I am deeply moved by the outpouring of thoughts and prayers during my recent ill­ness. Your support has been a beacon of hope and strength for me and my family during this challenging time.

I am grateful for each and every one of you who took the time to send well wishes, offer prayers, and provide comfort. Your kindness and compassion have made a profound impact on my recovery.

Thank you for standing by me and show­ing the true spirit of our wonderful commu­nity. Together, we have demonstrated that Forbes is not just a place, but a family that cares deeply for one another. Thank you.

I will be taking it slowly while I fully re­cover but am already feeling more myself since being back in Amazing Forbes.

Rug up and come along for a family movie night on Friday night at Nelson Park.

Join the Forbes Shire Council team from 4.30pm for some pre movie fun – includ­ing face painting, giant garden games and food vendors. The Australian movie RUNT will be featured from 5.30pm.

Everyone is asked to BYO chairs and blankets. You can find more details on the Forbes Youth Action Team facebook page or Council’s website.

Forbes businesses – NSW Reconstruc­tion Authority is hosting a business forum to help Central West business owners who have experienced or are at risk of over-floor flooding. Reconstruction’s Flood-resilience experts will present practical ways busi­ness owners can restore their business premises quickly after a flood.

The presentation will include practical tips and advice about building materials which will help you open your doors and start trading as soon as possible after a flood. This business event will be held at Club Forbes, 41-45 Templar Street, from 6- 8pm on Tuesday 3 June.

The colder weather has made me think of winter, fire buckets and heart food, which means Frost and Fire must be getting close. Tickets on sale now. We have sold a lot of tickets to people away so we don’t want the locals to miss out. This year’s live music is the Wolfe Brothers, Ripley Alexan­der, the Baker Boys Band, Easy Goin’ and Foxxy Cleopatra. It’s on Saturday 21 June starting at 4pm.

God Bless,
Phyllis Miller OAM

On Saturday the town celebrated that is had been 50 years since Gough Whitlam officially opened the Lachlan Vintage Vil­lage – you can watch the reel at the newly refurbished Visitor Information Centre on the site in Mary Street.

It is also very exciting as we commemo­rate this special event, we have launched several opportunities currently available at the site. Developers and accommoda­tion providers are invited to review and apply to develop one of two prime sites (with Newell Highway Frontage) within the Forbes Visitor Information Centre precinct.

The two sites are for a motel/conference centre (2.31ha) and a caravan/holiday park (3.28ha). Council believes this is a unique opportunity to shape the future of accom­modation in Forbes, to meet growing num­ber of travellers visiting the area. Closing 30 June 2025.

Suitably qualified operators are also cur­rently being invited to submit an EOI to lease the very popular Forbes Visitor Infor­mation Centre Cafe/Restaurant since the current operator has given notice. This is a very popular cafe, and we are hoping to at­l

tract a skilled chef/operator to run the busy venue, possibly even seven days a week.

Finally, local producers are again invited to submit an EOI to supply and sell their local goods at the new Forbes Visitor In­formation Centre, located at the former La­chlan Vintage Village. See Tenders and Ex­pressions of Interest on the Forbes Shire Council website for details about all current EOI opportunities.

NSW Reconstruction Authority is host­ing a business forum to help Central West business owners who have experienced or are at risk of over-floor flooding. Floodresilience experts will present simple and practical ways business owners can re­store their business premises quickly after a flood. The presentation will include practi­cal tips and advice about building materials which will help you open your doors and start trading as soon as possible after a flood. It will be held at Club Forbes, 41-45 Templar Street, from 6-8pm on Tuesday 3 June.

By Chris Roylance,
Deputy Mayor of Forbes Shire Council

This week is National Road Safety Week, and we are once again proud to support this important campaign where we encour­age everyone to drive so that others sur­vive.

Forbes and our partner shires in Road Safety – Parkes and Lachlan – are the first official Yellow Ribbon Road Safety Coun­cils in NSW due to our long-term commit­ment to the cause.

This week you will see the town hall lit up in yellow, yellow road safety ribbons and stickers available at the front counter and all of us taking the road safety pledge.

Make sure you have road safety conver­sations with your family and friends – we need to keep everyone safe.

I wanted to also this week congratulate the volunteers and staff involved in the reenactment of the Ben Hall Trial last Friday night! What a great event – well done to all! We have such a rich history in Forbes, and it is so wonderful to see it celebrated in this way.

We have plenty of activity happening around Lake Forbes at the moment – in­cluding works at Bates Bridge and Johnny Woods Crossing, where we see new foot­paths, landscaping and a new weir gate.

The Lake really is the jewel in Forbes crown and the Johnny Woods works in par­ticular are going to be fantastic.

Thanks for your patience while this work goes on – in the case of Johnny Woods it will be for a few more weeks yet. Please continue to take care in this area.

And finally, just to let you know that our Mayor is currently unwell, so I will be taking the reins for just a little while.

Please keep her in your prayers and I’m sure she will be back soon, stronger than ever.

By Chris Roylance,
Deputy Mayor of Forbes Shire Council

What an absolute honour to be recognised by Fire and Rescue NSW as part of its spe­cial event to celebrate St Florian’s Day, also known as International Firefighters Day.

Forbes Shire Council was recognised at a special presentation at City of Sydney Fire Station on Sunday. We were recognised for supporting FRNSW on call firefighters for more than 50 years and received a Com­missioner’s Primary Employer Recognition Award. The award recognises employers who support on call firefighters – provid­ing flexibility to enable on call firefighters flexibility to respond to incidents to protect our community. We currently have nine employees who are on call firefighters and have a proud history of many others serv­ing over the past 50 years.

As the President of Local Government NSW, we hosted the NSW Rural and Re­gional Summit this week at the State Li­brary. The summit is a focal point for the challenges faced by rural and regional communities. The day event addressed the NSW Government’s response to the parlia­mentary enquiry into Council infrastructure and funding. I was on the panel to outline the success and challenges during disaster and we also talked emerging invasive spe­

cies threats. Mayors, Councillors, Council staff and NSW Government ministers and representatives attended the event foster­ing collaborative solutions to bolster the socio-economic landscape in rural and re­gional areas.

Tradies and businesses it is time for an­other BUILD Forbes Tradies Night – this time we will be at the Forbes Inn on Fri­day 23 May 6pm. Join us for a network­ing night for tradies, builders and industry professionals. You can come along to meet with other trades, learn about Forbes de­velopment trends and planning and find out about job tendering opportunities. Forbes businesses and services are invited to host a free trade table call 6850 2300 to book your space. Tickets available on 123tix.

Now that the amazing acts have been locked in for the 2025 Frost and Fire, have you all invited friends and family and purchased your tickets? Acts like the Wolfe Brothers, the Baker Boys, Foxxy Cleopatra, Easy Goin’ and Ripley Alexan­der will draw some big crowds and we don’t want the locals to miss out. So secure your tix now on 123 tix and get ready for another amazing night of live music on Saturday 21 June 4pm to 10pm.

First I would like to say thank you so very much to everyone in our community who marched and attended the services on Anzac Day. Honestly I am so proud of this town and the amazing number of people in attendance. There were old and many, many young people – it was very inspiring.

Thank you to everyone.

I would also like to acknowledge the an­niversary of Molly’s passing last week and I remind everyone to keep her family in your prayers. Council continues to work to make real changes to enhance and to continue to strive for DV prevention education from an early age. Our community needs change and we need to keep having these hard conversations to make sure promises of change are kept.

Have you purchased your tickets to Frost and Fire 2025 – they are on sale now. Bet­ter yet if you buy anything from the Visi­tor Information Centre you can go into the draw to win two free tickets and two free Frost and Fire stubby holders. Keep an eye out for other local business offers, the Forbes Business Chamber had a meeting this week about how, we as a community, can collectively market and promote this key destination event. This is our sixth year of Frost and Fire and we have another out­standing line up of acts including the inter­nationally known Wolfe Brothers. I can’t wait. It is on Saturday 21 June 2025. See you there! Another exciting date for the calendar is the 2025 National BBQ Championships.

Following the success of last year we will again be hosting a two day event for grill­ing and smoking events so start thinking of your team members and get grilling to per­fect our BBQ skills. It is on this year 18 and 19 October for two days of BBQ perfection.

A reminder to all to make sure you cast your vote in the Federal Election by Satur­day. You can vote at the Town Hall, Forbes Tennis Club, Forbes High School or Bedg­erabong Public School from 8am to 6pm.

Until next week,
Phyllis Miller OAM
Mayor Forbes Shire Council

It has been beautiful weather for the start of the school holidays and we have had so many activities available for the community for the kids.

From art and mindfulness to fishing and first aid, it would be a big call for anyone to say there is nothing on for young people these school holidays. There are still some places available so if you are looking for something for the kids to do, head to the Forbes Youth Action Team facebook page for the details.

Things are heating up for Frost and Fire – if you’ll pardon the pun – with all artists locked in for what promises to be a great night as always. I’m really looking forward to the antics of our town’s MCs – Dooley and Shell Bell – who are very well known to most of the Forbes community. It’s so great to be able to involve locals in this event – I really think that’s what gives Frost and Fire its extra sparkle!We have had a few pre polling enquiries at Council so I wanted to let you know that the dates of pre polling are Saturday 26

April and Monday 28 April through to Sun­day 3 May 2025.

Easter is of course a great time to take a break and with that there are many people on the roads. Please be safe out there – as we say all the time here at Forbes Shire Council, you really need to “drive so that others survive’”. Take a break and don’t be in a hurry. If you do have friends and family coming it’s a great chance to get them out to see the Sculpture Trail, walk the lake and head out to the Bird Hides at Gum Swamp. Fishing on the lake or in the river is always fun for the kids – and if you have a kayak there is nothing better than a paddle. If you need any hints for what to do with your visitors go and see our amazing staff at the Visitor Centre – as locals they have all the goss on the good spots!I would like to wish everyone a very safe and Happy Easter with your friends and family.

God Bless,
Phyllis Miller OAM
Forbes Shire Mayor

I am really delighted to be a part of a small but enthusiastic group of people who will be presenting the play The Trial of Ben Hall written by Forbes solicitor Dominic Wil­liams. To be held on Friday, 9 May – 188 years after the notorious Hall was born and 160 years since his death on 5 May. The play will be presented in the former St An­drews Church at 6pm.

Dominic’s play was originally written for the inaugural Ben Hall Festival and rewrit­ten for Law Week in 1986. Ben Hall was of course shot dead without a trial and is buried at Forbes Cemetery.

Forbes Shire Council Heritage Advisory Committee were the inspiration for bringing Ben Hall back to commemorate 160 since his death. Several other committee mem­bers and community volunteers will be in the play. Ben Hall will be played by Lewis Wilde.

We will also be encouraging our audi­ence to fully participate in the evening. We need you to react to the good and bad, to the police bias and inequity in the court process. It will be a great night out for the whole family to enjoy.

Free tickets are available on 123tix. Due to the space there will only be 100 tick­ets available. Tea and refreshment will be served while the jury deliberates – no one knows the outcome of the judgment until the night. The cast has prepared for both guilty and not guilty findings.

I encourage everyone to come along and find out the imagined past if Ben Hall had been given a trial and discover more about our notorious Mr Hall, who was in fact the first person in Australia to be declared a bushranger.

In Dominic’s words, “…Ben Hall whose name continues to grow in Australian legend as a folklore hero, more wronged against than wrong himself. I trust the Trial of Ben Hall will not only entertain and edu­cate but lead to a better understanding of the enigma that was Ben Hall – it being the trial that Ben Hall never received. (April 1986).

Don’t miss Saturday’s Amazing Motor Fes­tival all day at the Multipurpose Equestrian Centre and Forbes Showground. Organ­isers are promising an action packed day showcasing everything on wheels, from shiny new vehicles to classic vintage treas­ures.

Highlights of the day include an array of tractors, bikes, trucks and cars on display, Skid Row, Ute Barrel Races and a tractor pull – featuring an exciting “new vs old” competition. Organisers are encouraging everyone to bring the whole family for a day of fun, excitement and incredible displays.

School holidays start next week and with that is our always exciting school holidays programs including a wellness workshop, fishing, painting and a Family Fun Day on Saturday 12 April from 9am to noon.

There will be jumping castles, face paint­ing, craft, pedal boats and more – this is a free event and a great chance for the whole family to relax and have some holiday fun.

Some other fun events during the school

holidays include Youth First Aid training, learn to skate sessions, an excursion to Putt Putt Mini Golf in Dubbo as well as a Gallery Open Day where young artists from our region will have their work showcased in a professional setting. See our website for all the details.

Councillor Steve Karaitiana

Doesn’t the Youth and Community Centre (YACC) look amazing! How lucky were we to have artist James O’Hanlon work with school students from Forbes to create the vibrant mural on the side of the YACC.

You can view the transformation which took place over the weekend on our social channels or YouTube www.facebook.com/share/v/15ZppGeSt3/. It all began with the students adding their flair which inspired James’ fantastical and quirky design show­casing diversity and how individuals from all backgrounds come together to form a fun, inclusive and connected community. The mural was a celebration of Harmony Week which recognises our diversity and brings together Australians from all different back­grounds. It’s about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone.

At our council meeting last week, Coun­cillors invited members of the Bernardi fam­ily to acknowledge the family’s commitment to commerce in our region, upon Tony’s retirement. The Bernardi family has been a cornerstone in our community, supplying our groceries and fresh produce for seven decades. Bernardi’s is the epitome of com­munity and family business and will con­tinue to be in Forbes. Congratulations Tony.

Can you believe we are talking about April School holidays already? Well it is al­most upon us and we have another event filled program for you all to enjoy. Go to the Forbes Youth Action Team page on face­book or our website to find out about the wellness workshops, leadership retreat, Youth Gallery and so much more.

This is your final week to be able to contribute to the Forbes Active Transport Plan (ATP) 2025. Active transport refers to people walking, running and bike rid­ing as well as other transport options such as e-bikes, e-scooters and mobility scoot­ers, adults pushing prams and wheelchair use. The new Forbes ATP 2025 will assist in programming active transport infrastruc­ture improvements such as new footpaths, shared paths, street crossings, end-of-trip facilities and wayfinding signage.

For more information on this project, and to complete the online survey please visit: www.forbes.nsw.gov.au/council/community-engagement/community-input-and-engagement

God Bless,
Phyllis Miller OAM

After consulting with all 537 Local Govern­ment Areas, the Australian Local Govern­ment Association (ALGA) has developed a framework for a national advocacy cam­paign for Local Government to be run in the lead up to the Federal Election. The elec­tion must be held by 17 May 2025.

The “Put Our Communities First” cam­paign is to secure additional federal fund­ing needed by Australian LGAs to support our growing role delivering local solutions to national priorities.

The campaign will advocate for new fed­eral funding to be distributed to all councils on a formula-basis, similar to the Common­wealth’s Roads to Recovery Program, or the previous Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program.

This will ensure that every council and community benefits and supports local de­cision making based on local needs.

The five national funding priorities are:

1. Enabling infrastructure to unlock hous­ing supply; 2. Community infrastructure; 3. Safer local roads; 4. Increased local government emergency management capability and capacity; 5. Climate change adaption to help meet Federal targets.

A reminder for all to have your say for our Active Transport Plan and naming the Spooner Oval Grandstand. There has been a lot of interest and suggestions for this new sporting landmark, consultation will close on Friday 18 April so make sure you have your say. Council will consider all the submissions at its May meeting.

It’s been a big week at the saleyards this week with around 40,000 sheep up for sale on Tuesday. It was a mixed yarding with plenty of trade lambs and some heavy­weights, there were around 11,000 mutton and a large number of exotic lambs which sold for up to $217 a head.

Over 2,126 cattle were sold on Monday.

We still have plenty of buyers from away providing a competitive market for the in­creased numbers being sold until we get some rain.

God Bless,
Phyllis Miller OAM