Torch Relay: The Outback and Broken Hill
A beautiful sunny day greeted the Olympic Torch Relay as it left Parkes this morning on its way to Mildura for the lunchtime celebration. Rhonda Brain, Principal of Parkes Public School, was the first torchbearer for the day and proudly carried the torch past friends and school students.
Crowds of people went to the airport in Parkes as it was taken aboard a plane and headed for its final visit to Victoria. More than 15,000 people greeted the flame at Ornamental Lakes Park on the banks of the mighty Murray River and watched as Kylie Turton lit the cauldron.
Kylie has made an outstanding contribution to her school and community. She was a member and performed in the Duyen Dance Group, Drama Group, Duyen Brass Band, Tennis, Basketball and Netball clubs. Kylie has also competed in National Junior Athletics, was Junior Citizen of the Year 1991 and joint Young Citizen of 1998 with her twin sister Simone, who was also a Torchbearer.
The celebration in Mildura featured a land and water based theme and saw local groups participate in a mini-Olympics and put on an array of singing and dancing performances. The day also saw the first official performance of the Municipal Song, the result of a competition for professionals, amateurs and school students to write a song about the region.
This afternoon the Royal Flying Doctor Service will carry the flame to Broken Hill, a town renowned as an inspiration for artists, writers and film makers. On arrival in Broken Hill it will be taken to the Broken Hill Sculpture site, which is set on a mountain in the desert, for a formal greeting by local Aboriginal elders.
The torch will also be carried past the School of the Air, The Royal Flying Doctor Service, and past galleries of prominent artists Pro Hart and Jack Absolom. On its way to Sturt Park, site of the evening celebration, it will enter under an arch of Jumbo’s (giant underground drilling machines) and proceed down an honour guard of miners in full regalia.
Source: SOCOG Olympics.com