Dubbo

For the seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, see Electoral district of Dubbo.

Dubbo is a Local Government Area in the central-west of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre (population 39,000 as of 2004) in the area, its population having grown more than 60% since 1976. It is located at the intersection of the Mitchell Highway, the Newell Highway and the Golden Highway. Dubbo is located at 32.25°S 148.61°E / -32.25; 148.61, approximately 300 metres above sea level, 416 kilometres northwest of the state capital Sydney and is a major road and rail freight hub to other parts of New South Wales. Dubbo is considered the cross-roads of New South Wales. From there you can drive north to Brisbane, South to Melbourne, east to Sydney and Newcastle, and west to Broken Hill and Adelaide. Dubbo also has its own airport with daily flights to Sydney and Broken Hill.

Dubbo has one major newspaper, the Daily Liberal, a long-running AM station, 2DU, broadcasting on 1251 kHz, two major FM radio stations, Zoo FM broadcasting on 92.7 MHz, Star FM broadcasting on 93.5 and a Christian community station RhemaFM 94.3.

History

Evidence of habitation by indigenous Australians dates back approximately 40,000 years.

John Oxley was the first European to report on the area now known as Dubbo in 1818. The first permanent settler in the area was Robert Dulhunty, described as one of the wealthiest citizens in the Australian colony at the time. There are records of squatters being given permission to set up large sheep and cattle stations in the area in 1824 but these were not maintained. 1828 is commonly held to be the year that Dulhunty arrived and named the area "Dubbo" but some reports place his arrival between 1829 and 1833.

Dulhunty showed an affinity with indigenous Australians, his party included some 40 aborigines and he favoured using aborginal names for properties, including Dubbo. Dubbo is now thought to be a mispronunciation of the local Wiradjuri word "Thubbo" but because of a lack of precise records from Dulhunty at the time and an incomplete knowledge of the Wiradjuri langauage today there is some conjecture over the word's meaning. The most popular current theory is the word means "red earth" - any visitor to the area would quickly see evidence to back this observation. It is also possible that Thubbo is Wiradjuri for "head covering" - a theory put forward to support this name is that the shape of Dulhunty's house may have looked like a hat to the local people.

Dulhunty did not become a permanent resident at his Dubbo property until 1847. His move may have been prompted by a government decision in 1846 to establish a law enforcement presence in the area. By 1847 a crude slab police residence and lockup was built about 5km dowstream from the property. This angered Dulhunty but his protests went unheeded and a similar slab-style courthouse joined the police building in 1848. The fate of the original Dubbo property was probably sealed when Dulhunty could not reach an agreement with a French-born businessman, Jean Emile Serisier, who wanted to establish a store in the area. When the two fell out, Serisier built his store next to the lock-up in 1847. This would ultimately become the location of modern Dubbo and Dulhunty's estate was doomed to become known as "old Dubbo".

Dundullimal Homestead is a farmhouse from that period, built around 1840 by John Maugham on his 26,000 acre sheep station. The building is one of the oldest homesteads still standing in western NSW and today is open to visitors.

The settlement was gazetted as a village in November 1849 with the first land sales taking place in 1850. Population growth was slow until the Victorian gold rush of the 1860s brought an increase in north-south trade. Steady population growth saw the town proclaimed a municipality in 1872. The coming of the railway in 1881 resulted in another boom period and by 1897 Dubbo had a general store, Carrier arms, a slab courthouse, a jail and a police hut.

Town features

There are 18 schools and secondary colleges including the Dubbo school of distance education. Dubbo is home to one of the four main campuses of Charles Sturt University.

The city's largest employer is the Fletcher International Abattoir, which exports lamb to the world. Its second-largest employer is the Dubbo Base Hospital. The largest industry is tourism.

Dubbo features the open-range Western Plains Zoo, which is home to various species of endangered animals, including the white rhinoceros, and runs a successful breeding program for a number of endangered species. The zoo is home to native fauna and African safari-range specimens in spacious open-range moat enclosures.

Dubbo has a turf club, which incorporates a pony club, horse racing and organises shows and gymkhana. There are a few stables that offer board for horses and riding lessons. There is a riding school called Western Plains Riding Centre.

Dubbo is considered a major shopping centre for the surrounding rural areas in the Central and Far West of New South Wales. The major department stores of Myer and Harvey Norman, supermarkets and smaller specialty shops service customers from up to 500 km away.

The town is served by the daily CountryLink XPT train service, which runs to Sydney.

Dubbo Show

The annual agricultural "Show", held around April/May of each year, is a major event for Dubbo and surrounding areas. This event is held at the local Dubbo showgrounds.

=Hobbies in Dubbo

The Dubbo Ballet Studio was started in 1934 and celebrated its 70th birthday in 2004, there open jazz group came second in the McDonalds Challege in Sydney were they danced at the opera house.

Dubbo City Council

The Dubbo City Council staffs around 250 permanent employees, and is responsible for the city and surrounding areas. The Civic Administration Building is located on the corner of Darling and Church Streets and now has a "One Stop Shop" for all customers of the council. Dubbo City also includes the villages of Eumungerie, Mogriguy, Brocklehurst and Wongarbon.

External links

• DubboOnline.com Online guide to the City of Dubbo
• dubbo.org Information for visitors including parks, places to eat, places for families and tourist attractions
• www.dubbo.com.au Dubbo business directory
• Dubbo on Google Maps Satellite imagery of the City of Dubbo

Countrylink Western
Geurie	↔	Dubbo

32°15′S 148°36′E