Hear ye, hear ye, Parkes, home of the Parkes Elvis Festival hears from Australia's top town criers.
Nine town criers from around the country took part in the National Town Crier championships in Parkes, with Gosford's Stephen Clarke being named Champion of Champions and winning the Best Cry category.
The town criers showcased their skills, performing a home cry about their hometown and a host cry centered around a theme related to the host town.
This year, the host cry was centred around the theme of "The Elvis Capital of Australia".
Host crier Tim Keith said the championships were really good, with a good quality of skills displayed.
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Mr Keith said the quality of the entrants were very high, and across Australia, the standard of town criers are quite high in general.
With five judges across the day, the town criers were judged on their poise, bearing, accuracy, volume, clarity and content.
Mr Keith said each cry with has to consist of between 100 and 125 words, which are counted by a judge.
One of the judges looks at poise, bearing and confident, a second judge focuses on volume and clarity, while a third judge, who sits with his back to the town crier, focuses on content and accuracy.
Mr Keith said the town criers have to submit a copy of the cries they will be doing and they must undertake it word for word or they lose points.
A fourth judge focuses on the town criers' uniform and scroll and looks at how the colours of the uniform fits within their area.
A fifth judge monitors a decibel meter to record the loudest intelligible cry.
Joe McGrail-Bateup of Queanbeyan won the loudest cry category, recording a 96 decibels on the decibel meter.
Bob Townsend from the Southern Downs won the Best Scroll and Best Dressed Crier categories.
The Best Dressed Attendant category was awarded to Pauline Norman of Adelaide.
The Senior Section was won by Judith Campbell of Campaspe Shire.
To qualify for this championship, entrants must be a designated town crier from their shire or town and must have a letter of entry signed by their local mayor.
Mr Keith said by going to the championships, the town criers are not only representing their town or shire, but are also improving their skills.
Mr Keith said they would like to thank Parkes Shire Council for their support.
