Peter and Vicki's Travel Blog: Bushrangers and Statesman in Canowindra, Eugowra and Parkes.

We headed out of Canowindra, after a chilly start to the morning, and ventured into another fantastic day.

Eugowra was our first stop, 30 kms from Canowindra. Eugowra was made famous by the infamous Frank Gardiner and his gang, including Ben Hall. They carried out Australia's largest gold robbery at Eugowra Rocks (Escort Rock), ambushing and robbing the Forbes-Orange Cobb and Co Coach on 15 June, 1862. The bushrangers stole 3,700 pounds in cash and 77 kilos of gold. The town is presently being daubed in fantastic murals in readiness for the 150th anniversary of the hold-up on Saturday 16th June , 2012. They say that the ghost of Johnny Gilbert hangs around the door of the Historical Museum and Bushranger Centre! We were very impressed with the murals - very talented artists are doing amazing paintings on the buildings in town! Have a look........

It was then on to Parkes! This thriving commercial town began as a result of the gold rushes - the area was relatively unsettled until 1862 when the discovery of gold led to a hastily erected "canvas" town known as "Currajong" which was situated just up the hill from the present Information Centre on the edge of town. It accommodated thousands of hopeful gold seekers. The district became one of the richest gold producing areas in the colony when gold was discovered in 1871 at nearby Bushman's Gold Mine. As mining diminished farming became the future of the town.

In 1873 the then Prime Minister of New South Wales, showed his interest in the district by visiting the diggings. On December 1st,1873 the name of the settlement was changed from Bushmans to Parkes in honour of the great statesman. In 1887 Sir Henry Parkes visited again and gave the town the Fontana Bust which is displayed in the Parkes Shire Council. In the same year the main street of Parkes was changed to "Clarinda", Lady Parkes christian name. The interesting Henry Parkes Centre is next door to the Information Centre. Coventry in the UK, the birthplace of Sir Henry Parkes in 1815, is Parkes' sister city.

We got a surprise to see Elvis crooning away in the Information Centre when we wandered in! Parkes has become known as the "Elvis Capital of Australia" with the annual Parkes Elvis festival now attracting 15,000 visitors annually!

And of course Parkes is home to the nationally recognised icon, "The Dish"- which stands impressively in the middle of a sheep paddock! This is what we had come to see! We visited the prominent landmark - a 64 metre steel paraboloid balanced on top of a three story tower - and the Visitor Discovery Centre. The CSIRO Radio Telescope and Discovery Centre are 20 km north of Parkes, with a 5km detour off the Newell Highway. Well worth a visit! Learning about the role of the telescope and the astronomy information was fascinating.The 3D theatre, with its films containing pictures from the moons, stars, planets and the Milky Way galaxy opened up whole new worlds! Made me feel very, very , very small indeed! What a minuscule part we play!

From "The Dish" we cruised our way to Dubbo, our destination for the day.

EUGOWRA