Dubbo

Dubbo New South Wales
Overlooking the city from West Dubbo
Dubbo
Coordinates	32°15′25″S 148°36′4″E / 32.25694°S 148.60111°E / -32.25694; 148.60111Coordinates: 32°15′25″S 148°36′4″E / 32.25694°S 148.60111°E / -32.25694; 148.60111
Population	40,975 (2012) (37)
Established	1849 1966 (city)
Postcode(s)	2830
Elevation	275 m (902 ft)
Time zone	AEST (UTC+10)
• Summer (DST)	AEDT (UTC+11)
Location	400 km (249 mi) NW of Sydney
LGA(s)	Western Plains Regional Council
Region	Central West / Orana
County	Lincoln
State electorate(s)	Dubbo
Federal Division(s)	Parkes
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall 24.3 °C 76 °F 10.1 °C 50 °F 551.7 mm 21.7 in

Dubbo /ˈdʌboʊ/ is a city in the Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with an estimated population of 40,975 as of 2012, and serves an estimated catchment of 120,000.

It is located at the intersection of the Mitchell, Newell and Golden highways. The nearest city, Orange, is approximately 144 km (89 mi) away. Dubbo is located approximately 275 m (902 ft) above sea level, 303 km (188 mi) north-west of Sydney (400 km (249 mi) 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, south to Melbourne, east to Sydney and Newcastle, and west to Broken Hill and Adelaide.

Dubbo is included in the rainfall records and weather forecast region for the Central West Slopes and in the Central West Slopes and Plains division of the Bureau of Meteorology forecasts.

Evidence of habitation by Indigenous Australians dates back approximately 40,000 years.

The explorer and surveyor John Oxley (1784–1828, born, Yorkshire, England) was the first European to report on the area now known as Dubbo in 1818. The first permanent European settler in the area was English born Robert Dulhunty, described as one of the wealthiest citizens in the Australian colony at the time. There are records of squatters being given permission to set up large sheep and cattle stations in the area in 1824 but these were not maintained. 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.