The Henry Parkes Centre
Located on Newell Highway (North)
The Henry Parkes Centre is a modern tourism complex and cultural precinct located on the northern side of town, incorporating 4 museums and the Parkes Visitor Information Centre.
The Henry Parkes Centre is a modern tourism complex and cultural precinct located on the northern side of town, incorporating:
- Parkes Visitor Information Centre
- The King's Castle Elvis Exhibit
- Parkes Motor Museum
- Moat Cottage Replica
- Henry Parkes Museum
- Antique Machinery Collection
Call into the Visitor Information Centre to have your photo taken with a life-sized Elvis, learn more about the area, grab a free map, a cold drink or ice cream and a Parkes souvenir to commemorate your trip.
The King's Castle Elvis Exhibit and Parkes Motor Museum adjoin the Visitor Information Centre and one pass gains entry to both of these impressive collections.
A separate admission gains you access to the Henry Parkes Museum and Antique Machinery Collection featuring exhibits from traditional family history collections and agricultural machinery and equipment.
The King's Castle
The Kings Castle is a collection of Elvis' personal artefacts owned by Greg Page, well known as the original 'Yellow Wiggle'.
The King's Castle's exhibition - "Walk A Mile In My Shoes - A Day in the life of Elvis Presley". This interactive exhibit is designed to try and bring to you some of the highs and lows that Elvis Presley encountered throughout his life and career. As you experince the new audio-visual journey, you will see genuine artefacts from Elvis' homes and items he wore or used on stage.
Parkes Motor Museum
The Parkes Motor Museum is an impressive collection of motor vehicles owned by the Parkes Antique Motor Club and represents all heritage motoring eras with up to 24 cars, 10 motorcycles and other motoring memorabilia. Items on display are either the property of individual Club Members or have been loaned from private collections.
Star attractions include:
- 1914 Alldays and Onions, one of only 3 Alldays in Australia,
- 1940 Holden bodied Oldsmobile Convertible
- 1986 Jaguar XJ6 Paris Show display car, on loan from Coventry UK.
Moat Cottage Replica
This building is a replica of the Moat Cottage where Australian Statesman and 'Father of Federation' Sir Henry Parkes (1815 - 1896) was born in Canley, Country Warwickshire, near the city of Coventry, England. The original Moat Cottage is thought to be constructed in the 17th Century and still stands.
This replica of Moat Cottage reflects the humble beginnings of Sir Henry Parkes and serves as a symbol of Australia's oldest Sister City link between Parkes and Coventry (1938). Parkes was named in honour of the great statesman, changing it's name from Bushmans to Parkes in 1873.
You can learn all about Sir Henry Parkes at the theatre experience in Moat Cottage, it tells the story of Sir Henry Parkes and his connection to Parkes, the production goes for 20 minutes and it’s free!
Henry Parkes Museum & Antique Machinery Collection
The Henry Parkes Museum & Antique Machinery Collection is owned and managed by the Parkes & District Historical Society. The Henry Parkes Museum and Antique Machinery Exhibit depict early life in Parkes through objects, photos and historical information. The site houses a collection of historic buildings along with many other items of significance including:
- Wooden schoolhouse & two churches
- Blacksmith shop
- Silver City Comet carriage
- 45 tractors, all of which have been restored and in working order
- Over 10,000 ephemeral items
The Parkes and District Historical Society has been enormously successful in assembling this large collection of items from the region of which the majority have been donated by the local community.
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