Off ramp: Councillors support naming honour for first mayor

While council originally aimed for a First Nations name for the new $263 million span across the Macquarie-Wambuul River, community consultation indicated strong support for honouring James Samuels, the city's first mayor. Transport NSW, who had asked Council to come up up with a preferred title, ended up ignoring that recommendation in favour of honouring “Aunty” Pearl Gibbs, described as “an influential activist who fought for Aboriginal rights for more than 50 years, in western NSW generally, and particularly in the Dubbo community”.

Some of our elected representatives, however, are supporting a proposal to atone for the department's failure to heed local opinion by naming the approach road to the new bridge after Dubbo's first mayor.

Councillor Shibli Chowdhury thought the road naming proposal is a great idea.

“Absolutely, I agree, the Samuels family made a significant contribution to our final decision on proposing the name for the bridge, they called him ‘the Father of Dubbo’, and he was,” Cr Chowdhury said of the campaign for the honour.

“I see no harm in recognising that contribution, with the Samuels name going on the approach road to the bridge… something that may have already been discussed with the family,” he added.

While also supporting the naming proposal, any plan to include the Samuels name to the bridge approach, should only be done with the support of his descendants, Cr Richard Ivey emphasised.

“We should consider that as a proposal, and I think it will happen that one of the approach roads will be named after Samuels; and, if there is an opportunity, I’ll be in favour of it,” Cr Ivey said.

“Council has got the prerogative for naming the bridge approach, but the proposal has to come from the family, I’d be loathe to do that, if it didn’t have their support,” he added.

Samuels’ descendants had made a compelling argument that led to the September 2025 Council decision for the honour of naming the new bridge, Cr Kate Richardson argued.

“At the Council meeting, the family made a really good case, it was very impressive and I supported the Samuels family naming proposal; they also presented a petition with quite a few thousand signatures,” Cr Richardson told Dubbo Photo News.

“Naming the approach road after Samuels now is an excellent idea. James Samuels was the first mayor of Dubbo, and established the first board of the hospital, and I still think we need to recognise that,” she added.

While the Samuels road naming proposal was also supported by former mayor, Cr Mathew Dickerson, he said efforts should be made to ensure that his family is also on board.

“We’ve already got the Emile Serisier Bridge in Dubbo, so there’s precedent… I voted in favour of the name ‘James Samuels’ going on the bridge as I personally thought it was important to have something significant named after him,” Cr Dickerson said.

“I think we should also try and get the family onside with this issue, we should personally talk to the family about if there is a possibility they would now support the naming of the approach road in honour of Samuels,” he added.

The new bridge is likely to be opened by the end of this year or the start of 2027, latest reports suggest.

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They’re animals! Tree trimming leavings off to zoo

Council’s tree trimming left-overs along Keswick Parkway this week are to face a novel fate, heading out to Taronga Western Plains Zoo as part of a long-term agreement.

The cuttings are either fed to the animals directly – depending on their suitability – or used in bedding.

The tree trimming project held this week was required to ensure the safety of motorists and pedestrians using the parkway, Council said.

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Permanent solution? Yes, you can park on the grass!

With the long-term boom in air travel for the region, Council outdoor staff are spending next week creating an overflow area for vehicles at the airport and, yes, you can park on the grass!

The temporary parking place will be available with entry and exit to the overflow car park via Arthur Butler Drive and to help “safe movement” of passengers from the overflow car park to the terminal.

A temporary closure will also occur to facilitate the construction of accessible ramps, speed bumps, and pedestrian crossings to service the new area. Traffic exiting the airport will therefore be temporarily redirected through the existing main car park and passengers will be able to access the pedestrian crossing from the overflow car park.

The traffic redirection for cars exiting the airport starts next Monday, April 20, with detour signage to be in place before re-opening the week after.

Cars will be encouraged to park on the grass in the temporary area, with Council’s March meeting deciding to survey users in the future about whether to make the arrangement permanent.