• Home
  • Articles
    • Front Page
    • General Interest
    • Snippets
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Council Comments
  • Competitions
  • Our Community
    • Our People
    • Question of the Week
    • Jobs in the Central West
    • Be Seen
    • What’s On
  • Features
    • Rural Round Up
    • My Place
    • Loving Local Living
    • Wellness Wise
    • Just a Short Drive
    • Real Estate
  • Sports
    • Bowls
    • Cricket
    • Equestrian
    • Footy Tips
    • Golf
    • Netball
    • Rugby League
    • Rugby Union
    • Soccer
    • Touch Football
  • Contact Us
    • Contact Page
    • Advertise with us
    • Testimonials
    • Submit an Article
    • Subscribe to the Forbes Phoenix

Forbes Phoenix

You are here: Home / Articles / General Interest / This is Rob’s Story

This is Rob’s Story

February 2, 2017 By editor

Olya Willis answered The Forbes Phoenix knock at the front door. What a treat it was to be welcomed into their historic family home!

“Receiving the Order of Australia was a great honour, but receiving the Forbes Citizen of the Year Award means even more to me,” said Rob Willis of the new title he was bestowed with at the Australia Day ceremo- ny last Thursday.

“I have lived my whole life in Forbes and love the place and the people… it is my hometown.”

Rob said many people did not really know what he did for a living. It is an interesting and very unique occupation as Rob works

Citizen of the Year, Rob Willis with his wife Olya. “I want everyone to know that Olya is the backbone of my work.”

with the National Library of Australia to record stories. He and Olya have recorded more than 1,500 peoples’ stories.

“It astounds me how many people would ask why I was interested in their story before we start recording,” said Rob. Olya, who is responsible for recording the stories, adds that “Rob has the ability to get people to open up and tell their stories”.

Included in Rob’s collection are more than 100 stories of Forbes residents. These are all preserved at the National Library.

“Forbes allowed me to commence my journey to record Australian social history,” said Rob. “Do you know how prior to the thermometer the temperature of the iron or oven was deemed to be ok? Well it was by spitting on the iron or putting your hand in the oven… History will never repeat itself, so it is important to preserve it.”

True to his word Rob will soon be heading to the Forbes and District Historical Museum to record both the sound and workings of the historic Ivel tractor. (See story on page 7.)

If you are curious about history, make sure to visit the Museum at 11 Cross Street after 2pm each day where you can be tak- en back in time by hearing school bells ring and the clickity clack of a type writer.

By Dianne Collie

Filed Under: General Interest

Latest Print Editions

Click here to download the recent issue (276) of The Forbes Phoenix (1MB) – 26th February 2021 

STAY CONNECTED

The Forbes Phoenix would like to thank you, our Facebook friends, for your continued support and readership!

Central West Rural Round Up Booklet

Click here to download the Central West Rural Round Up Booklet

SEARCH THE PHOENIX

Recent Articles

  • Thump, Jump, Rhyme February 26, 2021
  • Our Bloke – John Scott February 26, 2021
  • Aussie Croquet February 26, 2021
  • Governor Beazley’s Tour Of Forbes February 26, 2021
  • Forbes Soccer Club Scores Big With Two Local Sporting Grants February 26, 2021

CONTACT THE PHOENIX

Postal Address
PO Box 203

Canowindra NSW 2804

Editorial
editor@forbesphoenix.com.au

Sales Phone – 02 6344 1846 or 0477 309 807
sales@forbesphoenix.com.au

phone: (02) 6344 1846

View our Privacy Policy.
View our Conflict Resolution Process.
View our Ethics and Complaints Policy.
Want to advertise with us?
Information on our Community Promotions.

Submit an Article

We are always looking for new articles of interest to the local community.

Please feel free to submit an article for possible inclusion in a future issue.

To submit an article, click here to use our online article submission form.

RECEIVE THE PHOENIX VIA EMAIL

* = required field

Copyright © 2021 · Website setup by WebSysMan