Dubbo () is a city in the
Orana Region of
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with a population of 43,516
[ at June 2021.
The city is located at the intersection of the Newell, ]Mitchell
Mitchell may refer to:
People
*Mitchell (surname)
*Mitchell (given name)
Places Australia
* Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate
* Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst
* Mitchell, Northern Territo ...
, and Golden
Golden means made of, or relating to gold.
Golden may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
*Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall
*Golden Cap, Dorset
*Golden Square, Soho, London
*Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershir ...
highways. The nearest city, Orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
, is about away. Dubbo is located roughly above sea level, north-west of Sydney ( by road) and is a major road and rail freight hub to other parts of New South Wales. It is linked by national highways north to Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
, south to Melbourne, east to Sydney and Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
, and west to Broken Hill
Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It is ...
and Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
.
Dubbo is included in the rainfall and weather forecast region for the Central West Slopes and in the Central West Slopes and Plains division of the Bureau of Meteorology
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM or BoM) is an executive agency of the Australian Government responsible for providing weather services to Australia and surrounding areas. It was established in 1906 under the Meteorology Act, and brought together ...
forecasts.
History
Evidence of habitation by Wiradjuri Nation, Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...
dates back over 40,000 years.
Explorer and surveyor John Oxley
John Joseph William Molesworth Oxley (1784 – 25 May 1828)
was an explorer and surveyor of Australia in the early period of British colonisation. He served as Surveyor General of New South Wales and is perhaps best known for his two exp ...
was the first European to report on the area, now known as Dubbo, in 1818. The first permanent British colonists in the area were English-born Robert Dulhunty
Robert Venour Dulhunty (1803 – 30 December 1853) is chiefly remembered as being the first permanent white settler of what has since become the City of Dubbo, in the rural heartland of the Australian state of New South Wales.
Early life
Robert ...
and his brother Lawrence Dulhunty.
Dulhunty occupied a property, known as Dubbo Station (established in 1828), from the early 1830s on a squatting basis. With the passing of the Squatting Act in 1836, he took out a licence on the property.
Dulhunty showed an affinity with Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...
, his party included some 40 Aboriginals 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
Wiradjuri (; many other spellings, see Wiradjuri) is a Pama–Nyungan language of the Wiradhuric subgroup. It is the traditional language of the Wiradjuri people of Australia. A progressive revival is underway, with the language being taught ...
today, some conjecture remains over the word's meaning. Some references indicate that Dubbo was the name of an old Wiradjuri man who resided at the site when Dulhunty took the land. Dubbo's name apparently meant "red soil", consistent with the local landscape. ''Thubbo'' or ''tubbo'' possibly is Wiradjuri for "head covering".
Dundullimal Homestead
Dundullimal Homestead is a heritage-listed former pastoral station and now cultural facility, house museum and events centre. The Australian colonial slab hut-type homestead is located approximately south of Dubbo in the Dubbo Regional Council ...
is a farmhouse from that period, built around 1840 by John Maugham on his sheep station. The building is one of the oldest homesteads still standing in western NSW and today is open to visitors.
In 1846, due to the number of settlers in the area, the government decided to establish a courthouse, police station, and lock-up in the Dubbo area. A constable's residence was completed in 1847 and a wooden slab-construction courthouse and lock-up was completed in early 1848. By this time, the settlement had only four buildings - the constable's residence, courthouse and lock-up, a store, and an inn.
Due to the lack of title for the land, in 1848, storekeeper Jean Emile Serisier organised a petition asking for a land sale of town allotments. The plan was presented to the colony's surveyor general
A surveyor general is an official responsible for government surveying in a specific country or territory. Historically, this would often have been a military appointment, but it is now more likely to be a civilian post.
The following surveyor ge ...
in May 1849 by surveyor G. Boyle White. 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
The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. It led to a period of extreme prosperity for the Australian colony, and an influx of population growth and financial capita ...
of the 1860s brought an increase in north–south trade. The first bank was opened in 1867. Steady population growth caused the town to be proclaimed a municipality in 1872, when its population was 850.[ The railway extension of the main western railway from ]Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
to Dubbo was formally opened on 1 February 1881. By 1897, Dubbo had a general store, Carrier Arms, a slab courthouse, a gaol, and a police hut. The final section of the Molong
Molong is a small town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia, in Cabonne Shire.
History
The name Molong comes from the Aboriginal word for 'all rocks'.
William Lee of Kelso is said to have had cattle in the area by 1819. ...
to Dubbo railway opened in late May 1925.
Dubbo was officially proclaimed a city in 1966.
Heritage listings
Dubbo has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
* Cobra Street: Dubbo RAAF Stores Depot
The Dubbo RAAF Stores Depot is a heritage-listed former Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) stores depot located at Cobra Street, Dubbo in the Dubbo Regional Council local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The depot was designed b ...
* Macquarie Street: Talbragar Shire Council Chambers
The Talbragar Shire Council Chambers is a heritage register, heritage-listed former council chambers and former bank building located in Macquarie Street, Dubbo, New South Wales, Dubbo, in the Dubbo Regional Council local government area of Ne ...
* 110-114 Macquarie Street: National Australia Bank building, Dubbo
The National Australia Bank building is a heritage-listed former bank building located at 110-114 Macquarie Street, Dubbo, Dubbo Regional Council, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Laurie and Heath. It is also known as the Natio ...
* 118 Macquarie Street: Colonial Mutual Life building, Dubbo
The Colonial Mutual Life building is a heritage-listed former life insurance office located at 118 Macquarie Street, Dubbo in the Dubbo Regional Council local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It is also known as CML Building and 1 ...
* 195-197 Macquarie Street: Milestone Hotel
* 215 Macquarie Street: Old Dubbo Gaol
The Old Dubbo Gaol is a heritage-listed former gaol and now museum and tourist attraction at 90 Macquarie Street, Dubbo in the Dubbo Regional Council local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The gaol was designed by the NSW Colon ...
* Main Western railway: Dubbo railway station
Dubbo railway station is a heritage-listed railway station and bus interchange located on the Main Western line in Dubbo in the Dubbo Regional Council local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The station serves the city of Dubbo a ...
* Main Western railway 462.762 km: Macquarie River railway bridge, Dubbo
The Dubbo rail bridge over Macquarie River - Wambuul is a heritage-listed railway bridge on the Main Western line across the Macquarie River, located west of the Dubbo central business district in New South Wales, Australia. It was designed ...
* Obley Road: Dundullimal Homestead
Dundullimal Homestead is a heritage-listed former pastoral station and now cultural facility, house museum and events centre. The Australian colonial slab hut-type homestead is located approximately south of Dubbo in the Dubbo Regional Council ...
Geography
The Macquarie River
The Macquarie River - Wambuul is part of the Macquarie– Barwon catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is one of the main inland rivers in New South Wales, Australia.
The river rises in the central highlands of New South Wales near the ...
runs through Dubbo, as does Troy Creek. The City of Dubbo lies within a transition zone between the ranges and tablelands of the Great Dividing Range
The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs rough ...
to the east and the Darling Basin plains to the west.
Climate
Dubbo falls in the warm temperate climate
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...
zone. Under Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
, Dubbo has a humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
(''Cfa'') that borders the semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
(''BSk''). Summers are warm to hot, and winters cool to cold, bringing some occurrences of early morning frost
Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in an above-freezing atmosphere coming in contact with a solid surface whose temperature is below freezing, and resulting in a phase change from water vapor (a gas) ...
but generally no snowfall
Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes.
It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...
– unlike the nearby city of Orange. The last occurrence of snow was recorded by ''The Dubbo Liberal and Macquarie Advocate'' in July 1951 and 1920. The town's location in this transition area allows a large temperature variation during the year, with high summer temperatures, sometimes peaking above typical of the Western Plains of New South Wales and colder subzero temperatures typical of the Central Tablelands in winter.
Dubbo's location in the transition area between the Central Tablelands
The Central Tablelands in New South Wales is a geographic area that lies between the Sydney Metropolitan Area and the Central Western Slopes and Plains. The Great Dividing Range passes in a north–south direction through the Central Tablelands ...
and the Central Western Plains has provided a mild distribution of rainfall throughout the year. Dubbo's wettest month is January with an average rainfall of occurring on average over five days. Evaporation
Evaporation is a type of vaporization that occurs on the surface of a liquid as it changes into the gas phase. High concentration of the evaporating substance in the surrounding gas significantly slows down evaporation, such as when humidi ...
in the Dubbo area averages around per year. Dubbo is considerably sunny, receiving 148.6 days of clear skies annually, in contrast to Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
's 104 days.
Wind patterns vary over the whole year. The prevailing winds
In meteorology, prevailing wind in a region of the Earth's surface is a surface wind that blows predominantly from a particular direction. The dominant winds are the trends in direction of wind with the highest speed over a particular point on ...
at Dubbo are from the southeast, south, southwest and west, which account for a combined 64.4% of the wind direction over the whole year.
Demographics
In August 2021, the population of Dubbo was 43,516; 51.6% of residents were female and 48.4% were male. The median age is 35, slightly younger than the national average of 38. People aged 0–14 constitute 21.5% of the population compared to 18.2% nationally, and 15.6% of residents are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander; the median age in this group is 22.
About 81.2% of residents report being born in Australia, notably higher than the national average of 66.9%. Other than Australia, the most common countries of birth are India (1.7%), Nepal (1.6%), England (1.0%), the Philippines (0.8%), and New Zealand (0.7%). The most common reported ancestries in Dubbo are Australian, English, Australian Aboriginal, Irish, and Scottish.
Around 72.3% of residents report both parents having been born in Australia, significantly higher than the national average of 45.9%. About 82.7% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Nepali (1.7%), Punjabi (0.8%), Malayalam (0.5%), Urdu (0.5%), and Mandarin (0.4%).
The top religious groups in Dubbo are Catholic (26.4%), Anglican (17.7%), and Uniting Church (3.7%); 27.2% reported no religion (lower than the 38.4% nationally) and 9.2% did not answer the question.
Economy
The city's largest private employer is Fletcher International Exports, which exports lamb and mutton
Lamb, hogget, and mutton, generically sheep meat, are the meat of domestic sheep, ''Ovis aries''. A sheep in its first year is a lamb and its meat is also lamb. The meat from sheep in their second year is hogget. Older sheep meat is mutton. Gen ...
globally. Other local industries reflect the city's status as a regional base for surrounding agricultural regions.
A large employer is the Dubbo Base Hospital, with hospitals (excluding psychiatric hospitals) being the area's single largest employer.
Retail
Dubbo is also considered a major shopping centre for the surrounding regional areas in the Central and Far Western districts of New South Wales. Dubbo has many shopping districts, including the large and very recently renewed Orana Mall (East Dubbo), Macquarie and Talbragar Streets (City Centre), Centro Dubbo, Riverdale, and Tamworth Street local stores (South Dubbo). Dubbo features many boutiques and unique stores, as well as major national stores including Myer
Myer (stylised MYER, sometimes known as Myers) is an Australia, Australian mid-range to upscale department store chain. It trades in all Australian states and one of Australia's two self-governing territories. Myer retails a broad range of ...
, Big W
Big W (stylized as BIG W) is an Australian chain of discount department stores, which was founded in regional New South Wales in 1964. The company is a division of Woolworths Group and as at 2019 operated 176 stores, with around 22,000 employee ...
, Kmart
Kmart Corporation ( , doing business as Kmart and stylized as kmart) is an American retail company that owns a chain of big box department stores. The company is headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States.
The company was inc ...
(replaced Target
Target may refer to:
Physical items
* Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports
** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports
** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...
in October 2020), Officeworks
Officeworks is a chain of Australian office supplies stores operated under parent company Wesfarmers.
The company was established in 1994 by Coles Myer, which became Coles Group before it was acquired by Wesfarmers. Its head office is located i ...
, Coles, Woolworths, Mitre 10
Mitre 10 is an Australian retail and trade hardware store chain. Operations are based on a cooperative system, where the store owners are members of the national group and each has voting rights. The chain name references the mitre joint. The ...
, Bunnings Warehouse
Bunnings Group Limited, trading as Bunnings Warehouse or Bunnings, is an Australian household hardware chain. The chain has been owned by Wesfarmers since 1994, and has stores in Australia and New Zealand.
Bunnings was founded in Perth, Wester ...
, The Good Guys, Harvey Norman
Harvey Norman is a large Australian-based, multi-national retailer of furniture, bedding, computers, communications and consumer electrical products. It mainly operates as a franchise, with the main brand and all company-operated stores owned ...
, JB Hi-Fi
JB Hi-Fi Limited is an Australian consumer electronics and home appliances retail company. It is publicly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. Its headquarters are located in Southbank, Melbourne, Victoria.
The company has 316 stores ...
, Sportsmans Warehouse and The Coffee Club.
A new suburban shopping centre in West Dubbo contains a Woolworths supermarket (Dubbo's third) and 15 smaller retail shops.
Tourism
Tourism is also a significant local industry. Dubbo features the open-range Taronga Western Plains Zoo
Taronga Western Plains Zoo, formerly known as (and still commonly referred to as) Western Plains Zoo and commonly known as Dubbo Zoo, is a large zoo near Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia. It opened to the public on 28 February 1977, to provide ...
, which is home to various species of endangered animals, including the white
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
, and Indian rhinoceros
}
The Indian rhinoceros (''Rhinoceros unicornis''), also called the Indian rhino, greater one-horned rhinoceros or great Indian rhinoceros, is a rhinoceros species native to the Indian subcontinent. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red Li ...
es, 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
Dundullimal Homestead is a heritage-listed former pastoral station and now cultural facility, house museum and events centre. The Australian colonial slab hut-type homestead is located approximately south of Dubbo in the Dubbo Regional Council ...
and the historic Old Dubbo Gaol
The Old Dubbo Gaol is a heritage-listed former gaol and now museum and tourist attraction at 90 Macquarie Street, Dubbo in the Dubbo Regional Council local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The gaol was designed by the NSW Colon ...
in the middle of the commercial centre of Macquarie Street. The Western Plains Cultural Centre includes four gallery exhibition spaces, two museum exhibition spaces, and a community arts centre.
The Royal Flying Doctor Service
The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), commonly known as the Flying Doctor, is an air medical service in Australia. It is a non-profit organisation that provides emergency and primary health care services for those living in rural, remote an ...
base at Dubbo airport
Dubbo City Regional Airport is a regional airport in Dubbo, Australia. The airport is located northwest of Dubbo and is operated by the Dubbo City Council. It is also known as Dubbo Airport or Dubbo City Airport.
History
Aeroplanes b ...
has a large visitor information centre, staffed by volunteers, which features a King Air 200 turboprop aircraft and a variety of touch-screen interactive displays illustrating aspects of RFDS operations.
Education
The 20 schools and secondary colleges include the Dubbo School of Distance Education
Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...
. It is home to one of the four main campuses of Charles Sturt University
Charles Sturt University is an Australian multi-campus public university located in New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Victoria. Established in 1989, it was named in honour of Captain Charles Napier Sturt, a British explorer w ...
, which is located next to the Senior Campus of Dubbo College (successor to Dubbo High School, founded in 1917). There are three private K-12 schools located in Dubbo which are Macquarie Anglican Grammar School, Dubbo Christian School and St Johns College.
Architecture
Dubbo has several fine examples of Victorian civic architecture, including the (third) Courthouse (1887), the Lands Office with its use of timber and corrugated iron cladding, and the railway station (1881). Towards the centre of the city, the older residential areas contain numerous examples of red brick houses built in the " California Bungalow" style architecture of the early 20th century, together with Victorian terraced houses (mostly in the Darling Street area) and a few Edwardian semidetached homes.
File:Dubbo Court House, NSW, Australia, 2021, 02.jpg, alt=, Dubbo Courthouse
File:Old Bank building on Macquarie St (1).jpg, alt=, Old Bank Building
File:California Bungalow Styled Home.jpg, alt=, Bungalow home
File:Station Master's Residence in Dubbo 01.jpg, alt=, Station Master's Residence; an early Victorian residence
File:Terrace in Dubbo New South Wales.jpg, Victorian Terraces
Transport
Dubbo railway station
Dubbo railway station is a heritage-listed railway station and bus interchange located on the Main Western line in Dubbo in the Dubbo Regional Council local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The station serves the city of Dubbo a ...
lies on the Main Western railway line
The Main Western Railway is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs through the Blue Mountains, Central West, North West Slopes and the Far West regions. It is with operational & under construction & repairs.
Description o ...
between Sydney and Bourke and opened in 1881.[ The station is the terminus for the daily ]NSW TrainLink
NSW TrainLink is a train and coach operator in Australia, providing services throughout New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, along with limited interstate services into Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. Its primary interc ...
'' Central West XPT'' service from Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
with connecting road coach services to Broken Hill
Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It is ...
, Bourke, Cootamundra
Cootamundra, nicknamed Coota, is a town in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia and within the Riverina. It is within the Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council. At the 2016 Census, Cootamundra had a population of 6,782. ...
, Lightning Ridge
Lightning Ridge is a small outback town in north-western New South Wales, Australia. Part of Walgett Shire, Lightning Ridge is situated near the southern border of Queensland, about east of the Castlereagh Highway. The Lightning Ridge area is ...
and Nyngan
Nyngan () is a town in the centre of New South Wales, Australia, in the Bogan Shire local government area within the Orana Region of central New South Wales. At the 2016 census, Nyngan had a population of 1,988 people. Nyngan is situated on the ...
. The Mindyarra Maintenance Centre
The Mindyarra Maintenance Centre is an under construction railway depot to be built in Dubbo as part of the NSW TrainLink Regional Train Project.
History
In August 2017, as part of the NSW TrainLink Regional Train Project, Transport for NSW ann ...
is scheduled to open 700 metres to the east of the station in the early 2020s, as the home depot for the NSW TrainLink Regional Train fleet.
Dubbo Buslines operate services within the city. BusBiz
BusBiz is an Australian bus company operating in New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria.
History
The origins of BusBiz can be traced back to 1954 when Lake Boga Transport was formed to transport fruit from the Lake Boga area to Melbourne. ...
operate coach services under contract to NSW TrainLink and maintain a depot in the city.
Dubbo City Regional Airport
Dubbo City Regional Airport is a regional airport in Dubbo, Australia. The airport is located northwest of Dubbo and is operated by the City of Dubbo, Dubbo City Council. It is also known as Dubbo Airport or Dubbo City Airport.
History ...
has flights to Sydney (QantasLink
QantasLink is a regional brand of Australian airline Qantas and is an affiliate member of the Oneworld airline alliance. It is a major competitor to Regional Express Airlines and Virgin Australia Regional Airlines. As of September 2010 Qantas ...
, Regional Express), Newcastle (FlyPelican
Pelican Airlines Pty Ltd, operating as FlyPelican, is an Australian regional airline. It initially operated air charter services and subsequently commenced scheduled flights on 1 June 2015. The airline is based in Newcastle in New South Wales. ...
), Canberra (FlyPelican) and other small outback New South Wales towns (Airlink).
Media
Local print media include:
*The ''Daily Liberal
The ''Daily Liberal'' is a daily newspaper produced in the city of Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia. The news stories published relate particularly to the city of Dubbo and the surrounding district. The newspaper was first printed in 1875. The ...
''
*The ''Weekly Dubbo Photo News''
*The ''Weekly Mailbox Shopper''
Three commercially licensed radio stations broadcast in the city:
* Triple M
Triple M is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 40 radio stations broadcasting a mainstream rock music format and 5 digital radio stations.
The network dates back to th ...
broadcasts on FM 93.5, playing rock music.
* 2DU
2DU is an Australian radio station serving the Dubbo
Dubbo () is a city in the Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with a population of 43,516 at June 2021.
The city is locate ...
– a local heritage station, it broadcasts on AM 1251.
* Zoo FM – a rock music station, it broadcasts on FM 92.7.
ABC Radio also has a studio in the city: ABC Western Plains
ABC Western Plains is an ABC Local Radio station based in Dubbo, New South Wales. The broadcast region stretches from Wellington north to Goodooga and west from Coonabarabran to Wilcannia. The station covers the top half of the Far West regio ...
, local news and talk on 95.9FM.
ABC Radio broadcasts five services to the Dubbo area: ABC Local, ABC Radio National
Radio National, known on-air as RN, is an Australia-wide public service broadcasting radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2.
History
1937: Predecessors an ...
, Triple J
Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...
, ABC Classic FM
ABC Classic, formerly ABC-FM (also ABC Fine Music), and then ABC Classic FM, is an Australian classical music radio station available in Australia and internationally. Its website features classical music news, features and listening guides. ...
, and ABC NewsRadio
ABC NewsRadio, since 2017 broadcast under the ABC News brand and for a short time known as ABC News on Radio, is a 24-hour news radio service broadcast by the Australian public broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). ABC ...
.
The city also has narrowcast
Narrowcasting is the dissemination of information (usually via Internet, radio, newspaper, or television) to a narrow audience, rather than to the broader public at-large. Related to niche marketing or target marketing, narrowcasting involves aim ...
stations on 90.3 FM Racing Radio, a tourist radio station and a country music station. The city has two community stations: DCFM 88.9 Dubbo Community radio, and Rhema FM
Rhema FM is the name used for a number of Christian radio stations established with the help of, and assisted for many years by United Christian Broadcasters (UCB) in Australia. Each station is independent, being run and programmed locally with ...
, which broadcasts Christian music.
The Dubbo area is served by five television stations. In common with all Australian TV stations, they now broadcast digital transmissions only, with the primary program in each case being designated as:
* Prime7
Prime7, formerly Prime Television and other names, was an Australian television network. Prime Television launched on 17 March 1962 as '' CBN-8'' in Orange, and later expanded to cover regional New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capi ...
, 7two, 7mate
7mate is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Seven Network on 25 September 2010. The channel contains sport and regular programs aimed primarily to a male audience, with programming drawn from a c ...
, 7flix
7flix is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Seven Network on 28 February 2016.
7flix targets a variety of viewers and offers drama, comedy, reality, docusoap, and movies.
History
On 18 Decembe ...
– an affiliate of the Seven Network
The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...
* 10 Regional, 10 Bold
10 Bold is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel owned by Network 10. It originally launched on 26 March 2009 as One HD with a focus on broadcasting sports-based programming and events, but rebranded to One in April 2011 to ...
, 10 Peach
10 Peach is an Australian free-to-air television channel operated by Network 10. It was launched on 11 January 2011 as Eleven. It is owned by ElevenCo, which was established as a joint venture between Ten Network Holdings and CBS Studios Inter ...
– an affiliate of Network 10
Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...
* WIN Television
WIN Television is an Australian television network owned by WIN Corporation that is based in Wollongong, New South Wales. WIN commenced transmissions on 18 March 1962 as a single television station covering the Wollongong region. The WIN Netwo ...
, 9Go!
9Go! is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Nine Network on 9 August 2009, replacing Nine Guide. It is a youthful channel that offers a mix of comedy, reality, general entertainment, movies, anim ...
, 9Gem
9Gem is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, launched by the Nine Network in September 2010. The channel provides general entertainment and movie programming, from which the original name "GEM" is derived.
History
Nine N ...
, 9Life
9Life is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel owned by Nine Entertainment. The channel airs mostly foreign lifestyle and reality programs, with the channel having a licensing agreement with Discovery Inc. (previously Scrip ...
– an affiliate of the Nine Network
The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...
* ABC TV – ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
, ABC TV Plus
ABC TV Plus (formerly ABC2 and ABC Comedy) is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and part of its ABC Television network. The channel broadcasts a range of general entertainment prog ...
, ABC Me
ABC Me (stylised as ABC ME) is an Australian English language children's free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was officially launched by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on 4 December 2009 as ABC3.
Hist ...
, ABC News
ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
* SBS Television
The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from the Australian Government. SBS operates six TV channels ( SBS, SBS Viceland, SBS World ...
– SBS, SBS Viceland
SBS Viceland (stylised as SBS VICELAND) is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). It began as SBS TWO on 1 June 2009, and was branded as SBS 2 between 2013 and 2016. On 8 April 2017, SBS ...
, SBS Food
SBS Food is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). The channel airs programs about food and cooking, from cultures around the world.
History
SBS first revealed it would launc ...
, NITV
National Indigenous Television (NITV) is an Australian free-to-air television channel that broadcasts programming produced and presented largely by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It includes the half-hourly nightly ''NITV News'' ...
Prime7 and WIN Television both produce half-hour-long local news bulletins. Prime7 News screens at 6 pm, while WIN News screens at 7 pm from Monday to Friday. Nine News Central West is an hour-long bulletin that mixes local and national news.
Subscription Television
Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, but ...
services are provided by Foxtel
Foxtel is an Australian pay television company—operating in cable television, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April 2018, superseding an earlier company from 1995. The service was establi ...
.
Sport and recreation
Sports play a big role in Dubbo's community life. Rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
is popular in Dubbo. Two teams compete in the Group 11 Rugby League
Group 11 is a rugby league competition in the surrounding areas of Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia. The competition is played in four grades, these being First-Grade, Reserve-Grade, Under 19s and Ladies League Tag.
Current clubs
First grade an ...
– the Dubbo CYMS and Dubbo Macquarie Raiders. The city also has an Australian rules football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
team, the Dubbo Demons, who were premiers in the Central West Australian Football League
The AFL Central West (formerly, Central West Australian Football League) is an Australian rules football competition containing five clubs based in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia.
Current Clubs
Tier 2
Previous Clubs ...
in 2007. Two rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
teams are active, the Dubbo Kangaroos (Roos) and the Dubbo Rhinos, which compete in the Central West Rugby competition, the Blowes Clothing Cup. Dubbo Junior Cricket Association conducts cricket for over 500 children aged between 5 and 16 during October to March and also conducts first-, second-, and third-grade competitions during this time.
Dubbo has a turf club, which incorporates a pony club
Pony Club is an international youth organization devoted to educating youth about horses and riding. Pony Club organizations exist in over thirty countries worldwide.
Origins
Pony Club began in Great Britain in 1929 when the Institute of the ...
and horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...
, and organises shows and gymkhana
Gymkhana () ( ur, جِمخانہ, sd, جمخانه, hi, जिमख़ाना, as, জিমখানা, bn, জিমখানা) is a British Raj term which originally referred to a place of assembly. The meaning then altered to den ...
. Ultimate Frisbee
Ultimate, originally known as ultimate Frisbee, is a non-contact team sport played with a frisbee flung by hand. Ultimate was developed in 1968 by AJ Gator in Maplewood, New Jersey. Although ultimate resembles many traditional sports in its ath ...
is a new sport to the town and is rapidly growing in popularity.
The Dubbo Ultimate Frisbee Federation (DUFF) is the local Ultimate club and organises a local league and the Dubbo Meerkats Mixed rep side.
The Dubbo Rams compete in the men's and women's NSW State Basketball Leagues. Netball is also popular in Dubbo with competitions every weekend for all age groups during netball season at the Nita McGrath netball courts near the Macquarie River in Central Dubbo. Dubbo has a large Junior and Senior Hockey Association with representative teams for all ages, while also participating in the Premier League Hockey Competition in both the Men's (Dubbo Lions) and Women's (Dubbo Blue Jays). Soccer is very popular, particularly among children. Dubbo has its own all-age men's and women's competition and has three teams – Dubbo FC Bulls, Westside Panthers, and Orana Spurs, who compete in the Western Premier League. Dubbo also has one of the only 10 lane pools outside of Sydney in NSW, the Dubbo Aquatic and Leisure Centre. The centre hosts meets through the Western Swimming Association (and affiliated clubs Dubbo City Swimtech and Orana Aquatic) and school carnivals.
Dubbo's Caltex Park hosted the annual City vs Country Origin
City vs Country Origin was an annual Australian rugby league football match that took place in New South Wales between City and Country representative sides. The City side represented the Sydney metropolitan area. While technically it was Sydne ...
match in 2006, with an attendance of 11,423, and in 2014, with an attendance of more than 9,600 in rainy conditions.
In 2007, Dubbo hosted the Junior World Orienteering Championships
The Junior World Orienteering Championships (JWOC) are an annual orienteering competition. They were first held in 1990. Entry is open to national teams aged 20 and below as of 31 December in the year of competition. Representative countries must ...
with most of the events held in the granite outcrops of the nearby Sappa Bulga Range. From this event, the orienteering
Orienteering is a group of sports that require navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a s ...
club Western Plains Orienteers was born. Other sports popular in Dubbo include lawn bowls, via the huge variety of bowling clubs, and golf (on Dubbo's 27-hole golf course).
Notable people
*Kirsty Lee Allan
Kirsty Lee Allan (born 15 December 1984 in Dubbo, New South Wales) is an Australian actress and former fashion model. She is most known for portraying Able Seaman Rebecca "Bomber" Brown in ''Sea Patrol''.
Career
Allan began her career as a m ...
– actress in Australian drama series ''Sea Patrol''
* Frederick William Bamford (1849–1934) – politician
* Braidon Burns
Braidon Burns (born 8 July 1996) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who last played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the National Rugby League (NRL). He is the nephew of Canterbury premiership winner, Rod Silva.
Bac ...
, rugby league player for the Canterbury Bulldogs
The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilita ...
* Matt Burton, rugby league player for the Canterbury Bulldogs
The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilita ...
* Brandon Costin
Brandon Costin (born 23 June 1972) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He initially played under the name Brandon Pearson. He played for the Huddersfield Giants, Canberra Raiders, South Sydney Rab ...
– former NRL player
* Les Davidson
Les Davidson is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and represented at both the State and national levels. His posi ...
– former NRL international
* Megan Dunn – cyclist winning two gold in the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games.
* Kaide Ellis, rugby league player for the St. George Illawarra Dragons
The St. George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 after a joint-ve ...
* Lizzy Gardiner
Lizzy Gardiner (born 1966) is an Australian costume designer, who has been working in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood since the early 1990s. Noted for her originality, she is best known for her American Express Gold card dress of Lizzy Gardi ...
– costume designer
* Luke Garner – second row for NRL Club West Tigers
* Pearl Gibbs
Pearl Mary (Gambanyi) Gibbs (née Brown) (18 July 1901 – 28 April 1983) was an Indigenous Australian activist, and the most prominent female activist within the Aboriginal movement in the early 20th century. She was a member of the Aborigi ...
(1901–1983) - Aboriginal leader, lived and died in Dubbo
* Margaret Packham Hargrave – writer, poet, local poultry farmer, wrote for ''Daily Liberal''
* Ella Havelka
Ella Havelka (born 1989) is an Australian ballet dancer who is the first Indigenous person to join The Australian Ballet.
Early life
Havelka was born in Dubbo, New South Wales, and is a descendant of the Wiradjuri people. She was raised by a s ...
(born 1989), first Indigenous person to join The Australian Ballet
The Australian Ballet is the largest classical ballet company in Australia. It was founded by J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1962, with the English-born dancer, teacher, repetiteur and direct ...
* Bob Hewitt
Robert Anthony John Hewitt (born 12 January 1940) is a former professional tennis player from Australia. In 1967, after marrying a South African, he became a South African citizen. He has won 15 major titles and a career Grand Slam in both men' ...
(born 1940) – tennis player and convicted rapist
* Geoffrey Lancaster
Geoffrey Lancaster (born 20 August 1954) is an Australian classical pianist and conductor. Born in Sydney, he was raised in Dubbo, New South Wales before moving to Canberra. He attended the Canberra School of Music where he studied piano with ...
– international concert pianist
* Jean Lee – the last woman officially executed in Australia, in 1951
* Kate Leigh
Kathleen Mary Josephine Leigh (née Beahan; 10 March 1881 – 4 February 1964) (other names included Kathleen Barry, and Kathleen Ryan) was an Australian underworld figure who rose to prominence as a madam, illegal trader of alcohol and cocaine ...
– Sydney sly grog bar operator
* Adrian Leijer
Adrian Leijer (born 25 March 1986) is an Australian footballer who plays as a centre back.
Leijer played on one occasion for Australia and made over 100 appearances for Melbourne Victory in the A-League.
Club career Early years
Leijer was born ...
– Australian international soccer player
* Ben McCalman - Australian rugby union player (Western Force
The Western Force is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Perth, Western Australia, currently competing in Super Rugby Pacific. They previously played in Super Rugby from 2006 until they were axed from the competition in 2017. ...
, Wallabies
A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and so ...
)
* Glenn McGrath
Glenn Donald McGrath (; born 9 February 1970) is an Australian former international cricketer who played international cricket for 14 years. He was a fast-medium pace bowler (cricket), bowler and is considered one of the greatest international ...
– Australian international cricketer, born in Dubbo and raised in Narromine
Narromine ( /næroʊmaɪn/) is a rural Australian town located approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) west of Dubbo in the Orana region of New South Wales. The town is at the centre of Narromine Shire. The 2016 census recorded a population o ...
* Amy Mills (1986–) – Australian Deaflympic gold medallist
* Kyle Noke
Kyle Noke (born 18 March 1980) is an Australian retired mixed martial artist who competed as a Welterweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2002, Noke has also fought for EliteXC.
Background
Noke, origina ...
– international MMA fighter, UFC fighter (Ultimate Fighting Championship)
* Dean Pay
Dean Pay (born 3 June 1969) is a former Australian professional rugby league footballer and former head coach of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the NRL, a professional player who played in the late 1980s and 1990s.
He played for the Can ...
– former NRL international and coach, grew up and retired in Dubbo
* David Peachey
David Peachey (born 21 April 1974) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. An Australian international and New South Wales representative , he played the majority of his club football in t ...
– former NRL player
* Steve Peacocke
Stephen Peacocke (born 30 October 1981) is an Australian actor. Peacocke appeared in various theatre productions, before playing minor roles in television dramas and films, including ''Suburban Mayhem'' and '' All Saints''. From 2011 until 2016 ...
– actor, known for his role in soap opera ''Home and Away
''Home and Away'' (often abbreviated as ''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip ...
''
* Luke Priddis
Luke Priddis (born 14 April 1977) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. An Australia national rugby league team, Australian international and New South Wales rugby league team, New South Wales State of Origin series, Sta ...
– former NRL player
* The Reels
The Reels was an Australian rock band which formed in Dubbo, New South Wales in 1976. It disbanded in 1991, and reformed in 2007. Its 1981 song " Quasimodo's Dream" was voted one of the top 10 Australian songs of all time by a 100-member panel ...
– 1980s pop band, founders: John Bliss, Craig Hooper
Craig Lincoln Hooper (born 23 November 1959) is an Australian musician who was a core member (with Dave Mason) of indie rock band The Reels (1977–1992), and was in bands The Mullanes (the initial incarnation of Crowded House), The Church ( ...
, Dave Mason
David Thomas Mason (born 10 May 1946) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist from Worcester, who first found fame with the rock band Traffic. Over the course of his career, Mason has played and recorded with many notable pop and rock mu ...
* Andrew Ryan Andrew Ryan may refer to:
* Andrew Ryan (''BioShock''), a character in the 2007 video game ''BioShock''
*Andrew Ryan (rugby league) (born 1978), Australian rugby league player
* Andrew Ryan (diplomat) (1876–1949), British diplomat
*Andrew Ryan (a ...
– former NRL player and current ABC Radio Grandstand
ABC Sport, formerly ABC Radio Grandstand, is a live radio sports focused commentary and talk-back program which runs on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) local radio network across Australia and on one digital-only station.
History
Fr ...
Rugby League sideline expert
* Jean Emile Serisier was Dubbo's first businessman.[''Dubbo City on the Plain'' by Marion Dormer]
* Robert Adam Spears (1893–1950) – professional cyclist
* Nicole Sykes
Nicole Begg (née Sykes; born 15 December 1991 in Sydney) is an Australian footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football ...
– Australian International soccer player, and captain for Canberra United
* Ashleigh Sykes
Ashleigh Sykes (born 15 December 1991) is an Australian international football player, who plays for Canberra United FC in the W-League (Australia) and has previously played for Portland Thorns FC in the National Women's Soccer League.
Early li ...
– Australian International soccer player
* Thirsty Merc
Thirsty Merc are an Australian pop rock band formed in 2002 by Rai Thistlethwayte, Phil Stack (bass guitar), Karl Robertson (drums), and Matthew Baker (guitar). In 2004, Baker was replaced by Sean Carey, who was, in turn, replaced by Matt Smith ...
– Australian rock band
* Barrie Unsworth
Barrie John Unsworth (born 16 April 1934) is a former Australian politician, representing the Labor Party in the Parliament of New South Wales from 1978 to 1991. He served as the 36th Premier from July 1986 to March 1988.
Early years
Unswo ...
– 36th Premier of New South Wales
The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales acting as the legislature. ...
* Isaah Yeo
Isaah Ferguson-Yeo (born 6 November 1994) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and forward for the Penrith Panthers in the NRL and Australia at international level.
At representative level he has played for ...
– rugby league player and co-captain for the Penrith Panthers
The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the NRL. The team is based west of the centre of Sydney, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Penrith ...
* Justin Yeo – former NRL player
See also
* City of Dubbo
The City of Dubbo was a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Orana, New South Wales, Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. The former area is located adjacent to the Mitchell Highway, Mitchell, Newell Highway, Newel ...
* Electoral district of Dubbo
Dubbo is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is represented by Dugald Saunders of the National Party.
Dubbo is a regional electorate covering three local government areas, including ...
* Orana (New South Wales)
Orana is a region in central northern New South Wales, Australia. it had an estimated population of 113,824 people. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2015. It has an area of and is the largest region in New South Wales, comprising approxim ...
References
External links
Dubbo Tourism (official website)
Dubbo City Council
Dubbo – Visit NSW
{{Authority control
Towns in the Central West (New South Wales)
Newell Highway
Dubbo Regional Council