7 October 2016
This is our last day in Dubbo, we catch the bus home this afternoon. We returned the hire car to the airport, caught a taxi back to the motel, and had a walkabout the town. The day was very hot, certainly a day for sunscreen and sun hat, but it was only a reasonable walk to the Cultural Centre (above). The Western Plains Cultural Centre, a state-of-the-art facility boasting a gallery, museum and modern café, is Dubbo’s creative soul. The Centre offers a rich program of high quality exhibitions and installations by local and visiting artists. It is a function of Dubbo Regional Council and houses the former collections of the Dubbo Museum and Dubbo Regional Gallery.
The Official Opening of the facility was on 10 February 2007 by the NSW Governor, Her Excellency Marie Bashir AC CVO. The total cost of the project was $8.2M. The Philosophy of the WPCC is: To create a positive and unique sense of place for Dubbo residents and visitors by providing opportunities and events for creative and cultural engagement with the community, and assisting in the preservation and growth of the region’s identity.
The Centre was busy, it is obviously a popular meeting place for locals, and we had plenty of time to walk through the beautiful centre and view the exhibitions. There is a nice cafe, so of course we had to try the coffee. The back of the Centre opens on to a large park, so we decided to walk through the park into the main CBD. There was a beautiful lake and a war memorial, and the park opened up to the main street opposite the Dubbo Regional Council Chambers.
It was nice to revisit the main part of town with its wide two-way street with beautiful trees down the centre, all getting ready to burst into green in the spring weather. We gave ourselves time to return to the Motel, collect our luggage and catch a taxi to Dubbo Railway Station (right) for our coach tour home. The coach left at 2.25pm and we were back in Newcastle at 8.05pm after travelling through Dunedoo, Merriwa, Sandy Hollow, Denman, Singleton, Maitland and home where my son Steve collected us from the harbourside terminal.
Always nice to reach the end of a journey, and there is no place quite like home. We have had a wonderful two weeks exploring the beautiful areas around western New South Wales – and already thinking of where we will explore next!
