Dubbo (; ) is a city in the Orana Region of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, 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, and Golden highways. Dubbo officially became a city in the year 1966. 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 List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

and Charleville, south towards

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

, east to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

and

Gosford Gosford is a waterfront city at the northern end of Brisbane Water on the Central Coast in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Gosford Waterfront is known for its boating and scenic views on the shores of Brisbane Water. Gosford is ...

and west to

Broken Hill Broken Hill is a city in the Far West (New South Wales), far west region of outback New South Wales, Australia. An inland mining city, it is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Hi ...

and

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

. 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 Government of Australia, Australian Government that is responsible for providing Weather forecasting, weather forecasts and Meteorology, meteorological services to Australia a ...

forecasts.

History

Evidence of habitation by the Wiradjuri tribe,

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

dates back over 40,000 years. Explorer and surveyor

John Oxley John Joseph William Molesworth Oxley (1784 – 25 May 1828) was an English List of explorers, explorer and surveyor of Australia in the early period of British colonisation. He served as Surveyor General of New South Wales and is perhaps bes ...

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 Robe ...

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

, 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, an Aboriginal Australian people of New South Wales, Australia. Wiraiari and Je ...

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 Orana region of New ...

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 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 capi ...

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 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 third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

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 (New South Wales), Central West region of New South Wales, Australia, in Cabonne Shire Council, Cabonne Shire. History The name Molong comes from the indigenous Australians, Aboriginal word for 'all ro ...

to Dubbo railway opened in late May 1925. Dubbo was officially proclaimed a city in 1966. On 10 June 1989, during the Queen's Birthday Long Weekend, Dubbo became the final stop of the Through West Mail, a train hauled by double-headed locomotives the ''Flying Scotsman'' and

3801 3801 (pronounced Thirty-eight o-one) is a New South Wales C38 class locomotive, C38 class 4-6-2 steam locomotive built for and operated by the New South Wales Government Railways between 1943 and 1974. It is arguably Australia's most famous s ...

, ending a journey of 289 miles.

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 in Dubbo, a city in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. The depot, located on Cobra Street, was designed by Sidney Williams & ...

* Macquarie Street: Talbragar Shire Council Chambers * 110–114 Macquarie Street: National Australia Bank building, Dubbo * 118 Macquarie Street: Colonial Mutual Life building, Dubbo * 195–197 Macquarie Street: Milestone Hotel * 215 Macquarie Street: Old Dubbo Gaol * 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, New South Wales, Australia. The station serves the city of Dubbo and was opened on 1 February 1881. The station is also ...

* Main Western railway 462.762 km:

Macquarie River railway bridge, Dubbo The Dubbo rail bridge over Macquarie River – Wambuul is a heritage register, heritage-listed railway bridge on the Main Western railway line, Main Western line across the Macquarie River, located west of the Dubbo central business district in ...

* Obley Road:

Geography

The

Macquarie River The Macquarie River or Wambuul is part of the Macquarie–Barwon River (New South Wales), 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 highl ...

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. It runs roughl ...

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 (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ra ...

zone. Under

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

, Dubbo has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(''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 se ...

(''BSk''). Summers are warm to hot, and winters cool to cold, bringing some occurrences of early morning frost but generally no snowfall – 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, with a heavy fall of snow in July 1900. The town's location in this transition area allows a large temperature variation during the year, with high summer temperatures, often peaking above typical of western 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 Interface (chemistry), surface of a liquid as it changes into the gas phase. A high concentration of the evaporating substance in the surrounding gas significantly slows down evapora ...

in the Dubbo area averages around per year. Dubbo is considerably sunny, receiving 148.6 days of clear skies annually, in contrast to

'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 Wind direction, direction. The dominant winds are the trends in direction of wind with the highest speed over a partic ...

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 and mutton, collectively sheep meat (or sheepmeat) is one of the most common meats around the world, taken from the domestic sheep, ''Ovis aries'', and generally divided into lamb, from sheep in their first year, hogget, from sheep in thei ...

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. A new suburban shopping centre in West Dubbo contains a supermarket 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 in Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia. It opened to the public on 28 February 1977, to provide mo ...

, which is home to various species of endangered animals, including the

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

, and

Indian rhinoceros The Indian rhinoceros (''Rhinoceros unicornis''), also known as the greater one-horned rhinoceros, great Indian rhinoceros or Indian rhino, is a species of rhinoceros found in the Indian subcontinent. It is the second largest living rhinocer ...

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

, and the historic Old Dubbo Gaol 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 aeromedical retrieval service in Australia and the largest of its kind in the world. It is a non-profit organisation that provides urgent and emergency medica ...

base at Dubbo airport has a large visitor information centre, staffed by volunteers, which features a

King Air 200 The Beechcraft Super King Air family is part of a line of twin-turboprop aircraft produced by Beechcraft. The Model 200 and Model 300 series were originally marketed as the "Super King Air" family; the "Super" designation was dropped in 1996.< ...

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 school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance; today, it usually involves online ...

. 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, Australia, Victoria. Established in 1989, it was named in honour of Captain (British Army and Royal ...

, 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 California bungalow is an alternative name for the American Craftsman style of Residential area, residential architecture, when it was applied to small-to-medium-sized homes rather than the large "ultimate bungalow" houses of designers like Green ...

" 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

lies on the

Main Western railway line The Main Western Railway (or Great Western Railway) is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs through the Blue Mountains (Australia), Blue Mountains, and Central West, New South Wales, Central West regions. It is long, of which ...

between Sydney and Bourke and opened in 1881. The station is the terminus for the daily

NSW TrainLink NSW TrainLink is a regional train and coach operator in Australia, providing services throughout New South Wales and into Australian Capital Territory, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria (state), Victoria, Queensland and South Australia ...

'' Central West XPT'' service from

with connecting road coach services to

, 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. I ...

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 ...

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 th ...

and Tamworth. The Mindyarra Maintenance Centre 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 operates services within the city. BusBiz operates coach services under contract to NSW TrainLink and maintains a depot in the city.

Dubbo City Regional Airport Dubbo 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 was known as Dubbo City Regional Airport until March 2022. History Aeroplanes b ...

has flights to Sydney (

QantasLink QantasLink is a full-service, Regional airline, regional brand of Australian flag carrier airline Qantas. As of 2024, QantasLink provides over 2,000 flights each week to 65 metropolitan, regional and remote destinations across Australia, as wel ...

, Regional Express), Newcastle (

FlyPelican Pelican Airlines Pty Ltd, operating as FlyPelican, is an Australian regional airline. Created by former Aeropelican staff with its previous aircraft fleet, FlyPelican initially operated air charter services and subsequently commenced scheduled ...

), Canberra (FlyPelican) and other small outback New South Wales towns (

Air Link Air Link Pty Ltd is an airline and air charter company based in Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia. It operates air charter services and recommenced regular passenger services in November 2019. As of 2024, Aviation Logistics Holdings (ALH) who ...

Media

Local print media include: *The '' Daily Liberal'' *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 45 radio stations with flagship stations broadcasting a mainstream/classic rock music format in Sydney, Melbourne, and B ...

broadcasts on FM 93.5, playing rock music. * 2DU – 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, local news and talk on 95.9FM. ABC Radio broadcasts five services to the Dubbo area: ABC Local,

ABC Radio National ABC Radio National, more commonly known as Radio National or simply RN, is an Australian nationwide public service radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2. ...

Triple J Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...

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. I ...

, 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 to a specialised audience, rather than to the broader public-at-large; it is the opposite of broadcasting. It may refer to advertising or programming via radio, podcast, newspaper, television, or ...

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 ma ...

, 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: *

Seven 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has symbolic associations in religion, mythology, supers ...

(formerly branded as

Prime7 Prime7, formerly Prime Television and other names, was an Australian Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. Prime Television launched on 17 March 1962 as ''CBN (Australian TV station), CBN-8'' in Orange, New South Wales, Ora ...

and Prime Television), 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 ...

7Bravo 7Bravo is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Seven Network under license from NBCUniversal International Networks on 15 January 2023. The channel contains programming from NBCUniversal's Americ ...

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

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

, owned and operated by the

since 2022 and formerly a Seven Network affiliate. * 10 Regional,

10 Bold Drama 10 Bold Drama (set to rebrand as 10 Drama in 2025) 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 eve ...

10 Peach Comedy 10 Peach Comedy (set to rebrand as 10 Comedy in 2025) 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 betwee ...

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

– an affiliate of

Network 10 Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's UK & Australia division and is one of the five national free-to-a ...

WIN Television WIN Television is an Australian television broadcasting, Australian television network owned and operated by WIN Corporation that is based in Wollongong, New South Wales. WIN commenced transmissions on 18 March 1962 as a single television stat ...

Nine 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Hindu–Arabic digit Circa 300 BC, as part of the Brahmi numerals, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bot ...

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, anima ...

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 The la ...

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 Scr ...

– an affiliate of the

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and 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 the five main free-to-air television ...

* ABC TV –

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

ABC Family American cable television, cable and satellite television network Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through four different owners and six different name changes dur ...

, ABC Kids,

ABC Entertains ABC Entertains is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was launched on 4 December 2009 as a children's channel called ABC3. It was rebranded on 19 September 2016 to ABC ME. It rebra ...

ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...

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 tax revenue. SBS operates six TV channels ( SBS, SBS Viceland, SBS World Movies, SBS ...

– 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 V ...

SBS World Movies SBS World Movies is an Australian free-to-air television channel showing international movies. The channel features foreign language films, documentaries, independent, annual films, art films and mainstream cinema and interviews with intern ...

SBS WorldWatch SBS WorldWatch is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). The channel shows multilingual international news bulletins in more than 30 languages, as well as two local bulletins ...

SBS Food SBS Food (formerly Food Network) 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 ...

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 six-day-a-week ''NITV News Updat ...

Seven (formerly branded as Prime7 and Prime Television) and WIN Television both produce half-hour-long local news bulletins. Seven News (formerly Prime7 News and Prime News) screens at 6 pm, while WIN News screens at 5:30 pm from Monday to Friday. Nine News Central West was an hour-long bulletin that mixed local and national news, broadcast on the

Southern Cross Austereo Southern Cross Media Group Limited, Trade name, doing business as Southern Cross Austereo, is an Australian media company which operates broadcast radio and Terrestrial television, television stations. It is the largest radio broadcaster in Au ...

primary channel, when it was a Nine affiliate.

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, b ...

services are provided by

Foxtel NXE Australia Pty Ltd, trading as the Foxtel Group, is an Australian pay television company that operates cable television, direct-broadcast satellite, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April ...

Sport and recreation

Sports play a big role in Dubbo's community life.

Rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

is popular in Dubbo. Two teams compete in the

Group 11 Rugby League Group 11 was 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. Ahead of the 2022 season, t ...

– 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 Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

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 six clubs based in the Central West (New South Wales), Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. All teams q ...

in 2007. Two

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

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 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 located at the intersection of the Newell, Mitchell, and ...

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. Overview Pony clubs began in England in 1929 by Harry Faudel-Phillips to ...

and

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, 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 bas ...

, and organises shows and

gymkhana Gymkhana () (, , , , ) is a British Raj term which originally referred to a place of assembly. The meaning then altered to denote a place where skill-based contests were held. "Gymkhana" is an Anglo-Indian expression, which is derived from the ...

Ultimate Frisbee Ultimate frisbee (officially simply called ultimate) is a non-contact team sport played with a disc flung by hand. Ultimate was developed in 1968 by Joel Silver, Buzzy Hellring, and Jonny Hines in Maplewood, New Jersey. Although ultimate rese ...

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, which 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 Syd ...

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 mu ...

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 involve using a map and compass to navigation, navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specia ...

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). In 2022, Dubbo hosted th
NSWPSSA Boys Cricket State Championships.
The competition took place i
Victoria Park
and Lady Cuttler Fields 1–5. Named for a famous blacktracker, the Tracker Riley bike path is part of a 12.5-km walking and cycling loop along the Macquarie River. Image:Memorial gates Dubbo.jpg, WWI Memorial gates Image:Jacaranda avenue Dubbo.jpg, Avenue of jacarandas Image:Dubbo War Memorial 08.jpg, WWII Memorial Image:Tracker Riley path.jpg, Start of Tracker Riley cycle path Image:Shibble Bridge, Dubbo.jpg, Shibble Bridge, Tracker Riley cycleway

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 ...

– actress in Australian drama series ''Sea Patrol'' * Frederick William Bamford (1849–1934) – politician * Daniel Barber - track cyclist *

Braidon Burns Braidon Burns (born 8 July 1996) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a or er for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League (NRL). Background Burns was born in Dubbo, Dubbo, New South Wales, Austr ...

– rugby league player for the

Canterbury Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilitated by ...

Matt Burton Matt Burton (born 14 March 2000) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the National Rugby League. Burton represents Australia at international level and previously playe ...

– rugby league player for the

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 – former NRL international * Megan Dunn – cyclist winning two gold in the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games. *

Kaide Ellis Kaide Ellis (born 4 August 1996) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and for the Wigan Warriors in the Super League. He previously played for the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League. Club Career Yo ...

– rugby league player for the

St. George Illawarra Dragons The St. George Illawarra Dragons are 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 (NRL) since 1999 after a j ...

Tyler Everingham Tyler Everingham (born 7 January 2001) is a racing driver from Australia. He currently completes in the TA2 Muscle Car Series and is a co-driver at Tickford Racing, partnering Declan Fraser in the #56 Tradie Mustang for the 2023 endurance races ...

– racing driver * William Ferguson – Aboriginal leader and organiser of 1938

Day of Mourning A national day of mourning is a day, or one of several days, marked by mourning and memorial activities observed among the majority of a country's populace. They are designated by the national government. Such days include those marking the deat ...

protest * Lizzy Gardiner – costume designer * Luke Garner – second row for NRL Club Penrith Panthers *

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 Aborigine ...

(1901–1983) – Aboriginal leader, lived and died in Dubbo *

Margaret Packham Hargrave Margaret Packham Hargrave (born Margaret Ruth Packham, 1941) is an Australian poet and writer. She is the author of two novels, ''Jake's Luck'' (1994) and ''A Woman of Air'' (1996), winner of the inaugural Elle/Random House Fiction Prize. Her e ...

– 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 ...

(born 1989) – first Indigenous person to join

The Australian Ballet The Australian Ballet (TAB) 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 a ...

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 * Father John Peter Leary OAM – noted Catholic missionary who worked with Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory was born in Dubbo. * 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 cocain ...

– 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 * Emily Lyons – the "Duchess of Dubbo", media personality and centenarian * 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, Super Rugby Pacific. They previously played in Super Rugby from 2006 until they were axed from the competitio ...

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 som ...

) *

Glenn McGrath Glenn Donald McGrath (; born 9 February 1970) is an Australian former international cricketer whose career spanned 14 years. He was a fast-medium pace bowler and is considered one of cricket's greatest bowlers and a leading contributor to Aus ...

– Australian international cricketer, born in Dubbo and raised in

Narromine Narromine (Help:IPA/English, /næroʊmaɪn/) is a rural Australian town located approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) west of Dubbo in the Orana, New South Wales, Orana region of New South Wales. The town is at the centre of Narromine Shire. ...

* Amy Mills (1986–) – Australian Deaflympic gold medallist * Billy Noke – former NRL player *

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 an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and former head coach of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the National Rugby League (NRL), a professional player who played in the late 1980s and 1990s ...

– 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, who appeared in theatre productions and portrayed minor roles in television dramas and films, including '' Suburban Mayhem'' and '' All Saints.'' Peacocke rose to prominence for hi ...

– actor, known for his role in soap opera ''

Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (''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 to Kangaroo Point, N ...

'' *

Luke Priddis Luke Priddis (born 14 April 1977) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative , he played club football in the National Rugby League for the Canb ...

– former NRL player *

The Reels The Reels are an Australian rock music, 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 (song), Quasimodo's Dream" was voted one of the APRA Top 30 Australian ...

– 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 Crowded Hou ...

Dave Mason David Thomas Mason (born 10 May 1946) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist from Worcester, who came to prominence in 1967 as a founding member of the rock band Traffic. While with Traffic, he wrote and sang lead vocals on two of the b ...

* Andrew Ryan – 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 ...

Rugby League sideline expert * Jean Emile Serisier – was Dubbo's first businessman.''Dubbo City on the Plain'' by Marion Dormer *

Mark Soden Mark Soden (born 23 November 1968) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played for the North Sydney Bears for eleven seasons. Early life Soden, from Dubbo was captain of the 1986 Australian Schoolboys and played his ...

– former NRL player * Robert Adam Spears (1893–1950) – professional cyclist *

Nicole Sykes Nicole Begg (née Sykes; born 15 December 1991 in Sydney) is an Australian footballer, who last played for Canberra United Canberra United Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territo ...

– Australian International soccer player, and captain for Canberra United *

Ashleigh Sykes Ashleigh Sykes (born 15 December 1991) is an Australian international football player who last played in 2022 for Canberra United FC of the A-League Women and has previously played for Portland Thorns FC in the U.S.'s National Women's Soccer Lea ...

– 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 Smit ...

– Australian rock band *

Barrie Unsworth Barrie John Unsworth (born 16 April 1934) is an Australian former 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. Since the death o ...

– 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 system, Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales actin ...

* Greg Warren (born Dubbo 1973) –

NSW Labor Party The New South Wales Labor Party, officially known as the Australian Labor Party (New South Wales Branch) and commonly referred to simply as NSW Labor, is the New South Wales branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). The branch is the current ...

State MP and Parliamentary Secretary *

Isaah Yeo Isaah Patrick Ferguson-Yeo (born 6 November 1994) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who co-captains and plays as a forward for the Penrith Panthers in the NRL and captains New South Wales in State of Origin and Australia a ...

– rugby league player and co-captain of the

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Greater Western Sydney suburb of Penrith, New South Wales, Penrith that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The team is based west of the cen ...

* Justin Yeo – former NRL player

References

External links

Dubbo Tourism (official website)Dubbo City CouncilDubbo – Visit NSW
{{Authority control Towns in the Central West (New South Wales) Newell Highway Dubbo Regional Council

History

Heritage listings

Geography

Climate

Demographics

Economy

Retail

Tourism

Education

Architecture

Transport

Media

Sport and recreation

Notable people

See also

References

External links