Dungog, New South Wales

Dungog New South Wales
View of Dungog from Hospital Road
Dungog
Population:	2,102[1]
Postcode:	2420
Coordinates:	32°23′54″S 151°45′09″E / 32.39833°S 151.7525°E / -32.39833; 151.7525Coordinates: 32°23′54″S 151°45′09″E / 32.39833°S 151.7525°E / -32.39833; 151.7525
Time zone:  • Summer (DST)	AEST (UTC+10) AEDT (UTC+11)
Location:	215 km (134 mi) N of Sydney 76 km (47 mi) NNW of Newcastle 52 km (32 mi) NNE of Maitland 51 km (32 mi) N of Raymond Terrace
LGA:	Dungog Shire Great Lakes Council
Region:	Hunter
County:	Durham[2]
Parish:	Dungog[2]
State District:	Upper Hunter[3]
Federal Division:	Paterson[4]
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall 28.3 °C 83 °F 3.6 °C 38 °F 1,151.8 mm 45.3 in
Localities around Dungog: Sugarloaf Bendolba, Fosterton Alison Tabbil Creek Dungog Alison Tabbil Creek Tabbil Creek Alison

Dungog is a country town on the Williams River in the upper Hunter Valley in New South Wales, Australia.^[5][6] Located in the middle of dairy and timber country, it is the centre of the Dungog Shire Local Government Area (LGA) and at the 2006 census it had a population of 2,102 people.^[1] The area includes the Fosterton Loop, 22 kilometres (14 mi) of road, used in the annual Pedalfest. A small portion of Dungog lies in the Great Lakes Council LGA.^[5][6]

Culture

Popular Dungog events are the Dungog Film Festival hosted at the James Theatre, the Dungog agricultural show, Pedalfest, the Dungog rodeo, and the Thunderbolt rally. Each of these events showcase local produce and talent and bring tourists to the region.

James Theatre

Dungog is the home of the James Theatre, the oldest purpose-built cinema still operating in Australia, located at 6 Brown Street. It receives new movie releases soon after cinemas in more populated areas. The Dungog Film Society has been operating from the cinema for 18 years and screens monthly fine films to locals as well as bringing Flickerfest to Dungog and an AGOG weekend of foreign films in September. The theatre is the venue for the Dungog Film Festival, which is held annually.

The theatre was first opened on land of James Stuart in December 1912. Originally an open air theatre, it was roofed by 1914 and in 1918 an enclosed hall built. In order to accommodate "talkie" movies and to provide a dance facility, Stuart commissioned major reconstruction works that commenced in 1930. These works were designed by the Newcastle architect, William Jeater.^[7]

The reconstruction works included construction of a stage, remodelling the street façade into the Spanish Mission Style, a new dance floor, new northern entrance, a projection room above the foyer and seating arrangement for 400.^[7]

It retains the simplicity of a Picture Theatre built in a small country town during the Great Depression. The building is architecturally significant as one of only four Picture Theatres in the New South Wales with Spanish Mission Style facades. The James Theatre Dungog Community Centre has been owned by the Dungog Shire Council since 1979.

Dungog Film Festival

Main article: Dungog Film Festival

The Dungog Film Festival, inaugurated on 31 May 2007, is a film festival which serves the dual purposes of encouraging the local tourism industry and showcasing Australian cinema. It takes place over four days and some of the proceeds go towards preserving the James Theatre.^[8][9][10] It is held annually in May and is open to Australian filmmakers only. The festival is a non-competitive, four-day cultural event that showcasts exclusively the Australian movies from the past, present and future. The types of films showcased at the Dungog festival include feature films, short films, television pilots, short documentaries, feature documentaries, music videos and In The Raw script submission for television series, miniseries and feature films scripts.

It is considered the biggest festival of Australian cinema in the country,^{[citation needed]} attended by around 6,000 film fanatics.^[11] Allanah Zitserman is Festival Director and founder of the Dungog Film Festival.

The screenings are shown in local venues including the James Theatre and the RSL auditorium.^[12]

Education

Dungog High School has approximately 680 students,^[13] 55 teachers, 42 rooms, 330 computers, two ovals and school grounds of roughly 8 hectares (20 acres).^{[citation needed]} Children from nearly all of the surrounding towns (e.g.: Clarence Town, Gresford, Paterson, Vacy, Wallarobba, Martins Creek, East Gresford, and Glen Martin) attend.

Historical Society and museum

Founded in 1963, Dungog Historical Society is located in the former School of Arts building which also houses the Dungog Museum. The wide collection showcases Dungog's history and heritage, including information and material about local aboriginals and family history.

The core of the display is Dungog: The Making of a Community, telling the story of Dungog via different themes. The colourful panels were produced with a grant from the NSW Ministry of the Arts. Temporary exhibitions are also held.

The museum is open on Wednesday and Saturdays from 10am to 3pm and by arrangement.

Rail transport

The town's railway station has been served by the North Coast railway line since 1911. The Great White Train visit in August 1926 was attended by a large crowd.^[14] There are approximately six regional rail services and six XPT (eXpress Passenger Train) services a day to Dungog, run by CityRail and CountryLink. The two afternoon CityRail services were formerly run by 620 & 720 railcars but are now run by the new Hunter railcars.

Sport

Dungog has a rapidly growing football (soccer) club with a record 14 teams competing in competitions across the Hunter Valley. 2010 proved to be a very successful year with 2 teams classified as Premiers at the end of the regular season; and 3 teams winning their post season Championships. Dungog also has a Rugby League club called the Dungog Warriors which has teams competing in junior and senior competitions. Additionally, Dungog has a Cricket Club and a Netball Association.

The town has 6 tennis courts which serve for children's tennis coaching in addition to primary and high school competitions. An adult competition is also run on Monday and Wednesday nights. Many residents ride horses and compete in local rodeos.

Dungog has an array of successful Motorcross riders. Riders such as Nick Lean, Brad Redman, Brad Francis and Christian Clark have been highly successful, winning races. Nick has also been selected to go to the Australian Institute of Sport to improve his skills. He is also on the Suzuki National Team.

Notable persons

Cricketer Doug Walters and geographer Reginald Golledge were born in Dungog. Dave Sands, one of Australia's well known boxers, was killed near Dungog in 1952 aged 26.

Dungog is home to Kevin Bacon, the Australian Olympic equestrian rider, who has captured many show jumping titles in Australia and overseas.^[15]

Gallery

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  Wide Main street of Dungog

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  Dungog Historical Society

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  Dungog Main Street

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Dungog (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2006 Census QuickStats. http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/LocationSearch?collection=Census&period=2006&areacode=UCL128200&producttype=QuickStats&breadcrumb=PL&action=401. Retrieved 31 May 2008.  Map
2. ^ ^{a b} "Geographical Names Register Extract: Dungog". Geographical Names Register (GNR) of NSW. Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. http://www.gnb.nsw.gov.au/name_search/extract?id=JPlpjzWAGH. Retrieved 31 May 2008. 
3. ^ "Upper Hunter". New South Wales Electoral Commission. 24 March 2007. http://www.elections.nsw.gov.au/state_government_elections/electoral_districts/all_districts_/upper_hunter. Retrieved 31 May 2008. 
4. ^ "Paterson". Australian Electoral Commission. 19 October 2007. http://apps.aec.gov.au/esearch/LocalitySearchResults.aspx?filter=Paterson&filterby=Electorate. Retrieved 31 May 2008. 
5. ^ ^{a b} "Suburb Search - Local Council Boundaries - Hunter (HT)". New South Wales Department of Local Government. http://www.dlg.nsw.gov.au/dlg/dlghome/dlg_Regions.asp?region=HT&regiontype=1. Retrieved 31 May 2008. 
6. ^ ^{a b} "Dungog". Land and Property Management Authority - Spatial Information eXchange. New South Wales Land and Property Management Authority. http://imagery.maps.nsw.gov.au/?role=mysuburb&search=suburb&suburb=Dungog. Retrieved 31 May 2008. 
7. ^ ^{a b} "James Theatre Dungog Community Centre" (PDF). Dungog Shire Council. 2009. p. 7. http://www.dungog.nsw.gov.au/files/4545/File/JamesTheatreCommunityCentrePOM.pdf. Retrieved 2 March 2010. 
8. ^ "Dungog Film Festival 2007 - Preview". Urban Cinefile. 30 May 2007. http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/home/view.asp?a=13153&s=Features. Retrieved 31 May 2008. 
9. ^ "Dungog film festival seen as example for rural communities". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 4 June 2007. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/06/04/1941202.htm. Retrieved 31 May 2008. 
10. ^ "Dungog Film Festival". http://www.dungogfilmfestival.org. Retrieved 31 May 2008. 
11. ^ "Dungog Film Festival". eventssydney.com. http://www.eventssydney.com/Event/Film/dungog-town-centre/27-05-2010/dungog-film-festival. Retrieved 2 March 2010. 
12. ^ "Dungog Film Festival 2009 – A Practical Guide". Urban Cinefile. 23 April 2009. http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/home/view.asp?a=15628&s=Features. Retrieved 3 March 2010. 
13. ^ "How to enrol at a Public School - Dungog High School". New South Wales Department of Education and Training. 8 November 2007. http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/schoolfind/locator/?section=showRecord&code=8472. Retrieved 14 October 2008. 
14. ^ "GREAT WHITE TRAIN.". The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842-1954) (NSW: National Library of Australia): p. 10. 31 August 1926. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16335122. Retrieved 12 July 2011. 
15. ^ "Portrait of Kevin Bacon". National Library of Australia. http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/2608739?lookfor=subject:%22Horsemen%20and%20horsewomen%20-%20Australia.%22&offset=20&max=90. Retrieved 28 March 2010. 

• "Chichester Dam". Climate statistics for Australian locations. Bureau of Meteorology. http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_061151.shtml. Retrieved 2 June 2008. 

External links

• James Theatre official website
• Dungog Film Festival official website