Step back in time at Ironbark festival
My funny name is Alvi Age: 4 How old is a grown up? Favourite movie?
10
Trolls – it’s got a lot of boys in it and a lot of girls. There’s a lot of bergens, they try to eat the trolls
Favourite colour? Best friend?
Red because red is love and fire Shelby but he doesn’t go to this school anymore but he goes on the bus with me What are you really good at? Swinging myself on the swing, going on the bikes
Favourite game? Playstation, I press the big thing and then the right button and then left button and you get guns. There are baddies and leaders
What would you like to be when you grow up?
A fire person because I want to get out the fire. When there’s a fire they spray the fire with a fire gun, and when people are in the fire they take them to the ambulance.
– poo poo head Michael (laughs)
I’ve got a joke
MARCUS HANNEY is a ball of energy when it comes to promoting Stuart Town.
As president of the local Advancement Association, he keeps popping up around Dubbo to let all and sundry know there’s good stuff happening down south.
On Sunday, he was in Dubbo hanging up posters promoting Easter Saturday’s Man From Ironbark Festival.
Stuart Town changed its name from Ironbark in 1889 to reinvent itself thanks to a reputation for gold rush violence, but with the benefit of hindsight, you have to wonder how much that’s costing the local tourism economy. If its name was still Ironbark, the tourism potential would be immense given that one of Australia’s all-time classic bits of verse is Banjo Paterson’s poem “The Man from Ironbark”.
“The committee is hard at work with preparations for this year’s event. We’re a small volunteer community group that is definitely punching above its weight,” Marcus told Dubbo Photo News.
This year’s festival will feature, for the first time in the Central West of NSW, the ‘Canberra Dragon Dance’ Chinese Dragon & Lions. This group will lead the street parade and perform – A.B. ‘Banjo’ Paterson: “The Man from Ironbark”
a special presentation.
“China has a special connection with Stuart Town, because of the village’s Gold Rush history, and we’re really excited to have the Chinese Dragons and Lions appear this year,” he said.
More than 100 market stalls will set up to sell their wares and there’ll be plenty of food stores and displays.
Various exhibitions, demonstrations and entertainment will be on hand and one highlight will be a street parade.
A chocolate wheel and helicopter rides are also on the agenda and the Cobb and Co stage coach will be taking people for rides.
Adding to the colonial atmosphere, there will be special performances by the Lachlan Living Heritage Group.
To end the day, popular local entertainer Barry Dickerson, with the NATIONAL LIBRARY OF AUSTRALIA/ 136524579