My Bright Field

Parkes is also famous for its radio telescope which along with other Australian telescopes assisted in the moon walk coverage 50 years ago. Did you view the moon walk on that day?

I was at school.  Those from farms or who didn't have televisions at home (I was one of them) were assigned to places in town to watch.  I was with a bunch of schoolgirls at the headteacher's residence.

Parkes is home to several excellent museums.   Not surprisingly one of them is an Elvis museum with a wide selection of Elvis memorabilia.

There is also a local history museum, a car museum, a huge farm machinery museum and historic aircraft museum.

Here's an Elvis on door of the Royal Hotel.  Some of you will know that when I travel in the country I photograph Royal Hotels for my collection.  I was even interviewed on this quirky habit by the ABC once. (BTW they got my name wrong)

There are quite a few Royal Hotels in this area but I have travelled these parts before so didn't discover any new ones.

These days it is not Sir Henry Parkes that gets top billing in the town ... it's Elvis!

Back in 1993 some locals threw an Elvis party which had a couple of hundred people attend. It's now a major event with over 25,000 people descending on the town each January.

And there are Elvis sightings all over the place, even in July.  I had a bit of fun spotting some of them for you.





A book I have read recently No I have not read anything about Elvis or even rock 'n roll but I have read something with music at its heart Maestro by Peter Goldsworthy. In tropical Darwin (pre 1974 cyclone) a talented teenager studies piano with the Maestro, a refugee from Vienna - a fascinating story.

Sir Henry Parkes who's statue is is shown above was a key figure in the federation of Australia.

Parkes is quite a substantial town (population 11,000) that pre-dates federation in 1901 so I was wondering how the town's name came about.  Apparently it was known as Bushmans, after Bushman's Lead a gold mine in the area. Bushman's Lead post office opened in 1872 and was renamed to Parkes in 1873 in honour of Parkes who visited the area that year. The town grew up from there.

What's growing in my gardens right now?
It's Tuesday so time for a garden update.  At Kandos I have picked the last of the roses, we are harvesting citrus (yum) and I have begun pruning the fruit trees.  At Lawson winter iris and jonquils are in flower.

It is big sky country out this way. Some of the country is looking incredibly dry, some looking quite green and some ploughed and planted.

A poem for today
The Brain is Wider than the Sky by Emily Dickinson