His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley, Governor of New South Wales, and Mrs Linda Hurley, will be travelling to Parkes on January 12, to attend the iconic Parkes Elvis Festival.
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The annual festival which was first held in 1993, is set to attract more than 25,000 national and international visitors to the Central West this year.
“Linda and I are looking forward to visiting Parkes to attend festival events, engage with members of the local community and see first-hand the contribution this success story of New South Wales tourism makes to the region,” the Governor said.
The Vice Regal couple, who last visited Parkes in November 2015, have a strong commitment to engage with regional communities across New South Wales and a deep interest in the sustainability of towns and regional areas.
On Saturday morning, January 13, the Vice Regal couple will lead the Northparkes Mines Street Parade, and later in the morning, in Cooke Park, the Governor will officially unveil an Elvis statue, sculpted by Blue Mountains based artist Terrance Plowright.
On Saturday the Vice Regal couple will also attend the Festival’s Official Opening Ceremony.
On Sunday, January 14 the Governor and Mrs Hurley will visit the area’s other iconic tourism attraction, the CSIRO Parkes Radio Telescope, known locally as The Dish.
The Vice Regal couple will return to Government House Sydney on Monday, January 15.
Prior to his appointment as Governor, His Excellency served for 42 years in the Australian Army, concluding his service as the Chief of the Defence Force.
His Excellency was appointed a Companion within the Order of Australia in 2010 for eminent service to the Australian Defence Force, and had been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his leadership during Operation SOLACE in Somalia in 1993.
He is the 38th Governor of New South Wales and commenced his five year tenure in October 2014.
