Dubbo

I did some prac teaching in Dubbo back in the mid 1980's (you know last century). I also worked there for about 3 months not long after I finished uni so the place holds no mystery. I have been to the gaol and I have been to the zoo, so let's be honest that's about it. What was interesting to me was passing through all the old towns that were part of my high school years.

As some of you would know I attended quasi prestigious boarding school in Sydney that was originally set up to educate kid's from the country. I was living in Newcastle at the time so it was a bit of a stretch that I even qualified. Here I was a kid from the city that was just three hours up the road (the highway was not as good back then) boarding with these kids from the middle of nowhere. I had the pleasure and privilege to visit some of them and their families on the pastoral properties that they came from and here I was passing through those same parts of the world again.

It brought back memories of the Caddy's of Tottenham, the Traverse-Jones family from Trangie, The Campbell's from Narromine, the Cosgroves from Warren, the Day's from Forbes, the Cranston's from Wongarbon, the Tristian-Smith's from Orange and the Steele's from Dubbo. That's not to mention the families whose names I have forgotten that I visited in Nyngan, Wilcannia, Peak Hill and Gilgandra. What are they doing now? Are they still living there? Would they still remember me? Would I still remember them? Sadly all these question will remain unanswered as in most cases I lost contact with them decades ago. It was fun to reminisce all the same.

The one town that made me smile the most was Cobar. I can't remember the name of the family I knew from there but I do remember writing a mock country song about the town in a humorous vein entitled "No One's Sober In Cobar". Sadly I could only remember the title and the next line but the tune was still stuck in my head. I amused myself for some time humming the now forgotten, never to be country classic. 

Dubbo is still a dump though. I made a cardinal mistake when I booked somewhere to stay there. I didn't look at where it was on the map. Now there is a real seedy side to Dubbo and no points for guessing where I ended up. It's not like I didn't know where it was either. It was just laziness and apathy on my part so there is no one else to blame. I needed to stretch my legs when I got there, I had basically been in the car for 8 hours. I decided to walk across the bridge and into town and back. Well I saw discarded syringes, nearly got run over by a motor bike that was on a walkway, and got pan handled. That was all within an hour of arriving in town. Now I have been in some pretty dodgy parts of Australia on this trip and felt much safer in all of them. Dubbo was creeping me out.

Well I am back in Muswellbrook tomorrow, just for a night or two. I have to be in Sydney for a few days later in the week and will be back in town to start work fresh as a daisy on Wednesday, I can't wait!