Sr Florence Kinsela, or “Flo” as she is affectionately known, recently celebrated her 103rd birthday with a lovely afternoon tea surrounded by friends and family at the Southern Cross Village in Parkes on 28 August.

Born in Parkes, or possibly Manildra, Flo has called Parkes home her whole life and she says “I’ve got a good family here.”

Very fond of her family, Flo is said to have had a great relationship with her sisters. Nephew David White spoke of being the eldest nephew of around 18 nieces and nephews, some of whom had travelled up from Sydney, the South Coast and even as far as Melbourne to help celebrate with Flo.

Flo left school and helped out at the convent until becoming a nun at the age of 17 and has dedicated her entire life to helping others since then. In fact, Sister Florence Kinsela is the oldest living nun from the Sisters of Mercy College.

By all accounts, Flo is well travelled and is a fantastic cook, spending a lot of time in Broken Hill, Wilcannia and Sans Souci, where her main duties were cooking and ordering food for the boarding students that they looked after. Her favorite place is said to be Wilcannia, where she spent a lot of time and developed a great relationship to the indigenous people. When Flo celebrated her 100th birthday her pride of joy on the day was a card that she received from the people of Wilcannia that she was so fond of.

Flo is an amazing lady and still keeps herself as busy as can be even at 103.

Discover the creativity, craftsmanship and stories behind some of the region’s most talented local makers at the third annual Meet the Makers event on Sunday 30 August at the Forbes Visitor Information Centre.

The free event will showcase some of the region’s finest food, beverages and handmade products, giving visitors the chance to meet the makers, hear their stories and see their skills in action.

Forbes Shire Mayor, Phyllis Miller OAM said, “Meet the Makers is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the talented people behind our local products and experience first-hand the passion and creativity that goes into making them.”

This year’s event features a diverse range of local makers, including Tumbling Downs Olive Grove, Franklin Road Preserves, Small Acres Cyder, Rosnay Organic, and Wandary Cottage Candles and Diffusers.

Visitors can enjoy tastings, samples, giveaways and conversations with producers about their products and processes.

Adding to the experience will be live demonstrations from Creative Chaos and Mystic Crafts by Carly, providing a behindthe-scenes look at the techniques and craftsmanship involved in creating their unique handmade products.

“The live demonstrations offer something special, allowing visitors to watch local artisans at work, learn more about their craft and gain a greater appreciation for the skill behind their creations,” Mayor Miller added.

The free, family-friendly event is open to all ages and is a great way to explore local flavours, connect with producers and support local businesses.

Meet the Makers event will be taking place this Sunday 30 August 2026 from 10am to 1pm, at the Forbes Visitor Information Centre, 46 Mary Street, Forbes.

For more information, visit the webpage www.forbes.nsw.gov.au or follow @ForbesShireCouncil on Facebook for updates.

President Marg Dent welcomed 24 to the July meeting held at the Men’s Shed with apologies from 10 members.

The guest speaker was Claire Diprose who work with Weddin Landcare and has had two very successful projects this last year.

Starting with St Joseph’s School, joined by the Pre School and High School, they created a vegetable garden as a community project to grow edible products for their Food Hall, which sells local produce.

The Weddin Wattle Trail was another project, with 33 native wattles grown in the area.

A book has been compiled so these can be identified on a self drive tour. Claire Haley presented Claire with a gift.

Jeanette Thomas then spoke on the passing of David Austin whose English bred roses are outstanding in many of our gardens, with 2 acres and 700 roses, he bred a special type of rose to be admired.

Gail Irvine then thanked the members who helped at the recent Craig Castree talks weekend, which proved very successful.

Bev Green reminded members that floral entries will be needed for the Forbes Show celebrating 150 years! A special effort is encouraged.

Noel Hocking has offered mowing services for raffle prizes for October and November – thankyou Noel.

Flower of the month winners were 1st Noel Hocking (Chrysanthemum) and Denise Thurston (Ranunculi), 2nd Marie Langfield (Carnation) and Joy Hocking (Camellia), 3rd John Browne (Rose).

Raffle winners on the day were 1st Don Rath, 2nd John Browne, 3rd Janette Thomas and 4th Marg Dent.

The next meeting will be held at the home of Sue-Ann Nixon, 24 Kent Street at 2pm on Tuesday 25 August, please bring a chair hat and cup. Everyone is invited to attend and you are encouraged to bring a friend.

By Green Thumb

Parkes Shire Council’s Biosecurity Team has completed thousands of kilometres of inspections and helped prevent the spread of invasive weeds over the past 12 months, protecting the region’s environment, agricultural industries and local communities.

During the 2025/26 financial year, the team inspected more than 4,550 kilometres of roads, 46 kilometres of rail corridors and 12 kilometres of waterways to monitor and manage priority weeds across the Shire.

The team also carried out inspections at 15 high-risk sites, including nurseries, pet shops, saleyards and landscape suppliers, as well as 113 private rural and urban properties, 19 Council-managed sites and 17 state-managed sites.

One of the team’s biggest success stories has been its ongoing work to eradicate Parthenium Weed, one of Australia’s most invasive weeds. Since the weed was first detected on a private property in Parkes Shire in 2020, Council has undertaken regular inspections of the infestation site and surrounding roadsides, neighbouring land and nearby state forest.

These efforts have delivered outstanding results, with infestations reduced from more than 500 plants in 2020 to just 20 plants in 2024, and no Parthenium Weed detected during inspections in either 2025 or 2026.

In addition to inspections, the Biosecurity Team is committed to educating the community about invasive weeds and biosecurity risks. During the past year, the team attended four regional shows across the Shire, providing advice to residents and landholders about identifying and managing priority weeds.

Council reminds all landholders that under the Biosecurity Act 2015, everyone has a shared responsibility to prevent, eliminate and minimise biosecurity risks on their land.

Residents seeking advice on priority weeds or their biosecurity responsibilities are encouraged to contact Parkes Shire Council.

The NSW Government’s firearms buyback scheme announced has raised serious concerns over compensation, the treatment of licensed firearms owners and dealers, and nothing to back-up their assertion this program will actually address illegal firearms and firearm-related crime.

The scheme is expected to commence on 2 November, with approximately 274,000 firearms and 50,000 licence holders expected to be affected.

Independent NSW MP Phil Donato said the announcement represented another major burden being placed on people who had done nothing wrong.

“These are law-abiding people who have complied with the rules, paid their fees, stored their firearms properly and followed the law. They are now being told that property they lawfully purchased can be taken from them – in most cases for well below its market value.”

The fixed compensation arrangements are expected to range from approximately $450 for an air rifle to $1,000 for centre-fire firearms, with handguns also included in the scheme.

“The government needs to explain how it arrived at these figures. A fixed payment of $450 or $1,000 does not necessarily reflect what these firearms are actually worth,” said Mr Donato.