Remembering Sam Neill and his connection to Parkes

Sam Neill, the star of the classic Australian comedy-drama The Dish set in Parkes, has died at the age of 78. His family shared the news of his passing in Sydney on Monday on social media. "The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer free," the statement posted to his Instagram account, said. Rising to fame in 1977, starring in his first leading role in an Australian feature film in My Brilliant Career in 1979 and achieving global stardom in the 1993 blockbuster Jurassic Park, many Parkes residents who were fortunate enough to be extras in The Dish or who worked on set, would fondly remember Neill's time in Parkes. The movie tells the story of the Parkes Observatory's key role in relaying live television images of Neil Armstrong taking his first steps on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, Neill playing the role of Cliff Buxton, the lead scientist at the Parkes Radio Telescope, based on the real-life astronomer John Bolton who was the telescope's inaugural director. The Dish was released in October 2000 and became the top-grossing Australian film that year. While the film is set in Parkes, apart from the radio telescope scenes, the majority of the movie was filmed in Forbes because it retained more of its original 1960s historic architecture. It employed about 450 locals to work as extras to fill out the crowd and town scenes and another 50 locals for various technical and logistical production jobs, including camera assistance, transport, traffic redirection, and set construction. The Dish marked its 25th anniversary last year. Neill was diagnosed with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare blood cancer, in early 2022 but entered remission in late 2023 after a rare anti-cancer drug worked. He announced in April he was cancer-free. Australia's national science agency CSIRO, who owns and operates the Parkes Radio Telescope, were among many around the world to turn to social media on Monday afternoon to share their condolences following the loss of "one of the greats". "For many, the actor from New Zealand/Aotearoa introduced them to the world of science," CSIRO said in a Facebook post. "Maybe it was palaeontology in Jurassic Park, robotics in Bicentennial Man, space exploration in Event Horizon, or even the unlikely role of Australian scientists in the successful Apollo 11 mission in The Dish. "Our heart goes out to Sam’s family, friends, and any others impacted by his passing. His legacy lives on in his remarkable career, life, and in the stories he told through film." The Dish is a great place to be this weekend for the 2026 CWAS AstroFest. In an effort to foster, encourage and promote astronomy in the region, the Central West Astronomical Society is holding its annual festival of astronomy. AstroFest will incorporate a one-day conference at the Bushman’s Motor Inn on Saturday and Sunday events will move to the Parkes Observatory Visitors Centre with a free program of daytime astronomy and talks. For more information and to register visit https://www.cwas.org.au/astrofest/.