A Wiradjuri Dreaming connected to the Aboriginal creation ancestor Baiami was enacted during a Burbung male initiation ceremony, and recorded by R.H. Mathews in 1896.
Grinding grooves, to shape tools and spears, can be found in the region.
Frenchman, Jean Serisier, came to Australia in 1838. In 1847 he tried to set up a store at Dubbo but was refused permission by Robert Dulhunty, who owned the station. Serisier petitioned for a village nearby and bought several blocks in 1851. He ran a general store for merchant Despointes, and also became local postmaster in 1855.
The Dubbo lock-up was a slab-hut connected to the courthouse comprising two cells and a guard room.
Dubbo was officially gazetted as a village on 23 November 1849. The original town plan was a square mile grid laid out to the east of the Macquarie River.
The village location is related to its purpose as a staging post, a camping area and stock travelling routes (the Great North Road).
A report in the The Dulhunty Papers mentions an Aboriginal Corroboree:
"And the first corroboree held by the Macquarie tribe at Dundullimo will, I am certain, be remembered by Mrs Gillis, senior. She will remember going over one extremely dark night to Dundullimo, with a number of Europeans, to witness a corroboree in which from 600 to 800 blacks took part. And when the painted warriors made their appearance and commenced operations more than one of the spectators wished themselves at home. The same lady could bear testimony to the anxious days and nights passed in the quarry with several of their families including the Lord of the Manor, Lawrence Dulhunty, during what was for many years known as the big flood of 1844." Read
here
1850s
The first land sales took place in 1850.
Garnsey wrote that by the 1850s, many Aboriginal men of Dubbo were working as stockmen and trackers.
The NSW Gold Rush started in 1851 bringing hopeful diggers from all over the country and the world.
The first Catholic Church was built in 1851.
Dubbo lock-up officially proclaimed a gaol in 1859.
A private school existed before a national school was built in 1858. The Anglican church and parsonage were built in 1859.
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An early photo of Holy Trinity Church, Dubbo, NSW, before the bell tower was added. |
1860s
Population growth was slow in Dubbo until the gold rush of the 1860s.
The Minore Hotel first opened 1860 on the highway between Dubbo and Narromine. Later became a a Cobb & Co changing station.
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The Minore Hotel first opened 1860 on the highway between Dubbo and Narromine, NSW |
The Royal Hotel was the first stone building erected in the fledgling town of Dubbo in 1863 on Macquarie Street. The hotel was a coaching stop for the Royal Mail Coaches.
Construction of the second Dubbo courthouse and gaol completed in 1863.
Only two stores and two hotels existed in 1864.
Cobb & Co.
connected Dubbo to the north, east and west in 1865.
The first bank at Dubbo opened in 1865.
A sign on the Golden Highway between Dubbo and Dunedoo marks the site where bushranger Sam Poo, who acted with a sawn-off rifle and revolver, was captured on February 18, 1865. Read
hereThe
Dubbo Dispatch was a newspaper published in Dubbo from 1865 until 1971.
The Oxley Bridge, the first permanent bridge, was built in 1866.
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Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Monday 28 May 1866 |
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Dubbo Liberal and Macquarie Advocate |
John Dunn was an Australian bushranger who, after a fight with police, was wounded and captured near Coonamble. He was taken to Dubbo, and he escaped from custody, though closely guarded. Read
more |
CAPTURE OF THE BUSHRANGER DUNN, BY M'HALE, ELLIOTT, AND HAWTHORNE. Illustrated Sydney News (NSW : 1853 - 1872), Friday 16 February 1866 |
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COURT-HOUSE AND GAOL, DUBBO, PLACE OF DUNN'S IMPRISONMENT, Illustrated Sydney News (NSW : 1853 - 1872), Friday 16 February 1866 |
The first bank opened in 1867.
The Dubbo Base Hospital was completed in 1867 but opened in 1870.
1870s
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The Commercial Banking Company Bank on Macquarie Street c 1870s. Photo - State Library of NSW |
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Royal Hotel, Overland Stores & Mill, Macquarie Street - Dubbo, NSW, 1870 |
The municipal government was established in 1871.
The town was proclaimed a municipality in 1872.
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Macquarie Street, Dubbo. 1873. Loaded wool wagons in front of Jean Emile Serisier's store. Macquarie Regional Library |
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Macquarie Street north, Dubbo, NSW. 1870-5 |
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Macquarie Street north, Dubbo, NSW. 1870-5 |
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Macquarie Street, looking south from Church Street, Dubbo, NSW - 1875 |
Thomas Newman was the first person executed for murder and buried in the Dubbo Gaol yard, 29 May 1877. Eight men were executed at Dubbo Gaol between 1877 to 1904.
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Freeman's Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1850 - 1932), Saturday 6 October 1877 |
1880s
In 1880 there were approximately 30 hotels operating in Dubbo.
The Main Western Railway from Wellington to Dubbo opened in 1881. A gasworks also opened. There were 29 hotels, three breweries.
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Description: Dubbo Court House, NSW. Dated: c.1881, NSW State Archives |
Thomas Alexander Browne ("Rolf Boldrewood"), the famous Australian novelist, and author of
Robbery under Arms, was transferred as magistrate and mining warden to Dubbo in 1881.
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Marcus Clark Store, Talbragar Street, Dubbo, undated, ANU |
The Dubbo rail Bridge over the Macquarie River opened in 1884.
The third courthouse in Dubbo, on Brisbane Street, opened in 1889.
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Dubbo Court House. Dated: 1889, NSW State Archives |
1890s
The 1890s Depression and the dramatic fall in wool prices on the world market impacted Australia and the Dubbo region.
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Dubbo Dispatch and Wellington Independent (NSW : 1887 - 1932), Friday 4 March 1892 |
A flour mill opened in 1893.
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MACQUARIE-STREET, DUBBO, NSW, Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), Saturday 23 May 1896 |
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PICNIC RACES, DUBBO : RETURNING TO SCALE AFTER THE LADIES' BRACELET. NSW. Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), Saturday 23 May 1896 |
A letter to the
Sydney Morning Herald in 1896, described Dubbo about 1836:
"At that remote period Dubbo was a trackless sheep-walk occupied by those old pioneers, R., L., and Dr John Dulhunty. No more popular men with all classes could be found in Australia than Robert and Dr John Dulhunty. Lawrence was not such a general favourite. The Dulhunty brothers could have furnished some interesting reminiscences of the early days, when they had more than one encounter with Donahoe's bushranging gang and other 'knights of the road'. Some of the old hands round Dubbo will remember the day that the bushrangers 'Possum Jack', 'Quart Pot', and their gang stuck up Lawrence Dulhunty and took his horse, saddle, and bridle. When asked which of the Dulhuntys he was, he answered 'Dr John', to which Possum Jack replied 'It is lucky for you you are not your brother Lawrence, for we would shoot him."
There were 33 hotels in Dubbo in 1897 (
1.).
In 1898 the Talbrager Aboriginal Reserve was gazetted, 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) north of Dubbo.
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NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS OF THE DUBBO COMPANY, 3rd INFANTRY REGIMENT. Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Saturday 24 December 1898 |
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MR. T. LEWIS'S MODEL STORE. Dubbo, NSW, Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Saturday 24 December 1898 |
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Post Office, Dubbo, NSW, Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), Saturday 10 June 1899 |
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Dubbo, NSW, Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), Saturday 10 June 1899 |
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Dubbo Lands Office, Dated: No date, NSW State Archives |
1900s
In July 1900, Jimmy Governor and Jack Underwood murdered four members of the Mawbrey family and a school-teacher. Altogether, nine people were killed, by Governor or his accomplices.
Jack Underwood was tried for the murder of Percy Mawbey at Dubbo on 2 October 1900 and was hanged on 14 January 1901. These events were the inspiration for novel “The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith” by Thomas Keneally.
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JACKY UNDERWOOD, In Custody. Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954), Saturday 11 August 1900 |
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Dubbo Fire Brigade-the latest in reel dispatch, NSW, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Saturday 29 December 1900 |
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A farmers' church in the bush near Dubbo, N.S.W. - very early 1900s. Church served by the Bush Brotherhood. Aussie~mobs |
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The Court House Hotel was located at 104-108 Macquarie Street, Dubbo, NSW. This photograph taken in 1903. |
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Church of England GymnasiumClub, Dubbo, NSW.Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 19 August 1903 |
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Dubbo coach driver, NSW, standing beside the Dubbo to Gilgandra coach in 1903 |
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J. D. WILKINSON'S ROYAL HOTEL, DUBBO, NSW. Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 26 July 1905 |
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J. G. BROWN'S AGRICULTURAL AND MACHINERY DEPARTMENTS, DUBBO, NSW. Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 26 July 1905 |
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J. S. Sherry. P. A. Smith, James Deane, R. W. Jelf, W. Davey. Secretary. Vice-Pres Hon. Treas. J. A. Busby, Vice-Pres. G. H. Taylor, President. James Samuels, Trustee. Miss Links, Assist. Librarian. J W. Sillar, Vice-Pres. J. H. Ritter. Vice-Pres. SCHOOL OF ARTS COMMITTEE. J. G. BROWN'S AGRICULTURAL AND MACHINERY DEPARTMENTS |
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DUBBO DISPATCH" OFFICE, NSW, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 26 July 1905 |
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DUBBO HOSPITAL, NSW Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 26 July 1905 |
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C. W. GREGORY'S GENERAL STORE, DUBBO, NSW. Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 26 July 1905 |
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G. FLYNN. DUBBO, NSW. Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 26 July 1905 |
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JOHN HUNTER AND SON. DUBBO BRANCH, NSW, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 26 July 1905 |
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COURT-HOUSE HOTEL. DUBBO, NSW, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 26 July 1905 |
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Nurse Peerman. Miss A. E. Marsden. Matron. Nurse Patrick. Nurse Matthews. Nurse Bridger. J. VV. Sillar, Vice-Pres. G. H. Taylor, President. J. A. Ryan, Vice-Pres. Nurse Findlater. Dubbo Hospital, NSW, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 26 July 1905 |
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JAMES G. BROWN'S STORE., DUBBO, NSW. Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 26 July 1905 |
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Bank of NSW, Dubbo, NSW, (built 1876 ), Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 26 July 1905 |
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Dubbo Railway Station, NSW, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 26 July 1905 |
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Talbragar St, Dubbo, NSW, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 26 July 1905 |
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Macquarie St, Dubbo, NSW, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 26 July 1905, |
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The Australian Joint Stock Bank, Dubbo, NSW, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 26 July 1905, |
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Bank of Australasia, Dubbo, NSW, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 26 July 1905 |
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Overland Store, Dubbo, NSW, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 26 July 1905 |
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Dubbo Show, NSW, Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Wednesday 8 May 1907 |
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lady judges and stewards, Dubbo Show, NSW, Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Wednesday 8 May 1907 |
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Railway Station, Dubbo, New South Wales - circa 1910, Aussie~mobs |
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Title: Dubbo Public School - Training School for Physical Education. Dated: c.1910, NSW State Archives |
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Town Hall in Dubbo, N.S.W. - circa 1910, Aussie~mobs |
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Collecting donations on "Hospital Saturday" in a ca. 1910, Rover car - Dubbo, NSW, 1912, State Library of New South Wales |
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DUBBO DISTRICT SCHOOL WHICH HAS BEEN REMODELLED OFFICIAL OPENING CEREMONY.Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Wednesday 13 November 1912 |
WWI
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Arrival of the Gilgandra recruits in Dubbo. NSW (it was raining). Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Wednesday 20 October 1915 |
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Officers at the Military Camp at Dubbo, NSW. The picture shows, immediately in front, Lieutenant Dugmore; seated, I reading left to right, Captains Ley, Cooper, Burkett; back, Lieutenants Jenkins and Lorton.Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Wednesday 20 October 1915 |
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WW1 Recruits at the army camp at Dubbo, N.S.W. - 1916, Aussie~mobs |
Schools closed during the 1919 influenza pandemic.
Dubbo soldier settlement schemes.
1920s
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the Dubbo Common area was known as "Bagtown", as families
camped there in roughly made tents. (may also have included Aboriginal families)
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The Dubbo baby health Centre, NSW, Land (Sydney, NSW : 1911 - 1954), Friday 4 July 1930 |
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Snap taken of one of the "encounters" in the{A}borigine corroboree and pageant, to be staged at Back to Dubbo Week, under Mr. W. Ferguson.Dubbo Liberal and Macquarie Advocate (NSW : 1894 - 1954), Thursday 24 October 1935 |
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National Advocate (Bathurst, NSW : 1889 - 1954), Thursday 21 February 1935 |
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Mechanics' Institute, Dubbo, NSW, Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954), Saturday 11 January 1936 |
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Macquarie St, Dubbo, NSW, Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954), Saturday 11 January 1936 |
The APA (Aboriginal Progressive Association) was established in Dubbo in 1937, by William Ferguson, Jack Patten and Pearl Gibbs.
The declaration of World War II in September 1939.
1940s and WWII
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Dubbo Liberal and Macquarie Advocate (NSW : 1894 - 1954), Tuesday 24 December 1940 |
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Title: Swimming pool, Dubbo, NSW. Dated: No date, NSW State Archives |
The RAAF operated at Dubbo, including the Dubbo aerodrome, the "Barracks" for housing personnel and the stores. By July 1942, two Bellman Hangars were under construction. Dubbo wass a strategic choice, to be out of range of carrier borne aircraft.
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Construction of the RAAF Base Hangar No.4 in 1942, Dubbo, NSW |
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SERGEANT-TRACKER ALEXANDER RILEY, first Australian {A}borigine to win the King's Police and Fire Services Medal. Sergeant Riley, who has served in the Dubbo district for 29 years, will receive the medal from the Governor of N.S.W. (Lord Wakehurst) at Government House on September 17.Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1931 - 1954), Friday 3 September 1943 |
By June 1945 there were approximately 866 men and women personnel, both military and civilian, employed by the RAAF in its six sites in the town of Dubbo.
1950s
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Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 - 1954), Monday 3 April 1950 |
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Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 - 1954), Monday 3 April 1950 |
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Dubbo Liberal and Macquarie Advocate (NSW : 1894 - 1954), Tuesday 9 May 1950 |
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A Black-Tracker Tells His Story. SERGEANT Tracker Alex Riley, of Dubbo, has done more to solve major crime, recapture gaol-breakers, and save lives than any other coloured man in this State. Sunday Herald (Sydney, NSW : 1949 - 1953), Sunday 9 July 1950 |
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Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 - 1954), Sunday 3 June 1951 |
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Raymond Peckhma, Dubbo, NSW, Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 - 1954), Sunday 3 June 1951 |
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First visitors to Dubbo's new baby Health Centre, NSW, Land (Sydney, NSW : 1911 - 1954), Friday 5 September 1952 |
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Mrs. Pearl Gibbs, 53, of Dubbo, the first woman of {A}boriginal blood to stand for election to the Aborigines Welfare Board. The result will be known to-morrow afternoon.Sun-Herald (Sydney, NSW : 1953 - 1954), Sunday 8 August 1954 |
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Awaiting the royal visit in Dubbo. Dated: 10/02/1954, NSW State Archives |
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Queen Elizabeth inspecting the fruit and vegetable exhibit at the Dubbo Agricultural Show on Wednesday. This was her Majesty's first visit to an Australian Show, NSW. Central Queensland Herald (Rockhampton, Qld. : 1930 - 1956), Thursday 18 February 1954 |
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THE QUEEN saw these champion shearers in action at the Royal DubboShow. Left to right: Les Follett, of Wellington; John Thornbury, of Gilgandra, and Hilton Bennetts, of Gulgong, who was champion shearer at the Exhibition. Dubbo Show, NSW. Farmer and Settler (Sydney, NSW : 1906 - 1955), Friday 12 February 1954 |
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The Queen walking across the tarmac at Dubbo airport yesterday to board the Royal Convair to return to Sydney, The Duke of Edinburgh (right) is with the Minister for Local Government, Mr. Renshaw (back to camera). Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1931 - 1954), Thursday 11 February 1954 |
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Title: Dubbo Railway Refreshment Room, interior showing counter. Dated: Date or use No date, NSW State Archives |
1960s
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Ray Peckham of Dubbo speaking at an Aboriginal-Australian Fellowship conference in Sydney, October 1965. State Library of New South Wales |
In 1966 Dubbo was proclaimed a city.
Dubbo Regional Museum opened in 1968.
1970s
According to Tindale (1974), the Dubbo area was occupied by the Wiradjuri-speaking Aboriginal people.
Taronga Western Plains Zoo Dubbo opened to the public on 28th February 1977, the first zoo in Australia to be constructed on the open range principle.
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Old postcard of Western Plains Zoo, Dubbo, NSW |
1980s
In 1987 a Double Burial with Grave Goods was found near Dubbo. Read
here1990s
The Central West Pipeline, Marsden to Dubbo, was constructed in 1998, consists of approximately 255 kilometres of gas transmission network in the state of New South Wales.
Around Dubbo
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Dundullimal located near Dubbo in the central west of NSW is thought to be the oldest surviving sophisticated slab house in Australia. 23L Obley Road Dubbo, NSW, its sandstone stables, timber church, and shed are a living illustration of rural life on an isolated property. |
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Stables at Dundullimal, Dubbo, NSW, built c 1849 -1851 |
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The Royal Flying Doctor Visitor Experience Centre, Dubbo, NSW |
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Dubbo railway station, Talbragar Street, opened in 1881, NSW |
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Former post office and telephone exchange building in Dubbo, NSW, built 1886 |
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Station master's residence, Dubbo, NSW, built 1881 |
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The Colonial Mutual Life building, Dubbo, NSW |
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The Westpac bank branch in Dubbo, NSW - originally built in 1868, was originally the Bank of New South Wales. |
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Old Macquarie Brewery. 72 Brisbane Street, Dubbo, NSW, commenced in 1876 |
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Heritage house, Dubbo, NSW, “Regand Park” |
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Heritage house, Dubbo, NSW, “Eastonville” |
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Macquarie Lodge was formed in Dubbo, NSW, in 1890 |
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Ben Furney Flour Mill, Dubbo, NSW |
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The Western Star Hotel, Dubbo, NSW |
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Dubbo, NSW |
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The Commercial Hotel is Dubbo's oldest licensed establishment and was built in 1859 |
Things To Do and Places To Go
The Old Dubbo Gaol