Parkes Mayor Ken Keith said he estimated it to be the biggest crowd yet.

“It was a wonderful night, with many people, young and old, families, all enjoying the atmosphere of the park and the carol singing,” he said.

“People were well spread out to get a position to enjoy the evening, which featured a huge candle as well.”

A feature of the night was the formal signing of the document declaring Parkes as a Refugee Welcome Zone.

Mayor Keith signed the declaration, and invited others to add their signattures.  In all, another 100 people signed the document which is now available at the Parkes Shire Administration Centre for others wishing to sign it.

“It was very fitting that the signing took place while our local Fijian and Samoan group were singing and dancing,” Cr Keith said.

“They were extremely popular with the large crowd.

“This document means we happily welcome people from all nations into our community. It’s intresting to note that Northparkes Mines has people from 20 different nationalities working out there.”

During the evening, Nancy Cayo spoke about moving to Parkes nine years ago.

She was born in Peru and said her move here had been a very positive experience.

Nicky Nixon who is associated with the Parkes Multi-Cultural Group also addressed the crowd, explaining that the group’s numbers were increasing.

They meet once a month.