Dubbo

Our accommodation at Dubbo was The Oxley Motel. This was the motel where most of the Victorian cricketers stayed.

Once we had settled in we went for a brief walk, but as the radar showed that a storm was approaching we purchased some take-away from the Chinese restaurant - Fortune Kitchen - around the corner from the motel.

The severe storm lasted for a couple of hours with heavy rain, thunder and lightning and some hail. We were glad that we were not on the road during this storm.

 Jacarandas line the streets in Dubbo. After the storm the footpaths were covered with purple flowers.

The motel was within easy walking distance of the shopping centre and the cricket grounds where the games were played, although we drove to the grounds on match days.

The Western Plains Cultural Centre is near Victoria Park.

The museum displays were excellent. Each exhibit related to an aspect of the history of the local area. The stand out piece was a very large wagon used to transport wool across the country.

One  of the exhibits was about a resident who had taken part in the Sudan War in 1885 when a contingent from NSW was sent to the region.

The art gallery had a temporary display of items entered in the 2024 Wynne Prize which is awarded annually for 'the best landscape painting of Australian scenery in oils or watercolours or for the best example of figure sculpture by Australian artists'. The exhibition from the Art Gallery of New South Wales was on tour throughout the state.

I revisited the Cultural Centre when a cricket match was being played at Victoria Park to look at the Rabbit Plague exhibition that had been installed since our previous visit.

I also purchased a cake from the cafe -delicious.

We then explored Dubbo.

The Dubbo Municipal Office (above) and Kangaroo paw in Darling Street (below).

Pastoral Hotel - one of the many country style pubs in Dubbo.

The post office was still an important building in Dubbo.

The Dubbo Public Library is open seven days a week.

Exploring Old Dubbo Gaol is popular with many visitors to the town.