Weekly Wrap
Welcome to the weekly wrap; a look at what’s made news around Dubbo Regional Council in the past week.
1 - 9 January 2026
Happy New Year! Here’s to another year of working together and celebrating what makes our region a great place to visit, work and live in.
TIPPING VOUCHER: Do you have extra rubbish after the holiday period? You can use your tipping voucher, by accessing it online anytime. Download your voucher before you head to the waste facilities to drop off your additional rubbish. Eligible households are entitled to one voucher per year. Start here.
SPORTING BOOST FOR REGION: The region is receiving a major economic boost this summer, with five sporting events projected to inject more than $13 million into the local economy. These events include Cricket NSW Youth Championships in December, the Athletics NSW Country Championships, Cricket NSW Junior State Challenge and Little Athletics NSW Region 3 Championships in January and the NSW Touch Football Junior State Cup in February. Events like these benefit a wide range of areas across the region. These sporting events will see over $13 million flow through the regional economy including hospitality, accommodation, tourism and retail, which is a fantastic outcome for our region. Read more.
NSW TOUCH JUNIOR STATE CUP OPPORTUNITY: We’re getting ready to welcome 10,000 visitors for the NSW Touch Junior State Cup this February and your empty rooms or caravans may be of assistance. If you have a space available you can list your room with Fair Trading, list houses with short term rental website or register caravans on Camplify. Once complete, send your details to the Visitors Information Centre at tourism@dubbo.nsw.gov.au so they can be passed onto attendees for booking.
REVEAL COLLECTIONS WEBSITE: Dubbo Regional Council launched the new Reveal Collections website, home to digital records of the heritage and art collections from across our region. The website has a catalogue of objects, documents and artworks from the Western Plains Cultural Centre, Old Dubbo Gaol and Wellington Caves. The project also supported the digitisation of the Dundullimal Homestead - National Trust of Australia NSW collection. Currently there are 126 items available in the digitised collection on the website. The website is an ongoing project with new objects to be added in the future. This project was funded by NSW Government's Create NSW Creative Capital Grant Fund. Visit the website.
HOMEGROUND PROGRAM: Are you an emerging regional artist wanting to expand your skills, extend your artistic practice, and would benefit from the experience of working with a professional gallery? The HomeGround program could be for you. HomeGround is a professional development program designed for emerging regional artists. Successful Artists will collaborate and work alongside a curator to develop and realise their exhibition. Interested in applying but want to learn more? Join us for our information session on Thursday 29 January from 6pm to learn all about the program. Register for the session here.
FOGO BIN: And a reminder – your FOGO bin is only for food scraps, green waste and nothing else. If you have a FOGO bin, it will have a green lid and is a home for all your food scraps and green waste. The food and plants in your FOGO bin are turned into great compost that is used to grow more food for you and your family, so let’s do the right thing and keep all plastic and other household waste out of your FOGO bin.
Looking to keep entertained these holidays? There’s a lot happening across the Dubbo Region.
- The Out of Place exhibition at the Western Plains Cultural Centre is the perfect way to keep you cool and entertained. Designed for kids it’s also a great school holiday activity that explores the odd, curious and wonderfully weird.
- While at the Western Plains Cultural Centre don’t forget to have a look at the Yayoi Kusama: The Spirits of the Pumpkins Descended into the Heavens exhibition also on show. It’s on loan from the National Gallery of Australia.
- Want to provide some inspiration for the self-portrait mural project happening at the Western Plains Cultural Centre? The mural aims to depict a living portrait of Dubbo’s young people and will feature on the wall of the Community Arts Centre. To get involved at home simply download the template, get creative and then upload your artwork. Your self-portrait can be vertical or horizontal and use any art materials as long as its two-dimensional. So, get your children and young adults aged between 5 to 18 to get creative. Submissions close Saturday 31 January 2026.
- Did you know you get free entry if you are a local at the Old Dubbo Gaol? Proof of residency is required to gain free admission. There are characters in costume each day at 10am and 2pm, escape tours at 11am and 3pm and twilight tours. Escape to the Gaol these holidays!
- The Macquarie Regional Library in Dubbo also has a range of activities to keep your kids entertained this January. The Summer of Colour, Beach Baby, Beach Buddies, Tropical Twinkle and Back to School Bling workshops offer fun for students from 5-12 years old. Bookings are essential and can be made by visiting the website or calling 6801 4510. The Dubbo branch also has weekly drop-in sessions with Lego on a Thursday from 3pm to 5pm and and Games from Wednesday from 3pm to 5pm. These sessions are free and bookings are not required.If you are in Wellington, the Big Summer Beads and Gumleaf Mobiles activities will happen during school holidays. The activities are free but bookings essential by calling 6840 1780 or online.
- The Get Grubby Program is packed with eco-friendly fun to keep kids entertained all summer long. From planting seeds to cooking simple recipes, it’s learning disguised as play. Dubbo Regional Council provides free access to residents valued at $100, register today.
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Last Edited: 09 Jan 2026