Parkes is a town in the Central West region of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia. It is the main settlement in the

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

of Parkes Shire. Parkes had a population of 9,832 at the 2021 census. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. Parkes is part of the traditional lands of the

Wiradjuri The Wiradjuri people (; ) are a group of Aboriginal Australian people from central New South Wales, united by common descent through kinship and shared traditions. They survived as skilled hunter-fisher-gatherers, in family groups or clans, a ...

people, the largest language group in NSW with a country of more than 120,000 square kilometres.

History

The Wiradjuri people have lived on the lands of the 3 rivers, including the Lachlan River, for more than 40,000 years. The town of Parkes was part of the colonial expansion of the early 19th century, originally founded in 1853 as the settlement Currajong, named for the abundance of kurrajong trees in the local area by the settlers, but was then known as Bushman's (from the local mine named Bushman's Lead). In August 1873,

Henry Parkes Sir Henry Parkes, (27 May 1815 – 27 April 1896) was a colonial Australian politician and the longest-serving non-consecutive Premier of New South Wales, premier of the Colony of New South Wales, the present-day state of New South Wales in ...

(later Sir Henry) visited the area and in December 1873 the town was officially renamed Parkes in his honour. (Sir Henry Parkes is recognised as having played an instrumental role in the

federation of Australia The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia (which also governed what is now the Northern Territory), and Wester ...

.) ''Bushman's Lead'' Post Office opened on 1 August 1872 and was renamed ''Parkes'' in 1873. In March 1883 the first local government, Parkes Municipal District (redesignated as Parkes Municipality March 1906), was proclaimed. In January 1981 it was amalgamated with Goobang Shire to create Parkes Shire. The

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

from

Molong Molong is a small town in the Central West (New South Wales), Central West region of New South Wales, Australia, in Cabonne Shire Council, Cabonne Shire. History The name Molong comes from the indigenous Australians, Aboriginal word for 'all ro ...

via Parkes to

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

, was officially opened on 18 December 1893. Parkes attracted significant attention during the

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, ...

of the 1870s onwards, and to this day modern mining companies have sites in the region. In 1939, Parkes became a sister city with

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

in the United Kingdom, Sir Henry Parkes birthplace.

Newspapers

Parkes' first newspaper was the ''Forbes and Parkes Gazette'', founded and conducted for many years by H. H. Cooke. This was followed by the ''Parkes Independent''. The ''Parkes Chronicle'' published by W. McNamara was amalgamated with the ''Parkes Independent'' which was subsequently purchased by Charles Reynolds; and later again, by George Washington Seaborn. In 1891 came the ''Parkes Examiner''. The ''Examiner'' was still operating by 1901, edited by Alderman Harry Bowditch who acquired it in 1893. Commencing in 1894 was the '' Western Champion'' by M. J. Little and D. Cameron. At a later time, Cameron also acquired the ''Independent''. In 1899 the ''Champion'' was purchased by 1899. Later journalistic ventures included the ''Western Reminder'' and the ''Western People''. The ''Examiner'' was renamed the ''Parkes Post'' in 1923, before becoming part of the ''Champion'' company in 1926. By 1934, these were merged to become the ''Champion Post''.

Military history

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Parkes was the location of RAAF Station Parkes, and RAAF No.18 Inland Aircraft Fuel Depot (IAFD), completed in 1942 and closed on 14 August 1944. Usually consisting of 4 tanks, 31 fuel depots were built across Australia for the storage and supply of aircraft fuel for the

RAAF The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the governor-general of Aus ...

and the

US Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

at a total cost of £900,000 ($1,800,000).

Heritage listings

Parkes has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * 39 Currajong Street: Parkes Post Office * May Street: Parkes railway station

Parkes today

With the presence of the nearby

Parkes Observatory Parkes Observatory is a radio astronomy observatory, located north of the town of Parkes, New South Wales, Australia. It hosts Murriyang, the 64 m CSIRO Parkes Radio Telescope also known as "The Dish", along with two smaller radio telescopes. T ...

, Parkes has had an important role in the scientific community. In addition to local research conducted at the

radio telescope A radio telescope is a specialized antenna (radio), antenna and radio receiver used to detect radio waves from astronomical radio sources in the sky. Radio telescopes are the main observing instrument used in radio astronomy, which studies the r ...

, Parkes scientists have assisted NASA for several missions as a Southern Hemisphere relay and communications station. The movie ''

The Dish ''The Dish'' is a 2000 Australian historical drama, historical comedy-drama film that tells the story of the Parkes Observatory's role in relaying live television of humanity's first steps on the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. It wa ...

'' was based somewhat loosely on the role the telescope played during the 1969

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 was a spaceflight conducted from July 16 to 24, 1969, by the United States and launched by NASA. It marked the first time that humans Moon landing, landed on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin l ...

Moon landing. ''

'', although set in Parkes, was largely filmed in

' historic precinct. This is due to very few historic buildings remaining in Parkes. Parkes is also home to the Parkes Spacemen

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

club. Agriculture is one of the primary industries in the Parkes region, particularly cropping, sheep farming and cattle farming. The area also features a copper and gold mine, Northparkes Mine, 27 km north-north-west of the town. Parkes became a key country location after the completion of the railway to Broken Hill in 1927, serving as a hub for a great deal of passenger and freight transport until the 1980s. Unfortunately, as successive governments reduced the NSW country rail systems, this part of the economy was largely lost to the community. Periodically governments and businesses have raised the topic of an "inland port" whereby Parkes Regional Airport would be expanded considerably to serve as a starting point for domestic and international freight destined for areas in NSW, Victoria and Queensland. Environmental studies are complete, development consents are in place, contracts have been exchanged, some properties have changed hands and studies are continuing. Parkes Shire Council, with approval from the State Government, has rezoned 516 hectares of agricultural and industrial land on the western edge of the town for the development of the Parkes National Logistics Hub with an additional reserve of over 100 hectares. The site has been specifically designed for the 24-hour, 7-day-per-week operation of a multi-modal transport facility. FCL runs a significant intermodal operation at Goobang Junction on Parkes' western outskirts. On 20 October 2006,

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Morris Iemma opened Specialised Container Transport's intermodal terminal nearby on a site. It has 5 km of rail sidings, a warehouse and about 40 staff. An even larger terminal to be sited nearby is also being promoted. The

Roads & Maritime Services A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. The wo ...

' Western Regional Office is located in Parkes. Essential Energy also is represented by a training and maintenance centre. Main tourist attractions are the

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency that is responsible for scientific research and its commercial and industrial applications. CSIRO works with leading organisations arou ...

Telescope 20 km north of town on the

Newell Highway Newell Highway is a National Highway (Australia), national highway in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. It provides the major road link between southeastern Queensland and Victoria (state), Victoria via central NSW and as such carries large amo ...

, Bushmans Hill, and the War Memorial Lookout. Nearby there is the Goobang National Park, and Peak Hill which features an Open Cut Mine that can be toured during holidays. There are also many great parks. Parkes has a high percentage population of school age students and an associated number of schools. Parkes Public School was founded in 1876 under Archibald Booth as educator, Parkes East Public School and Middleton Public School are also in the area. Holy Family Catholic School and Parkes Christian School operate in the town, with Saint Patrick's School Trundle and St Joseph's School, Peak Hill also operating the shire. Parkes High School is the main public high school for the town. Parkes Christian School offers education for students from Kindergarten to Year 10 in 2013, extending to Year 11 in 2014 and Year 12 in 2015. Many Parkes students also attend the nearby Red Bend Catholic College in Forbes, some 35 km south.

Climate

Parkes has a subtropical climate, with significant temperature variations between summer and winter. Under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

, Parkes lies in the transitional zone between humid subtropical (''Cfa'') and cold semi-arid (''Bsk'') climates. Summer maximum temperatures average out at , however frequently reach each year. Winters are cool and partly cloudy, with cold fronts bringing periods of light, misty rain with low maximum temperatures, and rarely even snow. Rainfall in spring and summer usually falls as thunderstorms, with an annual average of of rainfall. Extreme temperatures have ranged from . Parkes is considerably sunny, having around 135.0 clear days annually.

Transport

Parkes has a local bus service provided by Western Road Liners, which acquired Harris Bus Lines in March 2006. The weekly '' Indian Pacific'' passes through but does not stop at Parkes. The ''

Outback Xplorer The ''Outback Xplorer'' is an Australian passenger train service operated by NSW TrainLink between Central railway station, Sydney, Sydney and Broken Hill railway station, Broken Hill via the Main Western railway line, Main Western line. Commenc ...

'' service, run by

NSW TrainLink NSW TrainLink is a regional train and coach operator in Australia, providing services throughout New South Wales and into Australian Capital Territory, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria (state), Victoria, Queensland and South Australia ...

, which heads to

Broken Hill Broken Hill is a city in the Far West (New South Wales), far west region of outback New South Wales, Australia. An inland mining city, it is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Hi ...

on Mondays and

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

on Tuesdays does stop. Parkes railway station is situated on the Broken Hill railway line, and opened in 1893. A smaller station served Parkes Racecourse between 1923 and 1937. Parkes Airport is served regular air services to

operated by Rex Airlines. The airport is located approximately five kilometres east of the central business district. Parkes is located on the Australian transcontinental railway line, and the

linking Victoria to

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Media

Radio *2PK AM 1404 (talkback radio format aimed at listeners 35 years+ most programs relayed from 2SM, Sydney): owned by Broadcast Operations Group. *PH FM 88.0 (community access radio station based in Peak Hill, 50 km north from Parkes). *ROK FM 95.5 (mixed music format aimed at 18–39 years market – Top 40 and Classic Hits): owned by Broadcast Operations Group. *2LVR FM 97.9 (community radio) * Sky Sports Radio FM 99.9 – (Coverage of Thoroughbred, Harness and Greyhound Racing plus other general and specialist sport and talk programming) *

SBS Radio SBS Radio is an Australian radio network owned by the Special Broadcasting Service directed towards newly arrived immigrants in Australia. It originally began as two stations based in Melbourne and Sydney, set up to provide pre-recorded informa ...

FM 101.3 (mixed format programming for ethnic communities) .Vision radio 87.6 fm. Christian Radio The

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

(ABC) transmit four stations into Parkes and the surrounding region: * ABC Classic FM NSW 2ABCFM 102.7 FM * ABC Radio National NSW 2ABCRN 104.3 FM *

Triple J Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...

NSW 2JJJ 101.9 FM * ABC Central West NSW 2CR 549 AM – part of the

ABC Local Radio ABC Local Radio is a network of publicly owned radio stations in Australia, operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ABC Local Radio stations broadcast across the continent using terrestrial transmitters and satellites. Its programm ...

network. Some stations from Dubbo and Orange also transmit into Parkes and the surrounding region. Television Parkes receives the following free-to-air television stations: * Seven, 7two,

7mate 7mate is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Seven Network on 25 September 2010. The channel contains sport and regular programs aimed primarily to a male audience, with programming drawn from a c ...

7flix 7flix is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Seven Network on 28 February 2016. 7flix targets a variety of viewers and offers drama, comedy, reality, docusoap, and movies. History On 18 Decembe ...

7Bravo 7Bravo is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Seven Network under license from NBCUniversal International Networks on 15 January 2023. The channel contains programming from NBCUniversal's Americ ...

–

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

owned channels. * Southern Cross 10, 10 Bold Drama, 10 Peach Comedy,

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

, Sky News Regional –

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's Paramount Networks UK & Australia, UK & Australia division and is o ...

affiliated channels. *

WIN Television WIN Television is an Australian television broadcasting, Australian television network owned and operated by WIN Corporation that is based in Wollongong, New South Wales. WIN commenced transmissions on 18 March 1962 as a single television stat ...

9Go! 9Go! is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Nine Network on 9 August 2009, replacing Nine Guide. It is a youthful channel that offers a mix of comedy, reality, general entertainment, movies, anima ...

9Gem 9Gem is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, launched by the Nine Network in September 2010. The channel provides general entertainment and movie programming, from which the original name "GEM" is derived. History The la ...

9Life 9Life is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel owned by Nine Entertainment. The channel airs mostly foreign lifestyle and reality programs, with the channel having a licensing agreement with Discovery Inc. (previously Scr ...

–

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

affiliated channels. *

Special Broadcasting Service The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public broadcasting, public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from tax revenue. SBS operates six TV channels (SBS (Australian TV chann ...

, SBS, SBS Viceland,

SBS Food SBS Food (formerly Food Network) is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). The channel airs programs about food and cooking, from cultures around the world. History SBS first ...

, SBS WorldWatch, SBS World Movies,

NITV National Indigenous Television (NITV) is an Australian free-to-air television channel that broadcasts programming produced and presented largely by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It includes the six-day-a-week ''NITV News Updat ...

* ABC Television, ABC,

ABC Family American cable television, cable and satellite television network Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through four different owners and six different name changes dur ...

, ABC Kids,

ABC Entertains ABC Entertains is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was launched on 4 December 2009 as a children's channel called ABC3. It was rebranded on 19 September 2016 to ABC ME. It rebra ...

ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...

. Newspapers There are two local newspapers servicing Parkes. * ''The Parkes Champion-Post'' is published on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It is owned by

Australian Community Media Australian Community Media (ACM) is a media company in Australia responsible for over 160 regional publications. Its mastheads include the '' Canberra Times'', '' Newcastle Herald'', '' The Examiner'', '' The Border Mail'', '' The Courier'' an ...

. * ''Th
Parkes Phoenix
' is a free weekly paper that is published on Fridays. It is part of the independently owned Phoenix Group of papers.

Notable people

* Billy Burns, rugby league player * Dianna Corcoran, country music singer * Stephen Davies, field hockey player, 1996 Olympian * Tommy Emmanuel, guitarist – completed his school education in Parkes * Ian Evans, historian and writer * David Field, actor * Trixie Gardner, Baroness Gardner of Parkes – the first Australian woman to have been elevated to the peerage (1981) * Bryson Goodwin, Australian rugby league footballer * Mike Leary, rugby league player * Ben Lovett, rugby league player * Greg McGirr, NSW Labor politician and father of Trixie Gardner * Jim McGirr, NSW Labor politician, 28th

Premier of New South Wales The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster system, Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales actin ...

Patrick McGirr Patrick Michael McGirr (25 December 1874 – 13 April 1957) was an Australian politician. He was born in Parkes, New South Wales, Parkes to farmer John Patrick McGirr and Mary O'Sullivan, and was educated at St. Joseph's Convent. He left sch ...

, NSW Labor politician * Darby Medlyn, Australian rugby league footballer * Harry 'Breaker' Harbord Morant (1864–1902), Anglo-Australian drover, horseman, bush poet, military officer and convicted war criminal * David Nash, linguist * Will H. Ogilvie (1869–1963), Scottish-Australian horseman and bush poet and balladist * James Pritchard, International Rugby player, Rugby World Cup Representative * Gordon Watson, pianist * Scott Westcott, marathon runner, 2016 Olympian * Mariah Williams, field hockey player, 2016 & 2020 Olympian

Festivals

Parkes hosts the annual Parkes Elvis Festival. It is held in early January to celebrate

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

's birthday and to boost tourism.

Gallery

File:Parkes Billabong Creek 001.JPG, Parkes Billabong Creek File:Parkes Bushmans Dam 001.JPG, Parkes Bushmans Dam File:Parkes Bushmans Hill Reserve 001.JPG, Parkes Bushmans Hill File:Parkes Elvis Memorial.JPG, Elvis Memorial File:Parkes Shrine Of Remembrance 001.JPG, War Memorial File:Parkes Court House 005.JPG, Court House File:Parkes Henry Parkes Statue Front 001.JPG, Henry Parkes Statue File:Parkes Heraghty Park 001.JPG, Heraghty Park File:Parkes Mazoudier Park 001.JPG, Mazoudier Park File:Parkes TAFE Campus.JPG, Parkes TAFE College

References

External links

Parkes – VisitNSW
{{authority control The annual Elvis festival is discussed in detail in relation to the performances involved and its impact on the town and its vicinity in John Connell and Chris Gibson, Outback Elvis. The story of a festival, its fans and a town called Parkes (New South, Sydney, 2017). Towns in New South Wales Towns in the Central West (New South Wales) Newell Highway Parkes Shire Populated places established in 1853 Mining towns in New South Wales