Forbes is rich in history, but it takes much more than an online search to unlock its secrets.
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Two of those dedicated to uncovering and telling our town's stories have been named our Citizens of the Year.
Rex and Cheryl Barton are regarded as "go to" people when it comes to our local history: they are among the mainstays of the volunteer Forbes Family History Group and Forbes Museum.
They're also heavily involved in Forbes CanAssist, a cause they're both passionate about.
Forbes Family History Group fields queries from people all over the country seeking information on family connections in our region.
Rex and Cheryl's families have been in this shire for generations, and their connections with the Museum and Family History Group evolved from their own investigations.
In retirement they've expanded their involvement: Cheryl in the Family History Group and Rex first with the Museum then Family History.
The Family History Group receives enough queries - from all over the country - to keep its volunteers busy on the two days a week they're open, but Rex and Cheryl aren't just tracking down answers for the questions that come in, they're continuing to create resources on our local history.
Cheryl produces the quarterly Family History Group magazine full of research and information about Forbes: editions on local theatres or our show sure to bring back lots of memories but a way of life in our community that won't be remembered forever.
Renaming Brewery Lane from its origins was one of Cheryl's projects, one of Rex's has been collating histories on the no less than 23 brewery owners and 34 cordial manufacturers that have been in Forbes.
"We've just got so much history in this town, there's never a shortage of things to find out about," Cheryl says.
They're now exploring the cellars underneath our town centre - and the bricked up archways - and the location of the first Lachlan River crossing.
It will all join the resources that inform the researchers who work to find answers for those who reach out to this volunteer team every week to find out where their grandparents lived, or what their great great uncle did for a living.
They were even called upon to research a family connection of celebrity chef Matt Moran for SBS's Who Do You Think You Are?
"The interest in the history of Forbes is unreal," Rex says.
And no - you can't find it all online.
Volunteers - and there are some keen and skilled ones willing to go digging for this information - go to historic maps, scour births, deaths and marriage records, pour through family, business and other files painstakingly collated over many years by members of this group.
Of course the other home local history is our Forbes and District Museum, which Rex has been involved with for years as well.
Countless hours of volunteer labour have been invested in the historic Osborne Hall, first in renovating the upstairs portion to better display the many items in its collections, then in flood repairs.
"We pulled all the walls down, did the floor (the timber having been covered with tar paper), painted upstairs," Rex says.
But they barely had time to enjoy the results of that work when the flood came through and the hard work of removing mud and restoring the exhibits began again.
The Bartons became involved in Forbes CanAssist after Cheryl's own cancer diagnosis, running gates and selling tickets with all proceeds supporting locals having cancer treatment.
"It really proves that it's a top quality group when you're selling tickets or you're at the gate of the races, the rodeo, or something like that - and people come up and put a donation in your tin and say thank you for what you've done for my family," Rex says.
"You really think, the fundraising we're doing really helps the people of Forbes."
The Bartons were named our Citizens of the Year at our 2024 Australia Day awards dinner on January 25, and extended their thanks to those who nominated them as well as to Forbes Shire Council for a wonderful evening.
