In 1817 a party led by John Oxley became the first Europeans to pass through the district.  In 1835 Major Thomas Mitchell camped just north of the present townsite, and wrote that the local Wiradjuri were intelligent, resourceful, sincere and possessed of an unaffected nature. It is likely that illegal squatters were in the district when Mitchell passed through, however the first official license for land was not issued until 1839.

Reef gold was located a little to the north of the present townsite by James Pugh in 1862. A tent city of 10,000 grew up as miners flocked to the area. The district was known as the ‘Currajong’ goldfield because of the large number of currajong trees in the vicinity. Reef mining continued until 1867.

Another gold rush occurred in 1871 when more gold deposits were discovered. One of the most important was Bushmans Hill Gold Mine, named after a Mr Bush who was one of the owners. The settlement which grew up around Bushmans Hill was known simply as Bushmans. 

Between 1871-1873 a staggering 1,400 kg of gold was produced in the area with as many as 30 stamper batteries working 24 hours a day. By 1899 Bushmans Goldmine was 370 m deep. The mine ceased operation in 1914. In 1947 the last gold mine in the area, the London, closed down.

The township grew rapidly with a hotel opening on the site now occupied by the Cambridge Hotel. It was followed by a Court of Petty Sessions, a second hotel, a bank, a Methodist Church and a public school. Henry Parkes, premier of the colony of New South Wales, visited in 1873. Subsequently the settlement of Bushmans was renamed Parkes.

Parkes was declared a municipality in 1883. The railway arrived in 1893 and was extended to Broken Hill  in 1927. 

The first wheat was grown 3 km north of Parkes in 1865 and a local flour mill had opened by 1871. In 1921 the first wheat silos were built at the railhead. The Mungincobie wheat terminal, covering 2 ha and holding 4 million bushels, was erected in 1952.

Between 1959-1961 the CSIRO built the first big-dish antenna radio telescope in the Southern Hemisphere. As well as being at the forefront of international understanding of what is out there in the world of space, it has become one of the area’s most enduring tourist attractions.  

In 1994 the first Elvis Festival was held. Today the five day event attracts over 18,000 people to the town and includes such unforgettable events as a Miss Priscilla Competition, an Elvis Street parade, an Elvis Gospel Service and, the centrepiece, an Elvis look alike competition.