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Dubbo
Profiles
Of The Month: Walk For
Julian - 20th May 2008 Kym
Patricia Coon
Dubbo
is a city in the Central West Region of New South
Wales, Australia. It is the largest population
centre in the Central West/Orana regions with
a population of over 34,000 at the time of the
2006 census, having grown more than 60% since
1976 and serves a catchment of 130,000. It is
located at the intersection of the Mitchell, Newell
and Golden highways. Dubbo is located approximately
275 m (902 ft) above sea level, 416 km (258 mi)
west-north-west 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.
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 Aboriginal 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 language today there is some
conjecture over the word's meaning. A popular
current theory is the word means "red earth,"
consistent with the local landscape. 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.
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. The first bank was opened in
1867. Steady population growth saw the town proclaimed
a municipality in 1872, when its population was
850. 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 gaol and a police hut. Dubbo was officially
proclaimed a city in 1976.
Economy
The
city's largest employer is the Fletcher International
Exports[citation needed], which exports lamb to
the world. Other local industries reflect the
city's status as a regional base in an area whose
economic backbone is agricultural.
Its
second largest employer is the Dubbo Base Hospital,
and "health services" are the local
area's largest employer, as the town provides
medical services to the surrounding region.
Retail
Dubbo
is also considered a major shopping centre for
the surrounding rural areas in the Central and
Far West of New South Wales. Dubbo has many shopping
districts including, but not limited to, the large
Orana Mall (East Dubbo), Macquarie and Talbragar
Streets (City Centre), Centro Dubbo and Tamworth
Street local stores (South Dubbo). The major department
stores of Target, Myer, Big W and Harvey Norman,
supermarkets and smaller specialty shops service
customers from up to 500 km away.
Tourism
Tourism
is also a significant local industry. Dubbo features
the open-range Western Plains Zoo, which is home
to various species of endangered animals, including
the White, Black and Indian Rhinoceros', and runs
a successful breeding program for a number of
endangered species. The zoo is home to numerous
specimens from around the world in spacious open-range
moat enclosures, grouped according to their continent
of origin. Other town attractions include the
historic Dundullimal Homestead and the historic
Old Dubbo Gaol in the middle of the commercial
centre of Macquarie Street. The recently opened
Western Plains Cultural Centre includes four gallery
exhibition spaces, two Museum exhibition spaces
and a Community Arts Centre.
Education
There
are 20 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 which is located next the Dubbo
College Senior Campus.
Geography
The
Macquarie River runs through Dubbo, as does Troy
Creek.
Notable people
Jean
Emile Serisier was Dubbo's first businessman and
the leader. He held many important positions including
Post Master, Justice to the Gaol and was Magistrate
from 1862 [5]. He is also credited with works
to advance the town including schools, Catholic
Church, bridge (named after him) and Hospital.
Architecture
Dubbo
has several fine examples of Victorian civic architecture
including the (second) Courthouse (1887), the
Lands Office with its use of timber and corrugated
iron cladding, and the striking railway station.
Towards the centre of the city the older residential
areas contain numerous examples of red brick houses
built in the "California Bungalow" style
of the early 20th century, together with Victorian
terraced houses (Mostly in the Darling Street
area) and a few Edwardian semi-detached homes.
Transport
Dubbo
is served by the daily CountryLink XPT train service,
which runs to Sydney. Dubbo also has its own recently
upgraded airport, Dubbo Airport, with daily flights
to Sydney (Qantas, REX, Airlink), Broken Hill
(REX and Airlink), and other small out back New
South Wales towns (Airlink). Buses also service
Dubbo, with major runs to Sydney, Melbourne and
Brisbane.
Media
Local
print media include:
* The Daily Liberal
* The Weekly Dubbo Photo News
* The Weekly Mailbox Shopper
Dubbo
is home to the Rural Press Central West Regional
Hub, which prints many of Rural Press’s
local newspapers from across the state in the
city. Regional Business magazine is also printed
locally.
Radio
is served well in the city boasting 3 commercially
licensed radio stations:
* Star FM FM Pop/Hit Music Station which broadcasts
on FM 93.5
* 2DU Local heritage AM station which broadcasts
on AM 1251.
* Zoo FM FM Rock Music Station which broadcasts
on FM 92.7
Dubbo
has 4 ABC Radio stations; ABC Local, ABC Radio
National, Triple J and ABC Classic FM. The city
also has narrowcast stations on 90.3 FM Racing
Radio, a tourist radio station and a country music
station. The city has a sole community station,
Rhema FM which broadcasts jukebox Christian music.
Dubbo
has 5 Television Stations:
* Prime TV – an affiliate of the Seven Network
* WIN TV – an affiliate of the Nine Network
* Southern Cross Ten –
an affiliate of the Ten Network
* ABC TV
* SBS TV
Dubbo
has 2 providers of subscription television; both
via satellite:
* Austar
* SelecTV
Sport and Recreation
Rugby
League is popular in Dubbo. Two teams compete
in the Group 11 Rugby League - the Dubbo CYMS
Fish Eaters and Dubbo Macquarie.
The
city also has an Australian Rules football team,
the Dubbo Demons who were premiers in the Central
West Australian Football League in 2007.
There
are also two rugby union teams, the Dubbo Kangaroos(Roos)
and the Dubbo Rhinos, which compete in the Central
West Rugby competition.
Dubbo
has a turf club, which incorporates a Pony Club,
horse racing and organises shows and gymkhana.
Annual
events
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.
Dubbo National Steer Show
This
event is the annual domestic steer and heifer
(cattle) hoof and hook show. Each year over 100
beef carcase cattle are judged live (hoof) as
led or un-led and dead (hook). It is also the
annual young judges, auctioneers and paraders
competition. These events are very popular among
the schools and colleges of the New South Wales
area.
Dubbo City Eisteddfod
The
Dubbo Eisteddfod is held annually at Dubbo Civic
Centre, with students from Dubbo as well as surrounding
regions including Wellington, Orange, Gulgong,
Narromine and Bathurst competing in the various
sections.This involves Speech, Drama, Instrumental
& Dance. The Eisteddfod runs from May until
July each year. (Credit:
Wikipedia).
Websites
Dubbo
City Development Corporation
Dubbo
City Council
Dubbo
Tourism
Profiles
Regional
and Rural Directory
Australia
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