17 April 2011 - Terramungamine Reserve, Dubbo, NSW

What a difference the sun makes! We woke to sunshine in the middle of an aviary; galahs, cockatoos, crows and a mass of other birds rejoicing the better day. We had originally thought we would unhitch, apply the lock to the caravan drawbar and head back into the city just in the cruiser. While we breakfasted and considered our day, many of our overnight neighbours had packed up and left. We decided that we would take the whole rig back into town, a distance of ten kilometres.

We found the Information Centre easily, parking nearby, and then set off on foot seeking the Western Plains Cultural Centre. The map we had was of small scale, and poorly labelled; we walked for a couple of kilometres, to find that we were two blocks too far from our target, and then arrived minutes before the museum and gallery opened. In fact matters had worked out fortuitously.

The gallery had three exhibits on the go; the ceramics exhibition by Jeff Mincham which we had enjoyed when it was in Tamworth and did so all over again, a rather strange cluster of work by two women which one needed to view with their heads on to begin to appreciate, and a very interesting collection of photographs, titled Icons & Archives – Photos of two World Wars. These were disturbing, interesting, enlightening, horrible and wonderful. The photographers exhibited included the names of Silk and Parer, whose work was particularly good.

The museum just adjacent was also very good. One part of it was called “On the Sly” and explained how Dubbo’s first pubic buildings were a court house, a lockup and a police residence in 1847, and how the town grew around the administration of law and order in this very violent and harsh environment through the mid 19^th century. There were stories of criminals who had been born in Dubbo and who went on to become infamous in other parts of Australia, and stories of crimes committed here in Dubbo. I enjoyed it very much.

The second part of the exhibits were collections of  memorabilia, perhaps only four to six in each, and a simple story about the family or person who had used or owned these possessions.

In my opinion, this regional museum would rate right up there with any of the better regional museums we have seen.

We then found our way back to the main streets of Dubbo, and were delighted to find that these wide streets, lined with trees, were buzzing with people despite the fact that it was Sunday morning. Certainly there are some cafes, but it was the retail establishments that had attracted the crowds, and they are many and various. We were impressed with Dubbo.

Dubbo is not very much bigger than Bathurst or Orange, with a population of just 40,043. It is 264 metres above sea level, somewhat lower than Bathurst and Orange and those other places we have visited over the past week or so. It is situated on the Macquarie River, as are the other two towns, however unlike those first two places which are surrounded by hills, Dubbo is situated on a vast plain, on the edge of the land that eventually becomes “The Outback”.

A visit to the Taronga Western Plains Zoo was on the agenda, however we checked out the cost when we were at the Information Centre. It was going to cost almost $80 and while it had been recommended by Neil and Pauline, and our travel bibles, and is widely advertised on the television, it falls in to the category of the “shall we or shan’t we spend our hard earned dollars on this?” Sadly travelling 365 days a year, for the planned three to five years, and with the cost of fuel (and life generally) we do have to pick and choose which fantastic tourist attractions we take in. Today Dubbo lost out, and hopefully we won’t live to regret it.

And so we decided that we would head off north in the morning. We found the public dump at the show grounds where horse trots were taking place, filled the fuel tanks, shopped for provisions at Coles, then returned to this wonderful camp at the Terramungamine Reserve. Tonight there are perhaps even more caravans and motor homes in here than last night. Sunset was lovely, watched by all and the birds who wheeled around squawking and calling, bidding us goodnight. 

Chris has just come in from chatting to our immediate neighbours who are sitting under the stars enjoying the cool night air. Whilst there, he saw a couple of satellites passing overhead. I should have been out there being more sociable, rather than in front of this computer missing out on life!