The four lead actors for this year’s Mock Crash performance have been announced following a lot of interest in the auditions. 

The four actors for the NOT A STATISTIC! Youth Driver Education Program are Kaitlyn Stevenson from Parkes, Shaylee Edwards and Amelia Barwick from Peak Hill and Zak Chatman from Parkes who returns for another round. 

“We had a lot of interest in the recent auditions. Casting was very difficult as everyone was very talented,” said Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Councils’ Road Safety and Injury Prevention Officer, Melanie Suitor. “Whilst there are only four roles available for the mock crash scenario, we offered the others roles in the establishing scenes.” 

The program is aimed at Year 10 students and more than 5,000 from across the Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Council areas have participated in it since its inception 12 years ago. 

“The program aims to show young drivers what can and does happen far too often on our local roads. It challenges them to think about their attitudes and behaviour as not only drivers but also as passengers. 

“Over the last 12 years we have recorded a 27% decrease in crashes on local roads involving a young driver (17 – 25 years old),” Melanie said. 

Following two years of COVID disruption, this year’s mock crash is going to be developed into a training package. 

The crash scenario will be recorded and the video will replace the live mock crash demonstration for this year. 

The video will become a resource so the program can be implemented in other areas and will be used as a back-up option for future years’ live demonstrations. 

The video will premiere early October before being rolled out in local schools during term four. 

The usual live demonstration will return in 2023. 

The Forbes Family History Group is worth a visit where you will find a fascinating sanctuary of amazing records and gems capturing the history of Forbes. The rooms are open to the public every Wednesday from 10am to noon and Saturday from 11am to 3pm. The rooms are at the rear of the library, and are easy to find with the help of a new sign at Victoria Park, on the corner of Harold Street and Victoria Lane. The group is run by volunteers who deserve a big thank you for collecting and storing our Amazing history!

The Forbes Men’s Shed is excited to be working with Council in restoring the park benches from Victoria Park.

Five of the beautiful, historic custom-made benches will get a complete restoration over the next few months. Work has begun on replacing the wooden slats with a new wood able to withstand weather all year round and new nuts and bolts. Once the benches have been restored, it is hoped work will commence on the lamp posts, another feature of Victoria Park, which was originally the town reserve in 1874.

Forbes Men’s Shed President Norm Haley said they were so pleased to be working on this and they were looking forward to see the end result. 

“We are always calling out for new members to join and some extra hands to assist with this restoration process would be a big help to us all, and to be part of a special community project,” said Norm.

By Brett Sale

The Tree of Life mural done by Wiradjuri artist Scott ‘Sauce’ Towney at the Forbes Hospital has elicited a lot of positive comments which is a great source of inspiration for the artist.

“All the positive feedback encourages me to do more, and keeps me motivated to continue with my art,” said Sauce.

He was commissioned by Arts OutWest to transform a drab corridor that leads to the mortuary entry with the suggestion of the tree of life theme. “I took it from there and combined it with my constellation drawing of the Emu in the Sky, and added the Lachlan River at the bottom.”

He also added contemporary Wiradjuri patterns on the emu and on the tree. “The patterns come from nature as seen in wood grains and were traditionally used for tree carvings. That is where I get my ideas and inspiration from. I keep my designs in the style of the Wiradjuri patterns as we are on Wiradjuri land.”

Sauce explained that the Wiradjuri people used to carve complex designs into trees to mark a burial site. “It was like a headstone.” 

Sauce said he was very aware that his design would be leading people down the corridor on their way to the mortuary. “The limbs of the tree reach all the way down the corridor across door frames and doors.”

The Peak Hill artist completed another commission this week at the Forbes Public School where he painted two murals. He will be working in Narromine next, and then back to his home town.