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The message was loud and clear on Saturday morning: Parkes stands together.
This time led by our Wiradjuri community, a walk through the CBD in solidarity to protest against an Energy from Waste facility proposed for Parkes got people talking and kept the conversation going.
There were chants but it was the presence of an estimated 260 people that was much more powerful.
Its organisers said they had achieved what they set out to do.
Aunty Frances Robinson, a Traditional Owner from Peak Hill was the walk's main instigator, with help from Parkes Clean Future Alliance's Michelle Hando-Ross and Ben Stead, and she is firmly against the proposal, not just for her culture and people, and the land, but for the wider community too.
In March Parkes Energy Recovery announced plans to build a $1.5 billion Energy from Waste facility that will burn Sydney's rubbish and convert it into energy to the west of Parkes, within the Parkes Special Activation Precinct.
The 76-year-old extended the invitation to everyone in the Parkes Shire to join her and others on Saturday for a walk as 'one community' and 'one voice', and say no to the incinerator.
The crowd gathered with placards at the Sir Henry Parkes statue in Chamberlain Square and walked down Clarinda Street to Cooke Park - one couple even driving up from Wollongong to take part, they found out about the proposed incinerator after they purchased a block of land on the west side of Parkes.
Frances was thrilled with the response, saying that at one point a video live streaming the walk on Facebook reached 6100 views. It's now up to 13,000.
"It's excellent.. I'm really pleased, that they're talking about it," she said.
"It didn't matter who they were or where they're from... So to speak we're breaking bread and talking."
Frances attended a protest in Narromine four years ago against two incinerators initially proposed for the area at the time, because she said being in Peak Hill those were too close for comfort too.
Her motivation for taking a more public stance on the issue came after attending the 'No Parkes Energy from Waste incinerator' community information night at the Parkes Leagues Club on 26 July hosted by the Clean Future Alliance.
"I didn't see any Aboriginal people there," Frances said.
"There was never any consultation with any Aboriginal person on how this will affect us."
And after a meeting with Parkes Shire Council, she said "we just said no straight up".
"We don't have the essential services here in Parkes to deal with something like this," Frances said.
"I was gobsmacked.
"United we stand... We'll join forces with farmers who grow our food that enable us to eat."
Frances is concerned of the impacts on the medicinal plants they grow in Peak Hill, bush tucker and our river systems.
"While there is no water in the Bogan River or creek right now, that doesn't mean there won't be water there again, and we want that to stay clean water," she said.
And Frances mentioned the impact on their songlines - their vast, ancestral network of pathways connecting them to one another and important locations across the landscape.
"It's the movement of our ancestors and how they travelled," she said.
"My grandmother is my yesterday, I'm today's voice - my job is the conservation and preservation of who we are, and my granddaughter, she's to be our voice for tomorrow.
"We're all together in this and we fight this together.
"We will not clean up someone else's rubbish.
"I'm out in full force now."
Frances is the chairperson of the Peak Hill Local Aboriginal Land Council and on behalf of her board and members penned a formal letter to Members of Parliament in August voicing their concerns and opposing the proposed Energy from Waste facility.
Another planned gathering or two are in the pipeline, Frances said to watch this space for more details soon.
