Outback Elvis: Riding with the King in Parkes, Australia

Abstract

Outback Elvis:Riding with the King in Parkes, Australia Gretchen Wood (bio) Click for larger view View full resolution Aboard the CountryLink Elvis Express, Australia's Channel Nine News interviews Ross Mancini, an Elvis tribute artist from Sydney. [End Page 98] For the past twenty years, Australian fans have gathered in Parkes, New South Wales, to celebrate Elvis Presley's birthday. Since the initial gathering of two hundred, hosted by Bob and Anne Steel at their Gracelands banquet hall, the CountryLink Parkes Elvis Festival has turned into a community-wide effort, and attendance has mushroomed to 18,000, nearly double the town's population. But why Elvis? He never traveled to Australia; nonetheless, this agricultural and mining town approximately 200 miles west of Sydney stakes a sizeable chunk of its annual economy on celebrating the Mississippi-born icon of American rock and roll. Free of the gravitas involved in a memorial festival like Elvis Week in Memphis, the scheduling around Presley's birthday induces a celebratory atmosphere and encourages men to don the Elvis jumpsuit. After all, as festival founder Anne Steel says, "Elvis was a bloke." The Parkes festival also tends to encourage a more conservative or wholesome image of Elvis, and yet the various depictions create the festival's gonzo feel that is rich with an uncalculated, homespun hospitality. Most of all, the event creates a place for Elvis fans in Australia to celebrate the birth of the King of Rock and Roll without having to leave the continent. The festival's growth is a sure sign that Elvis's popularity continues to reverberate globally. Last year, after the Friday, January 13th, arrival of the Country-Link Elvis Express from Sydney, Elvis tribute artists performed onstage for a crowd in Cooke Park through the weekend. Elvis buskers lined Clarinda Street, which also served as the route for the Elvis parade. Shops featured Elvis window displays; couples renewed their marriage vows before an Elvis wedding celebrant; and even the statue of Sir Henry Parkes, the town's namesake, sported Elvis's seventies-era sunglasses. [End Page 99] Click for larger view View full resolution [End Page 100] Click for larger view View full resolution Elias (opposite, top), Australia's representative at the 2011 Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist contest, performs in Sydney Central Railway Station before passengers board the CountryLink Elvis Express train to Parkes, New South Wales. On-board the Express, things heat up for a rapturous fan (opposite, bottom), and later another adoring fan poses with Elvis tribute artist Paul French (above). [End Page 101] Click for larger view View full resolution [End Page 102] Click for larger view View full resolution Opposite: Elvii greet the Elvis Express in Parkes and stroll past Elvis Central, an outlet for costumes and festival souvenirs. Above: The Confederate battle flag was a common sight in Parkes and included this one, customized with the pop icon's face. A statue of town founder Sir Henry Parkes even donned Elvis shades. [End Page 103] Click for larger view View full resolution [End Page 104] Click for larger view View full resolution Opposite: Pricillas pose for photographs on their parade float, and an Elvis with mad hair waves to crowds during the Elvis parade. Above: The Elvis parade rolls past Dimmeys, Australia's iconic variety chain store. [End Page 105] Click for larger view View full resolution [End Page 106] Click for larger view View full resolution Opposite: Celebrant Andrew "Elvis" Appleby (top) conducts the annual renewal of marriage vows for about thirty couples. Brides (bottom) line up before an Elvis wedding celebrant. Above: Elvii—and Elvettes—are everywhere. [End Page 107] Click for larger view View full resolution Married thirty years, Allison and Dick Howlett of Parkes share a kiss after renewing their vows. [End Page 108] Click for larger view View full resolution Above: Gnarnayarrahe Waitairie (left), an Elvis tribute artist of Aboriginal descent, greets fans before the karaoke competition, and, in Cooke Park, Elias (right) strikes a pose for the crowds. Click for larger view View full resolution Below: CountryLink representative Cameron Nichols (left) poses with fans, and the winner of the junior division in busking, Bailey Sutcliffe (right), performs...