Forbes High School held their 50 Year Celebrations over the weekend and many ex students and teachers travelled to Forbes to take part. Forbes High School, originally located in Browne Street, was officially opened at 18 Wyndham Avenue on the 13th November 1965 by the then Deputy Premier and Minister for Education and Science , the Honourable C B Cutler ED MLA. This year marked the 50th Anniversary and the school celebrated the occasion with a Cocktail Party at the Forbes Inn on Saturday night and morning tea and a tour of the school on the Sunday.

Everyone who attended the cocktail party thoroughly enjoyed the night and there was a great mix of ex-students, teachers and current staff. High School Principal, Charles Dwyer welcomed guests and invited them to attend the school tour the following day. Wendy Fraser (nee McFarland) was the first school captain at the new High School and spoke of her memories at Forbes High and of her achievements since leaving school. Brianna Cotterill, graduating student in 2014, currently studying music at Wollongong University travelled home to perform
and delighted attendees with her easy listening selection. The live entertainment continued thanks to the Forbes Inn and the Hodge family.

The school tour and morning tea the following day proved very popular with more than ninety people touring the school and inspecting the facilities including the commercial kitchen, industrial arts rooms, language lab, science labs and school hall. Many were amazed at the standard of the facilities and how technology has improved
learning experiences. Students who attended the school in the early years were in ore of the trees, gardens and lawn areas, and compared it to the baroness of the site when they first moved there in 1965. Morning tea in the
library was an opportunity to further reminisce with school friends and teachers and the school magazines on display proved most popular.

Local man James Irvine is making every effort to promote local performers through his involvement with community radio station 2LVR. James volunteers for the station as a radio host and is working hard to develop a new segment – “Unchartered”.

Unchartered is a segment designed to showcase music from unknown artists, promoting and encouraging local talent. At first the response to the new segment was limited, but after further advertising campaigns the program is gaining momentum. James’ playlist is increasing with very positive results. James uses the air time as a vehicle to
promote local and Central West artists. He invites them into the studio to perform their music live and chat with the host. This medium is such a great way for the musicians to connect with their audience in a personal way.

Although live performances and interviews are preferred, there is the opportunity to make alternate arrangements. Musicians can simply forward a copy of their original pieces of music and conduct interviews via the phone.

James already has a number of local artists on the playlist, including Chelsea Turner, Maddi Collits and popular local band House of Tribes, but he is constantly on the lookout for more. James is hoping to increase the variety of music he is able to play and cater to the tastes of a broader audience.

If you are interested or know of any local talents who would benefit from this type of exposure, want more information or would like to arrange a meeting, please contact 2LVR on 6852 4288 or call James Irvine on
0400 054 381. Unchartered airs on 2LVR between 8pm and 11pm on Wednesdays. Tune in to hear
the freshest local talent and support artists in the Central West.

White Ribbon commenced in 2003 and is Australia’s only national male led campaign to end men’s violence against women. It is the vision of White Ribbon Day that all women live in safety, free from all forms of men’s violence. It’s making women’s safety a man’s issue too.

The Forbes Domestic Violence Committee decided to take a proactive approach to this issue three years ago and organised the White Ribbon Day March. The March gained a lot of support from the community and was a very successful event.

Last year ultra-marathon runner Kirrily Dear used the march as the finishing point for her Run Against Violence, a 860km run over 12 days. The run aimed to get everyone talking about steps they can take to end domestic violence.

“In Australia, one in four children is exposed to domestic violence,” says White Ribbon Australia CEO Libby Davies.
“Over 12 months, on average, one woman is killed every week in Australia as a result of intimate partner violence. Alarmingly, this figure is rising. A woman is most likely to be killed by her current or former male partner in her own home.”

“We all like to think that all of us, our family, our friends, colleagues and neighbours, are safe at home. Most of us believe this is a basic human right and would be outraged if it were taken from us. But sadly, for many of us, this is not always the case,” Libby said.

The White Ribbon Day March will be held on Wednesday 25th November, commencing at 10am in Spring Street, travel down Lachlan Street, into Court Street for the official ceremonies in Victoria Park. Michele Harmer from Binaal Billa would have more information on 1800 700 218.

Forbes Council Shire have reaffirmed their position to stand alone in response to the IPART assessment of its Fit for the Future proposal at a special meeting this week. The Council’s decision was backed up by Member for Orange Andrew Gee, who says that he fully supports their stance to stand alone.

“Forbes Shire Council has voted unanimously to continue to stand alone, and I have made it clear from the start, I will be backing them to the hilt,” Mr Gee said. “While I accept that people have differing views on the issue, and I, and we as a community certainly need to respect those views, the overwhelming feedback I’ve had at both the community meeting earlier this month, and through a phone survey conducted by Council, is that the communities
of Forbes would rather stand alone.” “Being a local member is about backing your local communities through thick and thin, and while there is no doubt that this is a very tough battle, I’ll be in there fighting for the Forbes community until this thing is done.”

Mayor Phyllis OAM said the response from the community at the public meeting and the telephone survey showed 72% wanted to stand alone.

Local Forbes musician, Jake Ellison who is a guitarist and vocalist from the popular local band House of Tribes, has received quite a prestigious award. Named as Highly Commended in the 2015 Australian Children’s Music Foundation National Songwriting Competition for his song “Underdog”, Jake and his supporters are thrilled with the result.

“I’m really stoked about it and it puts me up with the top composers in the country for my age group,” Jake said.
It was Jake’s music teacher, Don Ruttan who suggested Jake enter the competition. “There were only two days left to enter. Mr Ruttan was about to delete the email. We entered anyway thinking, you never know where it might get you.”

Jake says that Underdog, which is featured on House of Tribes recent debut album Paint it Red, is a song inspired by some of the struggles faced in day to day life. It is a touching and inspiring melody featuring the kind of beautiful acoustics and rising harmonies that give you goosebumps. “I wrote it about bullying. It’s about trying
to stay strong and keep with it,” said Jake. Order a copy of Paint it Red by sending your order to HouseOfTribes@outlook.com.au or listen to House of Tribes on You-Tube.

The Find It In Forbes This Christmas Festival on Saturday 5 December will be a fun-filled day with loads of activities! Cath Adams will be providing live entertainment and there will be activities to keep the kids amused including a visit from Santa! There will be the traditional wheelbarrow races where winners will receive a $500 Why Leave Town Gift Voucher. Contact Amy at Anytime Fitness or Bowns Sportspower to sign up! We’re also looking for
volunteers to help out at the Festival to make sure everything runs smoothly. If you can donate your time please contact forbes.businesschambernsw@gmail.com

Jim Roylance moved to Forbes in 1948, where he became a Spare Parts Specialist for Paddison & Co. Jim married Nea Gunn in 1952, establishing Jim Roylance PTY LTD in October 1955. The first premises was situated at 153 Lachlan Street, starting as a business stocking auto and tractor spare parts and adding lines of household and electrical items.

In 1960, the store moved to a bigger premises at 66 Lachlan Street, and the growth of the business forced another move in 1962 where they purchased F. Rath & Co in Rankin Street. At this time, F. Rath & Co were having their 60th year in business. The store remained there with upgrades along the way until 2001.

The year 2001 saw a move for the store to the Newell Highway where the store is situated today. Chris and Mick Roylance became involved in the family business once leaving school. With a company restructure in 2009, Mick took a new direction to become the owner operator of the outdoor and camping store, known as Blue Sky Outdoor experts. Chris’s son Justin, a third generation family member became a partner with Chris at this time.

Over the years the family has purchased other stores. 1995 saw a partnership in Canobolas Auto One and selling out in 1999. The year 2000 saw the opening of Roylances’ Automotive & Industrial in Port Melbourne servicing the mining and quarry sectors.

The Melbourne branch is going strong and they have seen a move to larger premises in Tullamarine in August 2015. 2008 saw the Roylance brand open a branch in Cobar NSW. After servicing the Cobar region for over 30 years, the family opted to open a branch to service not only the mining community but the local workshops and community. Roylance’s Melbourne and Cobar are continuing strong with the efforts of all five staff involved.

Last year saw big changes for Roylance’s. After 11 years of being independent, the family made the decision to re-join the Auto One group. This has been a positive move for the Forbes store. It has created a one stop destination in the Automotive Industry for trade and retail products within the Forbes and surrounding communities.

The Forbes store hosts 11 employees, all of who are locals. There are also long standing employees who are like family. John Pearce has been employed by Roylance’s for 39 years and Terry Churchill 19 years, just to name a few.
There has been a lot of changes and moving with the times for this family business. For over 60 years they have watched the way of technology change not only with computer systems and the like but also within the Automotive Industry.

The Roylance family are proud that they have been able to service the country over the past 60 years and will pride themselves to do so for many more years to come.