My hat goes off to the organisers of the Shop in Parkes promotion held last Christmas, which apparently saw many millions go through it and 40,000 tickets printed.
This is yet another example of the forward-thinking nature of the people of Parkes and an explanation to why this town is going forward while some others are going backwards.
Many residents do not band together and this is why their communities go backwards.
But Parkes residents have done so and now have a town with many great services – the Dish, the National Logistics Hub, Northparkes Mines, Parkes Airport, Elvis Festival, good rail and road transport and good sporting facilities.
Banding together to survive is not actually a new concept in our great country. As I’ve written before, there has been the 1804 Castle Hill Rebellion, 1808 Rum Rebellion, 1854 Eureka Stockade, 1901 Federation, 1942 adoption of the Statute of Westminster and 1986 Australia Act which have all had defining impacts on our nation.
The difference between Parkes and metropolitan areas is the same difference between Australia and other countries: the residents of Parkes and Australia band together to help their mates out when the going gets tough.
When the drought got tough in Parkes, many residents could have chosen to simply move away and not establish the National Logistics Hub, Airport, Elvis Festival and the Shop in Parkes promotion. But they showed resolve and got on with the job.
The same goes with our history. There have been many instances where Australians could have simply laid down when they were downtrodden, but we have repeatedly shown our mettle when the going gets tough.
In Australia we can show our mettle with our deeds and words, not just by the circumstances we were born into and had absolutely no control over.
This is a fundamental difference between our society and Britain’s, for example. In Britain, there are many classes that someone can be grouped under. For example: Lord, Baron, Earl, Duke, Prince, King or commoner.
But here in Australia we are equal and we have the opportunity to do anything we want to.
Current Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, former PM John Howard and former Liberal Leader Malcolm Turnbull are a few of the many leading Australians who also happen to have convict ancestry. In Britain, convict ancestry would present more of a stain on these men than here in Australia.
Aussie wheelchair racer Kurt Fearnley, who can push a wheelchair faster than most of us can run, climbed Sydney’s Centrepoint Tower’s 1504 stairs in just 20 minutes and crawled the Kokoda Track in just 11 days.
Eight-year-old Sophie Delezio suffered third-degree burns to 85 per cent of her body and lost both of her legs in an accident, and then was hit by a car 2½ years later and thrown 18 metres – suffering a heart attack, broken jaw and shoulder bone, bruising, rib fractures and a tear to her left lung. But she pulled through and has now become a beacon of hope for many.
This is the difference between Australians and other nationalities. We don’t give up when the going gets tough.
And it’s the difference between Parkes and metropolitan areas. We don’t give up when a drought hits, or when a financial downturn comes along.
That’s what sets this great community apart.
Email a friend
Favourites
Del.icio.us
Facebook
Digg
StumbleUpon
MySpace
Reddit
Newsvine
LinkedIn
Kwoff
Twitter