Dundullimal Homestead is a heritage-listed former pastoral station and now cultural facility, house museum and events centre. The Australian colonial slab hut-type homestead is located approximately south of Dubbo in the Dubbo Regional Council local government area of New South Wales, on Obley Road, set on the bank of the Macquarie River. The homestead was built in by John Maughan and is also known as Dundullimal. The property is owned by National Trust of Australia, NSW branch. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 1 March 2002, and is listed on the (now defunct) Register of the National Estate.
The homestead is located further than Western Plains Zoo on Obley Road. Driving time is approximately eight minutes from the Dubbo central business district, and the property can also be accessed via the Tracker Riley cycle way. The building is administered by the National Trust and has become a major and significant tourist attraction in the Dubbo area, attracting large numbers of visitors from all around the country. The property is open Tuesday - Saturday 11am-3pm and by special arrangements to visit at other times (e.g. for school visits or bus groups). Dundullimal Homestead and grounds are also booked extensively as a venue for weddings, art exhibitions, concerts and parties.
History
In 1826, Governor Darling established an area known as the "limits of location", outside which settlement was not permitted. This area comprised 19 counties stretching from north of the Hunter Valley to Yass in the south and west to Wellington. Squatters, however, took their stock beyond these limits, taking up large tracts of land.
In 1836 in an attempt to control this occupation, licences were granted to "de-pasture" beyond the limits of location. The licences were renewable each year and the squatters had no legal rights to any particular tract of land. The "runs" they occupied were determined by agreement amongst themselves. The colony beyond the limits of location was divided into nine squatting districts. Dundullimal Run is situated in what was the Wellington Squatting District which lay between the Lachlan and Macquarie Rivers. In 1848 following pressure from these licensees to have security of tenure, regulations were passed which granted leases of eight or fourteen years, depending on the district. At the end of the lease the occupying tenant could purchase land under pre-emptive right.
The Robertson Land Act of 1861 opened up all Crown Lands including the leased area to free selection before survey and reduced the tenure of the pastoral leases. Lease holders also purchased portions of their runs under the provisions of this Act.
The Crown Lands Act of 1884 required that each pastoral holding (as a run was now called) be divided into a "leasehold area" and a "resumed area". While maintaining the principle of free selection before survey, the Act gave fixity of tenure to the pastoral leases. Hence the resumed area was available for selection though it could be occupied under licence by the lessee of the pastoral holding until such time as it was selected. In 1895 an Act was passed which converted the leasehold area to a resumed area on the expiry of the pastoral lease. However, the holder could continue occupation by acquiring a preferential occupation licence.
Dundullimal
Dundullimal is an Aboriginal word meaning "thunderstorm" or "hailstorm" and was the name of the local Aboriginal group. The first reference to the name was in September 1838 in a letter written from Dundullimal by H. F. Gisborne.
Built around 1840 as the head station of this squatting run, the Dundullimal homestead is believed to be the oldest surviving slab hut house in Australia. The homestead is also Dubbo's oldest building open to the public. Its interior is relatively sophisticated for its type, with an imposing sitting room and is noted for its tent-shaped plaster ceiling, and wallpaper reproduced from an 1850 pattern. The house is furnished with original period furniture. The working areas include sandstone stables, the blacksmith's forge, coach room, sunken cool room and stores. This complex of buildings reflects the practical elements of rural life on a large, isolated property during the nineteenth century.
Construction and early ownership
The date on which the area was taken up is unknown. The first recorded occupants were brothers Charles Campbell and Dalmahoy Campbell. Dalmahoy applied for a de-pasturing licence in 1836 for the Wellington Valley.