginal languages while participating in early learning environments,” said Rick.

“I’m extremely pleased to announce a range of agencies across the Orange electorate will be participating in delivering the Ninganah No More program.

“The local community will also benefit immensely, with stronger relationships forged between early childhood services and their local Aboriginal communities.”

Director of the Forbes Preschool, Amy Shine said this funding would go a long way towards linking indigenous children with their heritage culture.

“This is such a great program and we’re excited to deliver this in our community. It’s so important for these young kids to understand their culture and history. It’s through developing their language skills that we will be able to do this,” said Amy.

Minister for Early Childhood Education and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Sarah Mitchell said: “Agencies and services running the program will soon be teaching 14 languages across NSW including Gumbaynggirr and Gamilaraay, Yuin, Wiradjuri, Paakantji and Bandjalang.”

“In addition to increasing the literacy and vocabulary skills of Aboriginal children in NSW, Ninganah No More will help young people preserve some of their heritage and traditions and develop as bilingual speakers.

“By opening the door on children’s curiosity, we are supporting them to learn more about Aboriginal cultures and languages,” said Sarah.

After 60 years of educating and preparing young people for school, Forbes Preschool has been, and continues to be, a part of almost every single household in Forbes.

Play-based learning has been the secret to 60 years success in the Forbes community. As well as providing vital early learning skills and a place where first friendships are made and plenty of fun is had.

To celebrate, Forbes Preschool is inviting all who have been a part of those 60 years to come along and celebrate on Saturday, 4th August at the Forbes Golf Club starting at 6:30pm.

Have you been a part of the committee? Do your children go to preschool or will you have children at preschool in the future? Did you always hope to get to a ball but were too busy with little people? Get a group of friends together and lock your tickets in now before it is too late.

Forbes Preschool Director, Amy Shine said: “As much as this night is to celebrate 60 years of preschool it is about giving mums and dads a night off too.”

Tickets are $65 each and can be purchased on Eventbrite/Forbes Preschool 60th Birthday Ball tickets. Tickets include a champagne or beer on arrival, cocktail dinner by Eat Your Greens and a dessert bar. Drinks can be purchased throughout the night from the fully stocked bar.

Entertainment for the night will be byGabe Middleton.

The Forbes High School Wellness Hub has again proven its significance by being named winner in the Spotless ‘Keeping People Healthy’ category at the Western NSW Local Health District’s Living Quality & Safety Health and Innovation Awards held recently in Dubbo.

The Spotless ‘Keeping People Healthy’ award is aimed at initiatives that promote healthy choices, prevent ill health and improves the overall health and wellbeing of the community.

In 2016, Forbes High School observed an increase in complex, student psychosocial needs, impacting the mental health and wellbeing of their students.

This project aimed to establish a Wellness Hub on site and increase access to health services. A multi-disciplinary team was established to create the Wellness Hub, provide outreach services and evaluate progress.

An impressive 207 occasions of service were recorded during the first 12 months of operation.

An extract from the Summary of Award Winners said: “This is an excellent example of how a locally-led project can improve health outcomes for youth and families.”

Staff and teams from across the Local Health District submitted entries leading up to the awards, with projects focussing on ways better health results can be achieved for patients through innovation.

In total, 77 projects were received across 10 project award categories. Award finalists presented their projects at a symposium, allowing projects to be showcased to staff and managers from across the district so that innovative ideas could be shared.

The Forbes Eisteddfod now in its 25th year is celebrating its diamond anniversary. The eisteddfod opened its doors last Friday at the Forbes Town Hall for the music, speech and drama, piano, vocal and schools components and will conclude on 22nd July at the Forbes High School after dance. For the duration of the eisteddfod, organisers and volunteers will welcome more than 500 competitors and 15 schools, representing close to 60 towns.

A reason for the Forbes Eisteddfod’s ongoing success is attributed to the committee’s ability to make all competitors and their families, locals and visitors alike, feel welcome. It therefore comes as no surprise that the Forbes Eisteddfod is affectionately known as “The Friendly Eisteddfod” and is a result of the positive and uplifting experience competitors leave with. This also being one of the reasons why participants return.

Jen Kelly has been bringing her children to the Forbes Eisteddfod for the past 10 years. “It has been such fun again this year! The ladies are always so friendly and the children love catching up with old friends and making new ones. It’s such a great way to encourage confidence in performers and gain skills in so many different areas,” said Jen.

It’s clear that the Forbes Eisteddfod committee have the secret to hosting a successful eisteddfod and that this event will continue to grow and be around for many more years to come. The cream of the crop will feature at the Grand Concert held on 28th July.

Local agent for Landmark Harcourts, Ainslie Toole was recognised for her exceptional rural property sales results over the last year at the recent National Real Estate Conference & Awards held at the Gold Coast in Queensland.

For the last quarter, Ainslie has been named number one agent in Australia for Landmark Harcourts. Not only this, but for the last year she has been placed in the top 10 nationally, finishing sixth. It comes as no surprise then that she has also been named three times the number one sales agent for NSW.

Ainslie has been selling rural properties in the Forbes and surrounding districts for 20 years. She has sold almost 300 farms in the area; some of these she has sold multiple times.

“Repeat business like this, is the biggest compliment you can give an agent,” said Ainslie.

Ainslie remembers 2008 as the biggest year, when she sold 28 rural properties in just 12 months. “This was in a time when we thought we were short of listings. It wasn’t a great season. We were still in drought but the livestock, particularly sheep prices were at record highs and interest rates had dropped to record lows,” said Ainslie.

Ainslie says she never planned on being a rural property agent. “When I returned from working and living in England for a few years, I wanted to move back to Forbes so I applied for every job that was available.

My first day back, I had the interview and the second day I was in Sydney doing the training. I started selling farms with an English accent which confused most people.”

Ainslie has had many highlights over the last 20 years of her career. “It is obviously exciting to win state and national sales awards and to be recognized amongst your peers but some of my fondest memories are where we sold some of the tougher listings that created challenges.”

“When I started, I sold a small farm on the edge of town that for as long as I could remember had been for sale. I’ve had buyers that it took up to seven years to find the right farm and since, they have bought three more through me,” said Ainslie.

Through her work, Ainslie has met a lot of very interesting people. “I have met a few famous people and made many friends over the years. There aren’t many country roads that I haven’t been down in the district.”

Ainslie feels that whilst she works in what is still a male oriented industry, she has never seen that as a disadvantage… until she needs to change a tyre! She grew up on a local family farm and started helping out as soon as her feet could reach the pedals. She typically did all the choice jobs that no one else wanted to do such as chipping burrs, drenching sheep and raking hay. So this, combined with 11 years as a trainee and retail manager in Sydney and England after leaving school, meant she was ready for a change.

Ainslie admits that real estate isn’t always as easy as it looks. Her phone typically rings non-stop from 7am to 9pm and sometimes even later with the finalising of a sale.

“That means we don’t ever go home and finish for the day.”

“I have met all our top national and state high achievers by attending the National Conference & Awards previously, so I have colleagues and friends that I can converse with all over. This has helped a lot.”

For Winifred Brown, last Sunday afternoon was filled with balloons, flowers and cake in celebration of her 100th birthday.

Win, as she’s affectionately known, saw her milestone 100th birthday on the 6th June. She was honoured by family and friends through a ‘Thanksgiving Celebration’ held on Sunday at the Jemalong Residential Village (JRV) where she resides.

Approximately 120 family members came from far and wide to attend the special occasion.

Win was born in Manildra on 6th June 1918. She was the second of six children born to Frances and Roy Doust who lived at Burdett near Canowindra.

Her education commenced at Burdett Public School, a one teacher one room school of 20 to 30 pupils in 1923.The family moved to a farm at Garema in 1928 where Win’s schooling continued. She was awarded a bursary at the end of primary school and was able to board at the Forbes St John’s hostel and attended Forbes High School.

Following high school, Win started working as a governess on a property near Bedgerabong supervising correspondence lessons. It was during this time in 1935 that she met a young farmer from a neighbouring property. Following a friendship and courtship that lasted nearly 10 years, Win Doust and Edgar Brown announced their engagement and were married at the Forbes Methodist Church on 4th July 1945.

They made their home in a very roughly built cottage on the property “Glamis” and had no electricity or refrigeration. Recalling one of the many memories, was when trying to keep their butter from melting, they decided that the coolest place would be down a well. The butter was put in a hessian sugar bag and lowered down the well.

What they didn’t realize was at midday the sun shone directly down the well and the butter melted anyway.

The couple started their family and three sons were born by 1950. In 1959 their daughter arrived. Win was a devoted wife and mother. Edgar only had one hand so she was called on to help him in many ways.

From very early years, her Christian faith and a love for God influenced her life. She faithfully taught Sunday school for many years and regularly attended church services at Bedgerabong and Forbes.

Win was also involved in many community organisations including school P&C associations, CWA and Meals on Wheels, holding executive positions in these organisations.

In addition to four children, Win has 11 grandchildren and 21 great grandchildren.

She was married for 43 years until Edgar died in 1988 and has been on her own since.

The Forbes Services Club Talent Quest revealed the splendid talents hidden within the community of Forbes.

An audience of more than 300 people were astounded by the remarkable performances showcased at the Talent Quest Grand Final which was hosted by the Forbes Services Memorial Club last Friday.

The competition consisted of three heats held during May of which 25 finalists were eventually selected to battle it out during the Grand Final. To move onto the final, contenders had to score 61 points from the judges.

With $1,600 in prize money to be won, the stakes were high and contestants came from as far as Young, Ungarie and even visitors from New Zealand, to try and claim their share.

Two independent judges from 2PK and ROK FM, John Daskey and Elliott Kinsela had the very challenging task to determine the ultimate winner, with each performance being as good as the one before.

Forbes dominated the Open division results with all winners being locals. This section was of very high standard and extremely competitive. Shannen Toole took out first place; second place went to Jade McGovern and third to Amanda Williams.

In the Junior division, Birdee Sideris won first place, Gracey Denham Jones came second and Georgia Sideris was awarded third. Winner of the Sub-junior division was Anabelle Van Wyk, Ruby Markwort (second) and Gemma Ellis (third).

Event organisers and professional performers, Bill Kosseris and Kirsten Minnick from Kosmik Country, noted that the contestants were extremely talented. “The talent blew us away. The performances here were as good as what you would see on The Voice,” said Bill.

The level of judging was very strict across a broad range of criteria such as speech, diction and the audience’s reaction, to mention just a few.

Due to the immense success and popularity of this Talent Quest, the Forbes Services Club has decided to host another competition this year taking place during September and October.

Excited residents at the Jemalong Residential Village (JRV) had front-row seats at their own mock wedding to celebrate the royal marriage.

Residents of JRV were keen to celebrate the recent royal wedding in style. Residents helped staff plan and stage a fictitious ceremony that brought the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to life at JRV on the eve of the royal marriage.

Invitations were distributed to all residents asking that they wear their best attire for the occasion. The bride and groom remained anonymous until the day, causing lots of speculation as to the identity of the mystery couple.

Residents assisted in various capacities, including the floral arrangements and bridal bouquets. Staff and residents played various parts in the marriage ceremony concluding with the bride, portrayed by JRV resident Gladys Johnson, and the groom portrayed by another resident Paul Hanbury, being pronounced as “besties”.

The bridal waltz was replaced by the “chicken dance” and the celebrations also recognised those present who were having a birthday!

The JRV Opal Room venue was packed with residents, staff, family and friends along with lots of fun and laughter. The Queen and Prince Philip were also present and graciously helped staff and volunteers to serve some afternoon tea. Staff members Rose Carroll and Brian Dunn depicted these roles.

For all who attended, the event was greatly enjoyed and one to remember.

Children from Goodstart Early Learning Centre joined libraries and schools across Australia in reading the same book at the same time to promote National Simultaneous Storytime.

More than 500,000 participants in over 6,000 locations were captivated during the storytelling that took place across the country on Wednesday at 11am.

This year the book was Hickory Dickory Dash written by Tony Wilson and illustrated by Laura Wood. Hickory Dickory Dash is the real tale of the mouse that ran up the clock. It is an exciting tale of cat and mouse, as a mother mouse searches for her two sons all the while watching out for the prowling house cat.

Kathy Garland of Forbes Library had the little ones from Goodstart Early Learning hanging on her every word as she made the story come alive with her captivating storytelling. Each child was also given a mouse-mask to take them even further into storyland.

The children all had a wonderful time listening to the enchanting story and taking part in the activities after.

National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS) is held annually by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA). Every year a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator, is read simultaneously in libraries, schools, preschools, childcare centres, family homes, bookshops and many other places around the country. Now in its 18th successful year, it is an event that aims to promote the value of reading and literacy that explores age-appropriate themes.

By Gizell van Wyk

Forbes Heritage 2018 has once again seen a variety of events undertaken to celebrate the people and places of Forbes in times gone by.

Events such as the Antiques Roadshow, saw people travelling from as far as Cowra, Grenfell, and Condobolin to gain insight on the little pieces of history handed down through generations.

Another important feature was the open days of the Forbes History Group and the Forbes and District Historical Museum.

The 2018 Forbes Heritage Presentation Evening held last Tuesday, was an opportunity to recognise organisations and individuals, for their contribution to preserving the history of Forbes. The prestigious Forbes Medal for a Heritage Project was awarded to Forbes Shire Council for conservation work to the Forbes Library.

The Volunteer Award was awarded to the Forbes and District Historical Society for their tireless work to preserve Osborne Hall and the thousands of artefacts on display.

The presentation night was also an opportunity to involve school children in Heritage with colouring and drawing competitions.

Getting first place in the colouring competition was Jackson Beaudin, second place went to Isabella Chen and third place to Adam Cuskelly. Ellie Mitton took first place in drawing, Archie Quirk second place and Phoebe Walker third place.

In the Open Art competition, first prize was awarded to Sampa Bhakta and Keith Mullette took out the drawing section.

Karen Ritchie was awarded first place in the photography section and second prize went to Cheryl Barton.