Parkes is home to the nationally recognised icon, ‘The Dish’ and has become more recently known as the ‘Elvis capital of Australia’.
356 km west of Sydney in country NSW, Parkes is a thriving rural and commercial centre. The town has a rich agricultural and mining history displayed in museums and at various historic sites.
Parkes was originally founded in 1853 as the settlement Currajong, named for the abundance of kurrajong trees, but was then known as Bushman’s (from the local mine named Bushman’s Lead).
In August 1873, Henry Parkes (later Sir Henry) visited the area and in December the town was officially renamed Parkes in his honour.
Parkes attracted significant attention during the gold rush of the 1870s onwards, and even to this day modern mining companies still have sites in the region.
One of the strongest reasons why families and businesses are attracted to relocating to Parkes Shire is its geographical location. Parkes is literally the crossroads of the Nation with the Newell Highway, connecting Brisbane and Melbourne, and the transcontinental railway linking the eastern seaboard to Perth, meeting in Parkes to form a unique logistics opportunity for Australia. Over 80% of the Australian population can be reached by road within 12 hours from Parkes.
Parkes has a thriving social calendar with the highlight being the popular Parkes Elvis Festival, which takes place annually on the second weekend in January, and attracts 15,000 visitors annually with Elvis impersonators from far and wide.
See historic civic buildings in the area around Currajong and Court streets and learn about the gold-rush era on a walk through the remains at Bushman’s Hill goldmine.
Take a hike through Goobang National Park, where you can enjoy great views over the surrounding countryside from Caloma Trig lookout. You’ll also find panoramic views of the town from the top of Parkes Memorial Hill.
Useful facts
Size : 1708 km2
Population : 12,000
Climate : Parkes has a warm temperate climate, with significant temperature variations between summer and winter. Average temperature range is 16° to 32 °C in summer and 4° to 16°C in winter. The average annual rainfall is 588mm. Parkes is considerably sunny, with around 135 clear days a year.
Transport
Road: 290km from Canberra, 357km from Sydney and 730km from Melbourne
Rail: Sydney and Perth weekly
Airport: Parkes
Local: Western Road Liners offers a town bus service.
Education
Employment
Parkes Shire has six key economic strengths: mineral resources, agriculture, retail activity, government services, tourism and transport. Parkes is developing as an important inland hub of Australia’s transport network.
Search for jobs in Parkes
Dining
From authentic Australian meals to international cuisine and value for money bistros, Parkes has a range of dining that extends across all age groups, tastes and budgets. You’ll find all sorts of fresh produce and products from the region including wine, olive oil, condiments and seasonal fruits and vegetables.
Sport
Sporting facilities to earn the admiration of the most discerning enthusiast are found in Parkes. These include a gas/solar heated Olympic Swimming Pool, an 18 hole grass-green Golf Course, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Little Athletics and AFL ovals, Synthetic Hockey Field, 3 turf wicket ovals for Cricket, 15 synthetic Tennis Courts, Squash, Basketball and Netball complexes, 2 Bowling Clubs, Racecourse, Trotting Track, Soccer Fields, Aero Club, Archery, Paintball and various forms of shooting ranges.
Arts and culture
Parkes’ magnificent performance theatre complex known as Little Theatre is centrally located in Bogan Street, across from the Parkes Shire Library & Exhibition Centre and Council’s Administration Centre. The revamped complex offers residents and visitors a modern, state-of-the-art theatre. Performances are primarily provided by the Parkes Musical & Dramatic Society, and also visiting performers and playwrights.
Arts OutWest promotes, facilitates and advocates for arts and cultural development for the communities of the Central West of NSW including Parkes. It is supported by the NSW government through Arts NSW, the local council and by Charles Sturt University.
Parkes Shire is also home to a diverse range of tourism attractions that will appeal to the whole family including the world famous Parkes Radio Telescope ‘The Dish’, the newly established Henry Parkes Centre tourism complex and the Peak Hill Open Cut Experience.
Aboriginal Culture
The Wiradjuri are the largest Aboriginal group in New South Wales. They occupy a large area in central New South Wales, from the Blue Mountains in the east, to Hay in the west, north to Nyngan and south to Albury: the South Western slopes region.
The Wiradjuri tribal area has been described as “the land of the three rivers, the Wambool later known as the Macquarie, the Kalare later known as the Lachlan and the Murrumbidgee, or Murrumbidjeri. The Murray River forms the Wiradjuri’s southern boundary, the change from woodland to open grassland form their eastern boundary.
Occupation of the land by the Wiradjuri can be seen by carved trees and campsite remainders. Carved trees are more commonly found around the Macquarie and Lachlan rivers in the north rather than the Murrumbidgee in the south. Campsites, which indicate regular seasonal occupation by small groups, have been found on river flats, open land and by rivers.
There were differences in dialect in some areas, including around Bathurst and near Albury. The Wiradjuri are identified as a coherent group as they maintained a cycle of ceremonies that moved in a ring around the whole tribal area. This cycle led to tribal coherence despite the large occupied area.
Official Parkes website
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