Dubbo Regional Council

🌱 COUNCIL PARTNERSHIP PROTECTS REGION’S BIOSECURITY 🌱 We’ve partnered with WaterNSW and the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) to continue to protect the Dubbo Region’s biosecurity and combat the invasive Tiger Pear weed. Our Greenspace Operations Team is assisting WaterNSW and DPIRD in introducing a scale insect - the Cochineal Insect – to target Tiger Pear, a South American native likely introduced in the late 1800s.The Central West is a hot spot for Tiger Pear, which is a low-spreading cactus with sharp, barbed spines that can injure people and animals, and in extreme cases render areas of farmland inaccessible. The release of the Tiger Pear Cochineal Insect involves introducing Tiger Pear flesh already infected with the insect into affected areas to degrade the Tiger Pear infestation, in an environmentally sustainable manner and without using chemical herbicides.

✨ OLD DUBBO GAOL HITS 50 YEARS ✨ Dubbo's oldest tourist attraction, the Old Dubbo Gaol, is celebrating 50 years since it first opened its doors to visitors in 1974. Over those years, many team members have walked the sombre corridors of the gaol, providing education and entertainment to residents and visitors alike. Chris Anemaat, Old Dubbo Gaol Visitor Experience Officer and author of the new book, Sandstone Heart: The History of Dubbo Gaol, told us about his 17 years working within the eerie walls of the gaol. 🎤 What’s a typical day look like for you? A typical day for me involves the research, planning, and creation of new exhibitions for the gaol and the gaol's temporary exhibition space, planning/applying for grant opportunities, fielding family history or general history related questions, and the curation and organisation of the collection onsite. I also conduct tours and take part in the prisoner/guard performances. 🎤 What’s the most interesting thing about working at the gaol? The most interesting part is the research. It's like a new true crime story everyday. Being able to explore and dig into the stories of the inmates, the employees and the prison system tells a lot about the society of the time, and how it has - or hasn’t - changed. 🎤 How long have you been working there, and what has changed over your time there? I have been working at the gaol for 17 years. I started at the age of 20 in 2007. So that’s a third of my life so far! Quite a bit has changed. When I started, some of the animatronics were still here, though they were already quite aged and had begun to fail. There wasn’t that much signage around the site, but the animatronics and two holograms in the site made up in a way for that. It was an exciting time to do research, as a young person being able to discover so much that hadn’t been known about the site by using digitised police gazettes, or online research. We were, back then, just working out what the theatrical experience would be. The trial and error phase was fun to be involved with and that work has morphed into our performances and night tours today. There was a lot in storage, in terms of artefacts, so it’s been wonderful to see some of those objects be put on display. And there was a lot of closed doors back then. We have done a lot to fix up the storage and rationalise everything on site so that there are more open doors for people to explore. 🎤 What’s one reason why residents/visitors should check out the gaol? It is a bit grim, but the Old Dubbo Gaol holds the largest collection of hangman’s ropes in Australia, all part of the NSW State Hangman’s kit which is on display in the gaol. The ropes and kit have been found to be nationally significant. While it is a morbid area to point to, it is part of our history. The significance of the collection can’t be understated, and that it is held here in Dubbo is incredible.

Women in Construction Following the success of the BOOTS Women in Construction pilot program, we are excited to announce two additional workshops aimed at further developing the skills of women in the industry. Last week’s workshop brought together 22 women to develop their skills, build confidence, and leadership abilities 👷♀️ Partnering with Abergeldie, the lead contractor on the New Dubbo Bridge project, these workshops provide vital mentorship and career advancement opportunities.

✨ OLD DUBBO GAOL HITS 50 YEARS ✨ Dubbo's oldest tourist attraction, the Old Dubbo Gaol, is celebrating 50 years since it first opened its doors to visitors in 1974. Over those years, many team members have walked the sombre corridors of the gaol, providing education and entertainment to residents and visitors alike. Josh Ronan, Old Dubbo Gaol Administration and Engagement Officer, told us about his 17 years working within the eerie walls of the gaol. 🎤 What’s a typical day look like for you? Customer service and general administrative duties such as setting up the admissions area, counting the till, stocking shelves, and putting our signs out. Currently I have moved to the admin role of our team to cover vacancies so my day is less customer focused but I still find time to conduct tours which is my favourite part of the job. 🎤 What’s the most interesting thing about working at the gaol? So many interesting things! Learning about the history of the site is something we are all passionate about, but being able to share that history is rewarding. The people you meet, conversations you have and information you learn all make the job such a pleasure to have. 🎤 How long have you been working there, and what has changed over your time there? I started at the Gaol as a young man in late 2007 as a casual employee during my later years of high school. I remained casually employed whilst pursuing other life goals before becoming full time in 2019. So many things have changed! I still remember wheeling Ben Stokes out to the main street to yell at passersby’s visiting us! The mannequins around the site, the theatrette in the back of the gaol, a mock court scene (in the hospital?!?). Over the years it has been amazing to watch as the gaol has transformed to be more historically focused, bringing information to the fore and embracing its position as a museum. We have also changed our performances and tours, now offering escape tours and night tours that were not options when I originally started. It has been fantastic to watch the gaol grow into what it is now. 🎤 What’s one reason why residents/visitors should check out the gaol? Only one? It is always difficult to narrow down…. I would have to say our performances and tours. The live shows on weekends and holidays are a great bit of fun (especially for younger audiences) and our tours offer a chance to hear stories but also ask questions. Both are easily caught but shouldn’t be missed!

What are you looking for from work and life?   To make a real difference? To find variety? To test yourself, grow and progress? To find a place and a team where you belong?   Join our team as our new Assistant Curator, and you'll find all this and so much more.   Find purpose and impact Help to shape and support cultural growth by working directly with communities to realise new creative works.   Find personal and professional growth Have the opportunity to innovate and experiment with cutting edge cultural presentation in an emerging creative centre (Dubbo)   Find people you can count on and lifestyle you love You’ll be part of an exciting and innovative team, who push each other to grow, within a community with a growing cultural sophistication.   Sound like the change you are looking for? Join our team as our new Assistant Curator, and you'll find all this and so much more. https://lnkd.in/gpk74sSF

Regional Events team consult on strategy It’s been a big few months for our Regional Events team who have been consulting key stakeholders and community members as they develop a Dubbo Region Events Strategy. The strategy will provide a transparent rationale around the support Council offers locally organised events as well as events that are attracted to the Region. The five-year blueprint will show how Council can assist in creating a vibrant, rich and diverse annual events calendar that supports social cohesion as well as the aspirations of our creative community and ongoing prosperity of our economy. Staff have been working with local event organisers and suppliers, the business community and making themselves available at markets and pop-up stalls to talk to community members about the planned strategy. Have you had a chance to take part? What would you like to see in the strategy? Consultation remains open until 11 December. Have your say: https://lnkd.in/gxBY-B-b

✨ OLD DUBBO GAOL HITS 50 YEARS ✨ Dubbo's oldest tourist attraction, the Old Dubbo Gaol, is celebrating 50 years since it first opened its doors to visitors in 1974. Over those years, many team members have walked the sombre corridors of the gaol, providing education and entertainment to residents and visitors alike. Milla Ross, current Acting Old Dubbo Gaol Operations Coordinator, told us about her nine years working within the eerie walls of the gaol. 🎤 What’s a typical day look like for you? There doesn’t seem like a typical day at the Old Dubbo Gaol! My duties range from general administration and social media, customer service and maintenance, all the way to tour guiding and performing in costume. It all depends on the season, the month, the day…sometimes right down to the hour – though I love every bit of it. 🎤 What’s the most interesting thing about working at the gaol? The most interesting thing to me would most definitely have to be the history of the gaol. It seems like we keep uncovering more information about the Gaol, the prisoners it held and the guards who worked here, and every time it fascinates me. I love being able to share this information with our guests too. 🎤 How long have you been working there, and what has changed over your time there? I’ve been working here for just about 9 years now, starting out as a casual at the end of 2015 and now working Full-Time. It has been such a privilege to watch the Gaol through the years. When I started working at the Gaol it was pre-restoration, so we had the old mannequins and theatrette. Since then we have resourced mannequins to other facilities, and we have changed the theatrette to our brilliant Gallows Gallery. I’m incredibly proud of the preservation and conservation of the heritage site, and how it reflects the Gaols originality, along with displaying original artefacts that were previously hidden from the public eye. 🎤 What’s one reason why residents/visitors should check out the gaol? It is full of fascinating history, stunning displays and on weekends/holidays fun characters. The interactivity and tours/performances make it fun for all ages whilst still being a valuable history lesson – and incredibly interesting to look back on, especially with the modern lens we all have of today. Not to mention… it’s free for locals of the Dubbo LGA (just bring a photo ID!)

NEW BENOLONG BRIDGE INCREASES REGION'S CONNECTIVITY The new Benolong Bridge was officially opened last week by NSW Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Jenny Aitchison and Dubbo Regional Council Mayor Josh Black. The project saw the construction of a new, concrete bridge to replace the ageing wooden bridge, which was at its end-of-life. Replacement of the bridge brings a variety of benefits to the Dubbo Region including increasing accessibility and connecting residents in the area with Dubbo and Wellington and allowing increased freight transportation. The Benolong Bridge upgrade project was jointly funded by the Australian Government’s Local Road and Community Infrastructure Program and Bridges Renewal Program, the NSW Government’s Fixing Country Bridges Program, and Dubbo Regional Council. It is through collaborations such as this one that Council can maintain infrastructure like this for our community. The Hon. Jenny Aitchison MP Transport for NSW Stephen Lawrence MLC Dugald Saunders MP Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts

Faye Warwick is an Events Assistant at the Dubbo Regional Theatre and Convention Centre (DRTCC). Faye is celebrating 35 years at Dubbo Regional Council. Hear from Faye about her career at Council. 🎤 What is the biggest change you’ve seen during your time with Council? The construction of DRTCC and the challenges and triumphs of working in a multi-purpose venue. 🎤 Can you share a memorable moment or achievement that you’re particularly proud of? The Queen visiting the Civic Centre in 1992 and I was standing at the bottom of the stairs and she spoke directly to me and said ‘and how is your day going’? 🎤 What advice would you give someone just starting their career with Council? Work hard and do your job! 🎤 Looking back on your time here, what do you consider to be the most valuable lesson you have learned? How best to clean ice cream off the foyer carpet.

Our Regional Economic Development Facilitator, Bart Sykes met with Dubbo Regional Council's Director Strategy Partnerships and Engagement Jessica Brown and U.S Consul General, Christine Elder to highlight our commitment to working together for benefit sharing and economic legacy. Together, with Jessica, we were able to highlight the many benefits our collaborative approach is fostering in the region, including: 👉 Water security through a public private partnership to build a new advanced wastewater treatment facility at Dubbo Sewerage Treatment Plant 👉 Accommodation solutions that benefit the region and leave legacies 👉 Highlighting the opportunities for local people and local businesses to benefit from the renewable roll out