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Dungog
Highlights
- Explore Dungog's historic streets, where late 19th-century shops reveal a charming old-world atmosphere.
- Follow blue plaques on a self-guided walk, uncovering significant buildings and stories from Dungog's rich heritage.
- Venture north to Barrington Tops National Park, where lush landscapes invite outdoor adventures and breathtaking views.
- Use Dungog as a base to discover Chichester Dam and State Forest, perfect for a scenic day trip.
Dungog, is an urban conservation area. With its old shops and facades, many dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it has a somewhat period or old world look and feel. Blue plaques on many buildings around Dungog will take you on a self-guided walk featuring historic buildings and other significant sites.
Dungog can be an ideal base for exploring the countryside to the north, where you will find Chichester Dam, Chichester State Forest and Barrington Tops National Park.
Itinerary highlights
Robert Allen Memorial Lookout
Across the road from the Dungog District Hospital, an excellent panoramic bird’s eye view of the township and over Dungog and the surrounding countryside.
Don’t forget to visit the famous Dungog sign at the park locals affectionately named, Hollywood Hill.
Dungog Memorial RSL
The Dungog Memorial Hall was dedicated on 4 September 1920 in honour of those who served and fell in the First World War. It is now home to the Dungog Memorial RSL Club. The site contains several memorials, including an obelisk in a paved courtyard, honour rolls for the First and Second World Wars, and tablets for Women’s Services from 1914-1919 and National Service from 1951-1972. The tablet for Women’s Services is inset into the top of the arch at the entrance to the obelisk area, and was unveiled on 25 April 1925. The tablet for National Service was unveiled much later on 28 November 2003.
The Monument
This structure was erected by the Dungog Tourist League in 1927, to direct tourists to the new Barrington Guest House and Chichester Dam. After holding a ‘best sketch’ competition, money for its construction was donated by Mayor J A Jones (who was also President of the Dungog and Barrington Tops Tourist League). The ceremony of official handover took place at the Globe Cafe. This site was also where Dungog’s first lamp post was placed by the Acetylene Gas Company in 1904.
James Theatre
Dungog is the home of the James Theatre, the oldest fully enclosed purpose-built cinema continuously operating in Australia. It receives new movie releases soon after cinemas in more populated areas. The Dungog Film Society has been operating from the cinema since 1992 and screens fine films monthly 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.
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.
Tour details
This business does not currently offer accessible facilities.
Operation information
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Memberships
- Regional Tourist/Tourism Association/Organisation
- Visitor Information Centre