Dubbo. 110 Macquarie Street. Red brick classical style 1906 building. Now Mission Ausrralia. Was the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney.
Introduction to Dubbo.
Explorer S. Evans followed the course of the Macquarie River towards Bathurst in 1814. Next followed John Oxley in 1818 when he described the fertile flats along the Talbragar River which joins the Macquarie River a few miles to the north. The first white squatter to occupy land here was Robert Dulhunty in the early 1830s. This was illegal occupation and beyond the Nineteen Counties which tried to limit the extent of land occupation. After the passing of the Squatting Act of 1836, which allowed licensed occupation, Dulhunty set up his run on a more permanent basis with the first homestead built in 1840. He called his run Dubbo after a Wiradjuri word meaning red earth or head covering. Dubbo town was surveyed and laid out in May 1849, proclaimed in November 1849 with land sales in 1850. Earlier in 1846 the government planned to build a police station, lockup and courthouse on Dulhunty’s run. The site chosen in 1847 was just outside of his run and was close to where the old gaol is now located. The slab structures were completed in 1848 and a police paddock for the horses was fenced in 1849. Amazingly this slab Courthouse was not replaced with a solid structure until 1863 in Macquarie Street. It was later demolished.
The tiny 1847 settlement owed its early growth to a Frenchman Jean Serisier who came to the town to open a general store. His Belgian friend set up the first inn, the Macquarie Inn as both were optimistic about the future growth prospects of the region. With land sales in 1850 Serisier bought land and stayed on as a civic leader. He established an early vineyard in 1868 and raised nine children. One son operated the store after his father’s death in 1880. It took some years for Dubbo to become a well-built town. The first church was a Catholic Church opened in 1856 and a government school in 1858 followed by an Anglican Church and rectory in 1859. By the early 1860s the town had two general stores and two hotels. By the 1872 Dubbo had become a municipality with 850 residents and it had its own newspaper, its first banks, more stores etc. A second Catholic Church was erected in 1874, a second Anglican Church was built in 1876, and a Presbyterian Church opened in 1876. Further growth occurred after the railway from Bathurst reached here in 1881. By that time the town had 29 hotels, three breweries, a tannery and because of the railway it soon had a flourmill too. The 1880s was also the decade for impressive new government buildings. The two storey Post Office designed by government architect James Barnet was competed in 1887, the Old Gaol was rebuilt in 1887 although parts of it date to 1871, the second impressive Courthouse also designed by James Barnet was started in 1885 and completed in 1887 in classical style with a triangular pediment and triple arched entry porch. It is in Brisbane Street.
The railway from Wellington reached the town in 1881 and the railway station opened at the same time. It is now the terminus of the daily XPT to and from Sydney. The double gable ended station, which is heritage listed, is a major rail junction. John Witton (1820-1890) was the architect of that station as was for other NSW railways stations including Albury, Bathurst, Newcastle, Mudgee etc. The railway lines emanating from Dubbo include the railway to Coonamble completed 1893; the railway to Molong completed 1925; and the railway to Nyngan and Bourke 1892. The main line to Dubbo comes from Bathurst, Orange and Wellington.
Heritage listed buildings in Macquarie Street starting at the roundabout with Bultje Street are:
•No 195. The 1882 built Milestone Hotel on one corner. Nice double rounded windows. Once housed a brothel and casino in the 1920s run by a leading female figure of the Sydney underworld. Opened as the Imperial Hotel.
•No 193 is heritage listed. This is Dubbo’s first bank built in 1867 in sandstone for the Commercial Banking Co of Sydney. In 1907 became the Talbragar Shire Council Offices. More recently it was a café. Symmetrical facade with paired arched windows but on the side street triple arched windows.
• On the right is a double story structure with cast iron lacework on the upper balcony. Built in the 1876 as a Bank of New South Wales. Note the keystones above each rounded windows. The bank moved 1919.
•On left at No 135 is the Commercial Union Assurance building. It has with upper arcaded balcony with symmetrical facade. Built in the Italianate style in 1885.
•No 174. Late Victorian Italianate style commercial building. Upper windows with arched pediments, a balustrade and pediment. Now the Athletes Foot shop.
•No 160. Old Department Store called Western Stores is now Myers. Art Deco features with diagonal lines and rising sun motif in the rounded arch in the centre. Built around 1930.
•On the corner of Macquarie and Church St is the second built Bank of NSW. 1919. Now a Westpac Bank. Chamfered corner entrance, recessed etched windows.
•No 118. On the diagonal corner is the Colonial Mutual Insurance building. Heritage listed and an early three story structure for Dubbo. Built in 1884 as a bank for the Australian Joint Stock Bank. Now a café. Note triangular classical Greek style pediments above the second floor windows.
• Just divert a few steps along Church Street beyond the fine rotunda. At 22 Church St is Booth and Nelson Chambers. Built in 1926 in classical style. Local architect J. Lundholm. Perfect symmetry, pilasters, rounded windows. Now painted pink.
•No 110. Adjacent to Colonial Mutual is the red brick classical style 1906 built as the new or second building for the Commercial Banking Co of Sydney. Note the arcaded veranda. Now Mission Australia.
•No 69 on the left are Macquarie Chambers a fine two story Mediterranean Art Deco building with terracotta tiled roof, paired veranda columns on balcony and gables at each end.
•No 67. Art Deco building in red brick with Aztec and pyramid influenced zigzag brick work around the windows and pilasters. Built c1940. Now Sports world in right red.
•No 98.The jewel in the crown of Macquarie St is the Post Office. Designed by colonial government architect James Barnet. A two storey building with a three storey clock tower. Italianate Renaissance in style with stucco decoration around the windows, central entrance and cast iron veranda posts for the upper balcony. It cost over £8,000 to build.
•No 90. Just along from the Post Office is the entrance to the Old Dubbo Gaol. Built with just 4 cells and walls in 1871. More added 1873 to 1874. Substantial additions 1877 to 1880. The arched gaol entry is visible from Macquarie St. This gate was built in 1877.
•At the roundabout turn right into Talbragar Street and then next right again into Brisbane Street. On this corner is the two storey Castlereagh Hotel built in 1923 hence the extensive use of wood on the balcony.
•The jewel in the crown of Brisbane St is the Courthouse. Built from 1887 in classical Greek style with triangular pediment gable façade with the coat of arms in the centre. Perfect symmetry, Greek Corinthian columns, and impressive steps as the court rules over everyone, and Palladian side wings completing the symmetry. It has pleasant gardens.
•Across the street at no 142 is the Lands Board Offices. Built in 1897 just as Queen Anne and Edwardian architecture was coming into vogue. Louvre vents in gables for aeration of roof space. Wooden veranda posts. Plaque by front door records the height of the 1955 Macquarie River floods. The architect was government architect Walter Liberty Vernon.
•Over the roundabout is Holy Trinity Anglican Church. It is behind the painted hall on the street. The first church erected in 1859 was wooden. This second church was built in 1876. The architect was Edmund Blacket a major early architect of NSW churches. It was built in a Gothic English style with square round tower by the entrance and it is in cross from with large gables. It cost over £3,500 and took a year to complete.
•Two blocks southwards on the corner of Bultje and Brisbane streets is St Brigid’s Catholic Church also in Brisbane St. This sandstone Gothic church was finished in 1874 as the second Catholic Church. The rear sanctuary was added in 1881 and the two transepts in 1909. It has an unusual steeple. The architect was Edward Gell of Bathurst. It cost over £2,500. Next to it in Bultje St is the red brick Convent built in 1884 for the Sisters of Mercy. Adjacent in Brisbane Street is the catholic Presbytery built in 1902 with its rectangular pointed windows.
Dubbo. 110 Macquarie Street. Red brick classical style 1906 building. Now Mission Ausrralia. Was the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney.
Introduction to Dubbo.
Explorer S. Evans followed the course of the Macquarie River towards Bathurst in 1814. Next followed John Oxley in 1818 when he described the fertile flats along the Talbragar River which joins the Macquarie River a few miles to the north. The first white squatter to occupy land here was Robert Dulhunty in the early 1830s. This was illegal occupation and beyond the Nineteen Counties which tried to limit the extent of land occupation. After the passing of the Squatting Act of 1836, which allowed licensed occupation, Dulhunty set up his run on a more permanent basis with the first homestead built in 1840. He called his run Dubbo after a Wiradjuri word meaning red earth or head covering. Dubbo town was surveyed and laid out in May 1849, proclaimed in November 1849 with land sales in 1850. Earlier in 1846 the government planned to build a police station, lockup and courthouse on Dulhunty’s run. The site chosen in 1847 was just outside of his run and was close to where the old gaol is now located. The slab structures were completed in 1848 and a police paddock for the horses was fenced in 1849. Amazingly this slab Courthouse was not replaced with a solid structure until 1863 in Macquarie Street. It was later demolished.
The tiny 1847 settlement owed its early growth to a Frenchman Jean Serisier who came to the town to open a general store. His Belgian friend set up the first inn, the Macquarie Inn as both were optimistic about the future growth prospects of the region. With land sales in 1850 Serisier bought land and stayed on as a civic leader. He established an early vineyard in 1868 and raised nine children. One son operated the store after his father’s death in 1880. It took some years for Dubbo to become a well-built town. The first church was a Catholic Church opened in 1856 and a government school in 1858 followed by an Anglican Church and rectory in 1859. By the early 1860s the town had two general stores and two hotels. By the 1872 Dubbo had become a municipality with 850 residents and it had its own newspaper, its first banks, more stores etc. A second Catholic Church was erected in 1874, a second Anglican Church was built in 1876, and a Presbyterian Church opened in 1876. Further growth occurred after the railway from Bathurst reached here in 1881. By that time the town had 29 hotels, three breweries, a tannery and because of the railway it soon had a flourmill too. The 1880s was also the decade for impressive new government buildings. The two storey Post Office designed by government architect James Barnet was competed in 1887, the Old Gaol was rebuilt in 1887 although parts of it date to 1871, the second impressive Courthouse also designed by James Barnet was started in 1885 and completed in 1887 in classical style with a triangular pediment and triple arched entry porch. It is in Brisbane Street.
The railway from Wellington reached the town in 1881 and the railway station opened at the same time. It is now the terminus of the daily XPT to and from Sydney. The double gable ended station, which is heritage listed, is a major rail junction. John Witton (1820-1890) was the architect of that station as was for other NSW railways stations including Albury, Bathurst, Newcastle, Mudgee etc. The railway lines emanating from Dubbo include the railway to Coonamble completed 1893; the railway to Molong completed 1925; and the railway to Nyngan and Bourke 1892. The main line to Dubbo comes from Bathurst, Orange and Wellington.
Heritage listed buildings in Macquarie Street starting at the roundabout with Bultje Street are:
•No 195. The 1882 built Milestone Hotel on one corner. Nice double rounded windows. Once housed a brothel and casino in the 1920s run by a leading female figure of the Sydney underworld. Opened as the Imperial Hotel.
•No 193 is heritage listed. This is Dubbo’s first bank built in 1867 in sandstone for the Commercial Banking Co of Sydney. In 1907 became the Talbragar Shire Council Offices. More recently it was a café. Symmetrical facade with paired arched windows but on the side street triple arched windows.
• On the right is a double story structure with cast iron lacework on the upper balcony. Built in the 1876 as a Bank of New South Wales. Note the keystones above each rounded windows. The bank moved 1919.
•On left at No 135 is the Commercial Union Assurance building. It has with upper arcaded balcony with symmetrical facade. Built in the Italianate style in 1885.
•No 174. Late Victorian Italianate style commercial building. Upper windows with arched pediments, a balustrade and pediment. Now the Athletes Foot shop.
•No 160. Old Department Store called Western Stores is now Myers. Art Deco features with diagonal lines and rising sun motif in the rounded arch in the centre. Built around 1930.
•On the corner of Macquarie and Church St is the second built Bank of NSW. 1919. Now a Westpac Bank. Chamfered corner entrance, recessed etched windows.
•No 118. On the diagonal corner is the Colonial Mutual Insurance building. Heritage listed and an early three story structure for Dubbo. Built in 1884 as a bank for the Australian Joint Stock Bank. Now a café. Note triangular classical Greek style pediments above the second floor windows.
• Just divert a few steps along Church Street beyond the fine rotunda. At 22 Church St is Booth and Nelson Chambers. Built in 1926 in classical style. Local architect J. Lundholm. Perfect symmetry, pilasters, rounded windows. Now painted pink.
•No 110. Adjacent to Colonial Mutual is the red brick classical style 1906 built as the new or second building for the Commercial Banking Co of Sydney. Note the arcaded veranda. Now Mission Australia.
•No 69 on the left are Macquarie Chambers a fine two story Mediterranean Art Deco building with terracotta tiled roof, paired veranda columns on balcony and gables at each end.
•No 67. Art Deco building in red brick with Aztec and pyramid influenced zigzag brick work around the windows and pilasters. Built c1940. Now Sports world in right red.
•No 98.The jewel in the crown of Macquarie St is the Post Office. Designed by colonial government architect James Barnet. A two storey building with a three storey clock tower. Italianate Renaissance in style with stucco decoration around the windows, central entrance and cast iron veranda posts for the upper balcony. It cost over £8,000 to build.
•No 90. Just along from the Post Office is the entrance to the Old Dubbo Gaol. Built with just 4 cells and walls in 1871. More added 1873 to 1874. Substantial additions 1877 to 1880. The arched gaol entry is visible from Macquarie St. This gate was built in 1877.
•At the roundabout turn right into Talbragar Street and then next right again into Brisbane Street. On this corner is the two storey Castlereagh Hotel built in 1923 hence the extensive use of wood on the balcony.
•The jewel in the crown of Brisbane St is the Courthouse. Built from 1887 in classical Greek style with triangular pediment gable façade with the coat of arms in the centre. Perfect symmetry, Greek Corinthian columns, and impressive steps as the court rules over everyone, and Palladian side wings completing the symmetry. It has pleasant gardens.
•Across the street at no 142 is the Lands Board Offices. Built in 1897 just as Queen Anne and Edwardian architecture was coming into vogue. Louvre vents in gables for aeration of roof space. Wooden veranda posts. Plaque by front door records the height of the 1955 Macquarie River floods. The architect was government architect Walter Liberty Vernon.
•Over the roundabout is Holy Trinity Anglican Church. It is behind the painted hall on the street. The first church erected in 1859 was wooden. This second church was built in 1876. The architect was Edmund Blacket a major early architect of NSW churches. It was built in a Gothic English style with square round tower by the entrance and it is in cross from with large gables. It cost over £3,500 and took a year to complete.
•Two blocks southwards on the corner of Bultje and Brisbane streets is St Brigid’s Catholic Church also in Brisbane St. This sandstone Gothic church was finished in 1874 as the second Catholic Church. The rear sanctuary was added in 1881 and the two transepts in 1909. It has an unusual steeple. The architect was Edward Gell of Bathurst. It cost over £2,500. Next to it in Bultje St is the red brick Convent built in 1884 for the Sisters of Mercy. Adjacent in Brisbane Street is the catholic Presbytery built in 1902 with its rectangular pointed windows.