Parkes, New South Wales

Parkes is a town in New South Wales, Australia. It is the main settlement in the Local Government Area of Parkes Shire. At the 2006 census, Parkes had a population of 9,826.

Parkes today
With the presence of the nearby Parkes Observatory, Parkes has had an important role in the scientific community. In addition to local research conducted at the radio telescope, Parkes scientists have assisted NASA for several missions as a Southern Hemisphere relay and communications station. (The movie The Dish was based somewhat loosely on the role the telescope played during the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing.)

A rich variety of farming is conducted in the region immediately surrounding Parkes, although the staple farming products are wheat and wool.

Parkes prides itself on its modernising ideology, historically and culturally. "The Dish", although set in Parkes, was largely filmed in Forbes' historic precinct. This is due to very few historic buildings remaining in Parkes.

The area is supported by a gold and copper mine, Northparkes, north of the town.

Parkes became a key country location after the completion of the railway in 1893, 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 days per week operation of a multi-modal transport facility.

FCL runs a significant intermodal operation at Gooobang Junction on Parkes' western outskirts. On 20 October 2006, Premier Morris Iemma opened Specialised Container Transport's intermodal terminal nearby on a 296 hectare site. It has 5 km of rail sidings, a 7,400 square metre warehouse and about 40 staff. An even larger terminal to be sited nearby is also being promoted.

The Roads and Traffic Authority of NSW has the Western Regional Office located in Parkes. Country Energy also is represented by a training and maintenance centre.

Main tourist attractions are the CSIRO Telescope 20 km North of town on the Newell Highway, 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.

History
Parkes was 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 1873 the town was renamed to Parkes in honour of Sir Henry Parkes, otherwise known as the "Father of the Federation". (Sir Henry Parkes is recognised in Australia as having played an instrumental role in Australia becoming a unified country.) the town was renamed to Parkes in honour of Sir Henry Parkes, otherwise known as the "Father of the Federation". (Sir Henry Parkes is recognised in Australia as having played an instrumental role in Australia becoming a unified country.)

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 nearby region.

Geography
Parkes is located on the Australian transcontinental railway line, and the Newell Highway linking Victoria to Queensland.

Transport
Parkes has a local bus service provided by Western Road Liners, which acquired Harris Bus Lines in March 2006. The Indian Pacific also stops twice a week, as well as the Broken Hill Outback Xplorer service, run by CountryLink, which heads to Broken Hill on Mondays and Sydney on Tuesdays. 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.

Born in Parkes District, NSW

 * Stephen John Davies (b. 1969), Australian field hockey player
 * David Nash, Linguist
 * James Pritchard, international rugby player
 * Scott Westcott, Commonwealth marathon runner

Festivals
Parkes hosts the annual Parkes Elvis Festival. It is held in early January to celebrate Presley's birthday and to boost tourism.