Looking to travel west? There are plenty of great things to do in the Central-Western NSW town of Parkes.
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Gawk at the Dish
Parkes has had The Dish — aka the Parkes Radio Telescope or the Parkes Observatory — for nearly 60 years and it played a crucial role in covering the Apollo 11 moon landing on July 20, 1969.
But it really didn’t become iconic until a film called The Dish was produced in 2000, with Parkes’s role in that coverage as main focus.
The movie may have been largely fictional but The Dish was front and centre from that moment on.
I’m told by my cab driver that you certainly can’t play cricket in it, but that they certainly did override the safety mechanism that would have prevented it fulfilling its Apollo 11 coverage because of high winds.
It’s about 25 kilometres from Parkes but well worth the drive. Visit www.parkes.atnf.csiro.au.
Visit the Parkes Centre
This is on the edge of the city and doubles as a tourist information centre.
It commemorates Sir Henry Parkes, long-standing Premier of NSW and widely recognised as ‘The Father’ of Australian Federation.
It’s home to a general historical museum, an excellent motoring museum, a collection of antique machinery and the King’s Castle Elvis exhibition.
Admire the Henry Parkes statue
Parkes was founded in 1853 as the settlement of Currajong, but became known as Bushman’s after a local mine.
Sir Henry Parkes visited the area in 1873 and the locals were obviously mightily impressed; a few months later they named their town after him.
A huge statue has him proclaiming in the main street.
Coincidentally, the new statue of Elvis Presley in Cooke Park is by the same sculptor, Terrence Plowright.
Drive up Memorial Hill
At the top of Bushman Street find splendid views of the district and a distinctive 33-metre-high Shrine of Remembrance.
Spend some time strolling the Remembrance Walk and contemplating the Theatres-of-War Gardens.
Put on your blue suede shoes
And do try to scoot along to Parkes at least once for the Elvis Festival.
It really is good fun, even if you’re only a marginal Presley fan.
The five-day festival is held the second week of January to coincide with the King’s birthday.
The town really has embraced the occasion, but do make sure you have accommodation lined up.
Visit www.visitparkes.com.au.
– John Rozentals
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