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Forbes Phoenix

Welcome To Forbes, Where Our Stories Meet

November 22, 2019 by Maggi Barnard

New residents of Forbes were welcomed last Friday evening at the biannual Welcome to Forbes Reception hosted by the Forbes Shire Council.

New residents of Forbes gathered last Friday evening for the biannual Welcome to Forbes Reception, hosted by the Forbes Shire Council. The recent arrivals mingled with long-time locals and community leaders while enjoying great food and music at the Forbes Sport and Recreation Club.

Mayor Phyllis Miller was there to meet new residents of Forbes, along with other council members. It was evident in her welcome speech that Mayor Miller shares in the pride that Forbes residents have, stating “Forbes is the love of my life. It is a place that gives it’s residents the opportunity to realise their dreams”. This was a sentiment shared by many of the locals in attendance on the night. Mayor Miller’s speech concluded with the gifting of vouchers to the newcomers, to be redeemed at local retailers.

As the evening progressed, guests shared their experiences of relocating, as well as how and why they had come to Forbes. Some of the guests had come from other countries and some had come from other states and cities in Australia, some had settled here decades ago, whereas others had only come a few months ago.

The Welcome to Forbes event is a fantastic initiative taken by the Forbes Shire Council which gives the opportunity for newcomers to become better acquainted with local people, organisations, community groups as well as the culture of Forbes in general, hopefully resulting in a smoother and happier transition into country life.

By Alexandria Irvine

Grazing Gets Gold

November 22, 2019 by Maggi Barnard

Mandy Tooth, Penny Rout, Kim Muffet, Olivia Turner, Wendy Muffet took home gold at the NSW Tourism Awards for Grazing Down The Lachlan last week.

Grazing Down The Lachlan has been awarded gold in the Festival and Events category at the 2019 NSW Tourism Awards. Grazing received the accolade in front of 500 industry representatives at a gala even- ing held at the Four Seasons Hotel Sydney last week.

The Festival and Events category recognises leisure festivals, events and exhibitions that enhance the profile/awareness and appeal of the destination they are held in as well as creating economic impact, increased visitation and community involvement.

The event takes place along the Lachlan River just on the outskirts of Forbes on the Condobolin Road. “This is great news for our region, we are certainly holding our own in terms of Tourism,” said Cr Medcalf OAM, Chair of Central NSW Joint Organisation and Mayor of Lachlan Shire Council.

“Shocked, excited and delighted sums up Team Grazing’s response to the Gold award win,” Chair of Grazing Down The Lachlan Committee, Wendy Muffett said. “It was great to see events and businesses from the bush take out so many of the awards, and it was truly an honour and a privilege to share the stage with them.”

“Heartfelt thanks to our sponsors, caterers, many volunteers and our friends at the Forbes Wiradjuri Dreaming Centre. This win belongs to all of us and just goes to show what this amazing town of ours can do when we work together.”

Now in its 30th year, the annual NSW Tourism Awards are the largest and most prestigious event on the New South Wales tourism calendar.

Grazing Down The Lachlan will progress to the Qantas Australian Tourism Awards to be held in Canberra on Friday, 6th March next year.

Having cemented itself on the regional events calendar, Grazing Down The Lachlan will return to the banks of the Lachlan River in Forbes on Saturday, 18th September next year.

Forbes On A Winning Streak With Government Grant

November 22, 2019 by Maggi Barnard

Last week the NSW Government announced $5.7 million to establish The Somewhere Down the Lachlan Sculpture Trail.

The funding will deliver an iconic Sculpture Trail with 20 commissioned artworks along the Sculpture Trail between Forbes and Condobolin, some up to 10 metres tall. There will also be a new cultural centre and three additional bird hides at Gum Swamp to view local birdlife. Sam Farraway announced the project on Friday, saying “This sculpture trail will be a unique, permanent installation unlike anything else in regional NSW, providing visitors with an amazing nature viewing experience that will rival other great local attractions like the Graz- ing Down the Lachlan food festival.”

Forbes Shire Council Mayor Phyllis Miller welcomed news of the funding and said that council would provide a contribution of $784,000 to deliver the project. “This is exciting news for Forbes, the cultural centre will be a place to nurture local talent and celebrate local Wiradjuri art,” Mayor Miller said.

Congratulations and thank you to the Forbes Art Society and Forbes Shire Council for their tireless efforts and contribution to the cultural enrichment in and around Forbes.

Forbes Community Gathers To Honour Our Soldiers

November 15, 2019 by Maggi Barnard

Vice-president of the Forbes RSL sub-branch Neil Biddle led the Remembrance Day service on Monday in Victoria Park.

At 11am on Monday the nation paused for Remembrance Day, marking the 101st anniversary of the Armistice that ended the First World War on 11th November 1918.

Between 1914 and 1918 a newly federated Australia sent 414,000 of their citizens to face the horrors of modern industrialised war. By 1918, almost 62,000 Australians lay dead among the mud and destruction of the trenches in Europe and on the sands of Sinai, Palestine and Syria, never to return to their loved ones back home.

On 11th November, at 11am, people all over the world observe a minutes silence in memory of those who have died or suffered in war and on peacekeeping and humanitarian operations, a tradition the Australian War Memorial continued at its National Ceremony in Canberra as well as in towns and cities all over Australia.

In Forbes around 200 residents including ex-servicemen and their families, members of community groups and schools, both young and old gathered in Victoria Park to lay wreaths at the Cenotaph and observe a minutes silence. This was concluded by the playing of the Last Post. Neil Biddle, Vice President of Forbes RSL sub-branch gave an emotive and moving address to those gathered for the service and representatives from Forbes High School and Red Bend Catholic College read the names of local servicemen who had died in conflict.

Find It In AMAZING Forbes

November 15, 2019 by Maggi Barnard

The Forbes Business Chamber Find It In AMAZING Forbes Committee are working hard to ensure that the 2019 Christmas Promotion kicked off to a healthy start. The Find It In AMAZING Forbes was officially launched on 9th November at Taste On Templar by Mayor, Phyllis Miller OAM.

The Committee are working hard at developing the Christmas Carnival which will see the beginning of the Find It In Forbes draws. At this stage the draws for the promotion make up a total funding pool of $20,000.

“The Find It In AMAZING Forbes Christmas Promotion will run from 11th November until 10:30am on 24th December. The Forbes Business Chamber would like to thank the sponsors, participants and supporters for assisting to make this Forbes promotion such as success” said chairperson Marg Duggan.

Supporters are: BWR Accountants, Central West Diesel, Hughes & Co., Forbes Livestock Agency, Central West Credit Union and McCarron Cullinane and Chudleigh.

Don’t forget to ask for your Find It In Amazing Forbes Christmas Promotion tickets with every purchase at a sponsor or participating business. The Find It In AMAZING Forbes Christmas Carnival will be held on December 13th in Templar and Rankin Streets

Giving Back To The Community

November 15, 2019 by Maggi Barnard

Recently the Life Pharmacy Forbes participated in a ‘Rewarding Our Community’ Life Club Campaign. Life Pharmacy gave away $10,000 to individuals and charities across NSW. Noela Lane was the lucky winner from Life Pharmacy in Forbes. Noela won $500 for herself and $500 to give to a community organisation of her choice. Noela selected the Eugowra Community Children’s Centre.

Jack, the pharmacist from Forbes, headed out to Eugowra with Noela to meet the team and hang out with the children. Noela chose the Eugowra Community Children Centre to increase the opportunities that children have, being a small community extra funds for resources are hard to source. Noela worked in early childhood for many years and very much wanted to help young children in her community.

The Eugowra Community Children’s Centre is a community-based service and caters for children from birth to 12 years. New Director, Grace Quigley, was pleased to receive the donation and has spent the money on new resources to continue to provide high quality services for the children of the Eugowra community.

Mayoral Notes

November 15, 2019 by Maggi Barnard

Recently the rumour mill has been turning with reports Bunnings is closing. This is not true. These rumours don’t serve the community and can affect economic opportunities. We are all under a lot of stress with the drought and I ask everyone to remain positive and be grateful for the positive things that are happening in Forbes.

We are currently waiting on an announcement regarding further funding for Forbes. We hope to hear later this week, so stay tuned!

Taste on Templar was a huge success last Saturday night. Congratulations to the Business Chamber, Marg Duggan and her team for putting this brilliant event together. We have been lucky enough to receive another $1 million from the Federal Government this week as well as extra Roads to Recovery grants. A big thank you to Michael McCormack. He has listened to us and has acted.

I want to remind everyone to shop local this Christmas. There has never been a more important time to support our local businesses. We want to come out of this drought and not lose our amazing retailers. I also want to say a big thank you to our Council road crews. Many residents comment on what a great job they are doing. On that note I’ll say cheers for this week.

God Bless.
Your Mayor Cr Phyllis Miller

Lend A Hand To Ladies Of The Land

November 15, 2019 by Maggi Barnard

Elzette Connan and daughter. (Photo: Facebook)

When times are tough, it is often women who sacrifice and put their families first, meaning the simple luxuries that many of us take for granted are first on the chopping block.

Ladies of the Land is an organisation that is collecting and distributing pamper packages for ladies on properties in and around Forbes and the Central West.

During a particularly difficult period on her farm that saw the selling off of 90% of cattle and 50% of sheep, Elzette Connan received a pamper package from a friend with a heartfelt note that read “sending you a bit of sunshine”. Elzette was so moved by this act of kindness that she decided to invite others to put together pamper pack- ages for other ladies who are struggling in the drought.

Elzette said, “We all need help, we all need people who care and these packages aim to give someone a bit of hope.” The organisation has already collected close to 1,000 packages to be distributed through out the Central West by Christmas.

Pamper packages should include a hand written note, whether it is a few meaningful words or a letter, donators can remain anonymous or leave their contact details. Each package aims to make the recipient feel cared for.

Some ideas for what to put in a package are tea, coffee, chocolates and biscuits, a nice shower gel, scented candle, book or scarf. Anything that will add a bit of comfort and care to the life of a lady struggling on the land.

Information about drop off locations are available on the ‘Ladies of the Land’ Facebook page in the pinned post and the drop off deadline is the 10th of December. Please ensure glassware is properly wrapped and do not include perishables or basic sanitary items. The aim is to provide ladies with items they would not buy for themselves anymore.

Breaking The Cycle

November 15, 2019 by Maggi Barnard

The Drought Ride cyclists gathered at Apex Park on Saturday.

If you were out and about on Saturday you may have noticed a swarm of about 60 cyclists passing through Forbes, having cycled from Molong in the morning. The determined, altruistic men and women are part of a charity cycling group who are riding to support drought stricken rural communities. On Saturday The Drought Ride cyclists stopped at Forbes Apex Park for lunch and a rest before taking off again to Grenfell.

The initiative aims to boost morale by showing their support of rural towns by visiting and spending their own money in local businesses such as shops, cafes, pubs, motels and restaurants. In addition to this, the group has raised funds which will be donated to ‘Beat the Breakdown’, an important charity that raises awareness of mental health issues in rural communities. As of Tuesday, The Drought Ride has raised more than $78,000 for Beat the Breakdown, which was way beyond the initial plan for each cyclist to raise $1,000 for the cause.

If you or anyone you know if experiencing depression, you can contact Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 or Lifelife on 13 11 14. You can also visit www.headspace.com.au and au.reachout.com.

Why You Should See A Solicitor To Prepare Your Will

November 15, 2019 by Maggi Barnard

Everyone loves the idea of getting something for nothing! The NSW Trustee & Guardian will prepare your will for free, providing you appoint the NSW Trustee & Guardian as your executor!

A solicitor most often charges for preparing your will. However, a solicitor will also consider whether you need an enduring power of attorney and an appointment of enduring guardian. You can nominate your own executor, such as your husband or wife, adult children or a trusted friend or relative. Your executor will then be someone who has knowledge of your personal circumstances.

On your death, a solicitor will charge for preparing the probate grant from the Supreme Court, just as will the NSW Trustee & Guardian if appointed as your executor. The solicitor’s scale fees for obtaining the probate grant are much less than the charges made by the NSW Trustee & Guardian. Here is a comparison of fees charged.

*Solicitors’ scale fees are for obtaining a grant of probate. There maybe some additional fees payable for administering the estate. You can talk to your solicitor about their fees.

Think carefully if you think you are obtaining a free will… it may cost your beneficiaries a lot more later on. We at Matthews Williams are available to help you.

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