Congratulations to the 2022 Parkes Shire Australia Day Award recipients.
PARKES
Citizen of the Year – Hedley Nicholson, OAM
Hedley Nicholson has given his time selflessly to the Parkes community for more than 50 years. He has dedicated more than half of his life to the Parkes Tennis Club, undertaking President and Vice President roles as well as a committee member during this time. Hedley mows, sprays weeds, cleans and repairs the courts and fixtures, maintains the Clubhouse, the bathrooms, fencing and painting. In the early days when the courts were all made of ant bed surface, Hedley would bag, water, bag, roll and mark 11 courts four days a week for competition play. This volunteer work, which equates to more than $1 million has not only enabled the Club to keep costs low for the players, but also took enormous pressure off Parkes Shire Council to invest in resources to maintain the facility. Born and bred in Parkes, Hedley’s parents had both died by the time he was just 13 years old. Consequently, it was these humble and arduous beginnings at the receiving end of much charity and goodwill of others in his community, that has instilled an unyielding desire to give back to his town and its people.
Young Citizen of the Year – Darcey Hoyle
Darcey is an outstanding young citizen who has raised the profile of the LGBTIQA+ communities and climate change within Parkes High School and the wider community. Although they humbly claim to just be part of the team, Darcey was the chief organiser of the Parkes School Strike for Climate and the “Wear it Purple” day, in support of young people who identify as sexually or gender diverse. Darcey is also a talented and gifted student receiving numerous awards including Dux of PHS for 2021, ADF Long Tan Youth Leadership Teamwork Award and Excellence in Public Speaking. They are an active member of the Parkes M & D Society and teacher at Parkes Dance Co.
Community Event/Group of the Year – Parkes & District Kennel Club Agility Trial
The Parkes and District Kennel Club’s Annual Agility Trial was held in April 2021 and was a huge success with close to 1,000 runs over the two-day event. Handlers and their dogs travelled from all over NSW, ACT, South Australia and Victoria. The event was a huge success and was highly entertaining for the many community members who came to watch the dogs and handlers in action in the agility and jumping competitions. The event ensured the people who attended stayed from 2-4 nights in Parkes, injecting visitor income into the local community.
Marie Bashir Academic Award – Monique O’Toole
Monique O’Toole is a motivated student who completed the Certificate II in Business course at Parkes TAFE during the tumultuous year of 2021. Monique started the course by attending face-to-face classes but was then asked to work on units independently when the COVID-19 lockdown occurred in April. Monique was supported flexibly but her commitment and dedication to her studies saw her successfully complete the course by the year’s end. During this time, Monique also managed to obtain part-time work with the Parkes Shire Council and, from October, also works at the Parkes Council Swimming Pool. Monique is a delightful, polite and very capable young lady; she is a credit to her age group and the youth of Parkes.
Environmental Award – Kokoda Biodiversity Offset Project – CMOC-Northparkes Mines
In 2014, CMOC-Northparkes Mines (Northparkes) purchased 350 hectares of open grassland and dense woodland at Mandagery and set out to restore 37.3 hectares of the degraded grassland to a Grey Box grassy woodland community. Northparkes partnership with Skillset Landworks to undertake land preparation activities and the installation of 18,000 tubestock across the specific target area over the last 18 months. Northparkes has committed to the ongoing maintenance of the tubestock to ensure their success and establishment at the biodiversity offset.
Junior Environmental Citizen Award – Alicia Rivett
Alicia is a senior member and leader of the Eco Kids group at Parkes East Public School and a passionate advocate for helping the environment and educating her peers and teachers to become a more sustainable school. During 2021, she took the initiative to run a number of programs at the school including the Return and Earn program, recycling the school drink containers and using the proceeds to fund environmental projects at
school, Bread Tags for Wheelchairs and the school vegetable garden. She has wonderful ideas and brings this creativity to school each week to encourage us all to do better for the environment.
Cultural Award Literary Award – Parkes in Photos of Years Gone By (Facebook Page)
The Facebook page Parkes in Photos of Years Gone Past has done amazing job of joining together past and present members of the Parkes community through the sharing of images of the past and present, news and comments. The group has over 8,000 members and continues to grow. It is run by a small group of administrators who moderate and share the wonderful images and information of the history of Parkes, the people, places and events.
Cultural Award – Performance – Jessica Kinsela
Jess has recently organised, choreographed and personally performed multiple dance items (both solo and a group) at the Parkes Dance Co Showcase as part of her Certificate IV in Dance Teaching and Management. She has created beautiful pieces showcasing different aspects of dance styles and demonstrating a myriad of technical, chorographical techniques in solo pieces, duo pieces and coordinating a group of dancers. She is to be applauded for her intricate, creative and expressive performance as well as recognised for her organisation and creation of soloists and group performances. She has done a beautiful job and we
would like to recognise her hours of hard work and her achievements in dance performance.
Cultural Award – Visual Arts – Helen Gray
Helen Gray is a talented visual artist working in multimedia, including oil painting, lino printing and drawing as well as silk screen printing, to mention a few. Helen is always prepared to offer her skills to others, always enthusiastic and supportive of other’s efforts.
Helen shares her talent will her local community in Trundle and has also given workshops to Tullamore. Helen held classes with the Trundle community to develop Public Art on the Trundle Library wall. Helen also participated in the Arts Festival providing her skills to the Parkes community.
Cultural Lifetime Achievement Award – Elsie Mahon
Elsie Mahon is a long serving member of the Parkes arts and creative community encouraging both young and old members of Parkes Shire to participate in the arts. She has
generously shared her skills, knowledge and time teaching within the community, often in a volunteer capacity, such as painting classes at the Southern Cross Village. She has taught many skills to community members such as pottery, painting, flower decorating, mosaics and many more creative pursuits for more than 40 years. If there is any need for assistance with arts and creative cultural events, Elsie is often the first to volunteer her time and skills, such as setting up exhibitions and displays, and judging at local shows. She has volunteered her time to community groups such as the Parkes M&D painting huge backdrops, and has been a passionate and dedicated member of the Parkes Pottery Group ensuring its ongoing success. Elsie is currently a member of the Parkes Community Arts Committee and actively supports the work of the Parkes Shire Arts Advisory Council.
Parkes Shire Sports Awards:
Sportsperson of the Year – Gabrielle Clyburn (Weightlifting)
Junior Sportsperson of the Year – Abigail Simpson (Hockey)
Team of the Year – Parkes Boars First Grade Rugby Union team
Senior Sportsperson or Team – Parkes Women’s Masters Hockey Team
Referee, Umpire or Official of the Year – Trevor Chatman (Cricket)
Coach, Trainer or Manager of the Year – Josh Miles (Rugby Union)
Long Service and Dedication Award – Dumesny Family (Craig, Tony, John & Michael)
Administrator of the Year – Jay Kross (Squash)
Ron Harrison Sports Bursary – Henry Kross (Squash) & Maddie Spence
PEAK HILL
Peak Hill Citizen of the Year – Beverley Elliott
Peak Hill Sportsperson of the Year – Ron and John Davis
Peak Hill Junior Sportsperson of the Year – Tiashayla Dawson
Peak Hill Community Service Appreciation Award – Peak Hill CanAssist Community
TRUNDLE
Trundle Australia Day Citizen of the Year – Digger Anderson
Trundle Sportsperson of the Year – William Taylor (Captain under 16 Forbes Magpies)
TULLAMORE
Due to the tragic start to 2022 in Tullamore with the loss of John O’Dea, there will be no Tullamore Australia Day Awards presented this year as a mark of respect.
BOGAN GATE
2022 Bogan Gate Flag Raiser – Amber Roach
Service to the Bogan Gate Community – Daniel Smith and Cooper Bond
