Dubbo, New South Wales
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Dubbo is the largest population centre (population 38,000 as of 2004) and a Local Government Area in the central-west of New South Wales, Australia. It is located at the intersection of the Mitchell Highway, the Newell Highway and the Golden Highway. Dubbo is 416 kilometres northwest of the state capital Sydney and is a major road and rail freight hub to other parts of New South Wales. Dubbo is considered the cross-roads of New South Wales. From there you can drive north to Brisbane, South to Melbourne, east to Sydney and Newcastle, and west to Broken Hill and Adelaide. It has one major newspaper, the Daily Liberal. Dubbo has two major FM radio stations, Zoo FM broadcasting on 92.7, and Star FM broadcasting on 93.5. It is also the current residence of former Buffalo mayor James Griffin, who moved there during the mid 90s.
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History
Evidence of habitation by Australian aborigines dates back approximately 40,000 years.
The first European to visit the region was John Oxley. In 1828, Robert Dulhunty named the area Dubbo, which means 'red earth' in the local Aboriginal language. Dundullimal Homestead is a farmhouse from that period, and today is open to visitors.
The settlement was founded with the establishment of a store in 1847 on the east bank of the Macquarie River. The settlement was gazetted as a village in November 1849. Population growth was slow until the gold rush of the 1860s brought an influx of prospectors. By 1897 Dubbo had a general store, Carrier arms, a slab courthouse, jail and a police hut.
Town features
There are 18 schools and secondary colleges including the Dubbo school of distance education. It also is home to one of the four main campuses of Charles Sturt University. The city's largest employer is Fletcher International Abattoir that exports lamb to the world. Its second-largest employer is a hospital, and the largest industry is tourism.
Dubbo has a turf club, which incorporates a pony club, horse racing and organizes shows and gymkhana. There are a few stables that offer board for horses and riding lessons. There is a riding school called Western Plains Riding Centre.
Dubbo also features the open-range Western Plains Zoo, stocked with native fauna and African safari-range specimens in spacious open-range moat enclosures.
Fletcher International Abattoir
The abattoir is a large sheep meat processing facility. It is a family-owned business operated by local businessman Roger Fletcher. Despite recent tough times in the meat processing industry, the business has continued to thrive and has continued to specialise in the processing of sheep meat without diversifying into other areas.
Dubbo Show
Dubbo hosts a local show around April/May of each year. This event is held at the local Dubbo showgrounds.