It is acknowledged that the town of Dunedoo is located on the lands of the Wiradjuri people. Unfortunately, little is known of their culture and nation prior to European Settlement and the conflicts that arose with the eviction from their land. Artefacts are scattered throughout the landscape as evidence of a rich history that has been in the area for 1000’s of years. The word Dunedoo means ‘black swan’, which were once commonly seen on the Talbragar River and nearby lagoons.
With the crossing of the Blue Mountains in 1813 and the establishment of Bathurst in 1815 it wasn’t long before Europeans ventured further afield looking for grazing land. William Lawson, who held the Commandant’s position at Bathurst from 1819-1824 was the first European into the area in 1822 and went on to hold vast expanses of land in the Talbragar valley till his death in 1850.
The present site of the town of Dunedoo was on the Bolaro run held in the 1840s by the brothers Robert Lowe Jnr. and William Willard Lowe. As the number of settlers in the area increased, the settlement at Dunedoo, then called Redbank, also grew. In 1867 local representations were made to the State Government for an official township at Dunedoo. Surveyor William Jacomb Conder completed the survey for the township of Dunedoo in October 1868, siting it closer to the Talbragar River than the present location. Streets running north and south were called boys names whilst the streets running east and west were given girls names. The first lots were put up for auction on 30th May, 1870.
To avoid the proposed railway line running through the middle of the settlement the town area was redesigned in 1908. The northern boundary of the town was moved further back from the Talbragar River and fresh names given to the town streets. The coming of the railway to Dunedoo on the 26th November, 1910 gave impetus to the growth of the town. The fact that the Government had found it necessary to survey another 168 blocks gives some idea of the marvellous progress that was made in the town.