Dubbo’s most influential people revealed
From humble heroes and sports stars to bold business leaders and passionate politicians, we have put together a list of 20 of Dubbo’s most influential people. READ WHO IS ON IT AND WHY.
Dubbo News
Don't miss out on the headlines from Dubbo News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- The Dubbo News: Road rage puts woman in coma, court hears
- The Dubbo News: Second man charged with murder over Bandidos boss death
- The Dubbo News: Calls for more doctors in bush hospitals
They are experts in their fields — whether that be sport, business, arts, politics or the law.
From one of the country’s largest exporters or lamb and meat products to Aboriginal elders leading the way in our communities, to sporting heroes and those that strive to make a difference for the area’s people in need, it takes all types to make a bustling regional city like Dubbo really sing.
THE DUBBO NEWS LAUNCHES IN WESTERN NSW
These are the people whose opinions matter and have an inpact on our lives.
The Dubbo News is celebrating our most influential residents and has put together a definitive list of the city’s gamechangers.
1. ROGER FLETCHER
Roger Fletcher’s rise from drover to one of Australia’s largest exporters, helping to feed the world, is nothing short of remarkable.
A proud Dubbo local, the Fletcher International Exports founder is the city’s biggest private employer with more than 700 staff.
Lamb and sheep meat products processed at the businesses’ Dubbo headquarters Mr Fletcher built in 1989, now end up in more than 80 countries.
“We’re a family business started from scratch,” he said.
“Our greatest asset is our team of employees, it’s a team effort and we have more than 30 nationalities working for us.”
A giant of the Australian agribusiness sector, Mr Fletcher has served on board of the Australian Meat Industry Council, Australian Quarantine Advisory Council and the Australian Meat Processing Council — just to name a few.
Mr Fletcher’s business continues to expand and diversify, and despite the recession Australia is experiencing, his business is currently advertising for more staff.
“We’ve got grain farms, railways, intermodals and abattoirs in Western Australia but Dubbo is our hub,” he said.
“Dubbo is the major city in the centre of NSW and a great place to live.”
2. MOLLY CROFT
Not many 14-year-old’s can influence strangers to spend money, but by sharing details about a very personal battle Molly Croft has got them to fork out hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The Dubbo teen’s decision to be the face of a Ronald McDonald House campaign raised more than $187,000 for the charity.
After receiving a rare bone cancer diagnosis on her 12th birthday, Molly successfully took on the disease and has been cancer free for more than a year.
In addition to raising a mammoth amount of funds for Ronald McDonald House, Molly has helped generate about $25,000 for medical research at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead.
She’s also become involved in the Cancer Council’s Tie Dye Project, started coaching kids basketball and netball teams, has been named Dubbo’s Young Citizen of the Year and was recently appointed to the NSW Youth Advisory Council.
3. SUPERINTENDENT PETER MCKENNA
A first-of-its-kind team created by Orana Mid-Western Police District commander Superintendent Peter McKenna has helped reduce the number of charges laid against Aboriginal young people by more than 60 per cent.
“I was watching this cycle of arrest, charge, going to court with no real outcome and so I had a look at the statistics and it really blew me away that in 2018, 86 per cent of all our juvenile charges in Dubbo were against Aboriginal youth,” Superintendent McKenna said.
With three police officers and an Aboriginal liaison officer, Superintendent McKenna formed an Aboriginal youth team which has worked with elders, community groups, government agencies, local businesses and other cops who volunteer their time to keep kids on the right side of the law.
“I saw Friday night was a really significant crime night for juvenile crime so we opened the PCYC up, did different sporting activities, went out in buses and picked up any kids that wanted to come and got community groups to come in and put on a feed,” he said.
More than 100 kids now take part in the Friday night activities and police have regularly- hosted breakfast events for kids and taken part in other cultural, sporting and community events with them.
Superintendent McKenna said the NSW Police Commissioner was now considering whether the Dubbo approach to youth crime could be rolled out in other communities.
4. BRUNO EFOTI
Dubbo local Bruno Efoti moved to Australia from Tonga at the age of 21 and could barely speak English.
In the time that’s passed, he’s mastered the language and gained construction and counselling qualifications.
He also created the not-for-profit organisation Tradies in Sight, which has helped thousands of men across western NSW open up about their mental health.
“I decided I’d seen too many suicides in the trade industry and I thought to myself I wanted to be part of the solution so I decided to go and study again to become a counsellor,” Mr Efoti said.
As part of the organisations work to reduce mental health stigma and offer support to men who need it, Mr Efoti cooks breakfast for tradies at worksites and organises night time events for those who can’t make it in the morning.
He’s travelled to towns like Mudgee, Bourke, Gilgandra, Yeoval, Coonamble, Wellington and Gilgandra to offer support.
In addition to his mental health work, Mr Efoti is a popular member of the Dubbo Rhinos Rugby Club.
5. JEN COWLEY
As a stalwart member of the Dubbo community for more than three decades, there isn’t much Jen Cowley hasn’t done to help others.
For about 13 years she served shoppers as the popular part-owner of the Granny May’s and Wild store at Orana Mall.
Through her work as a newspaper journalist and editor, Mrs Cowley told the stories of thousands of Dubbo residents and gave people who often felt voiceless a platform to be heard.
As a Rotarian she’s been part of life-changing education and humanitarian projects in Cambodia and India.
Mrs Cowley has also served on the board of disability service provider Westhaven, been part of the Western Cancer Centre Foundation and represented the community on the Taronga Western Plains Zoo board.
She has helped reinvigorate the Tidy Towns program and with the financial backing of Rotary Clubs in Dubbo and Coonabarabran, recently published a book called Grandpa’s Hat to help children understand grief.
About 5000 copies have been printed, with the proceeds given to the National Association for Loss and Grief.
6. PETER GIBBS
When Peter Gibbs’s sister Fiona died in police custody, he and his father stood between grieving Brewarrina residents and the police.
“It could have been a very bad outcome but we stood between them and ensured that my sister’s legacy is being talked about in a positive light,” Mr Gibbs said.
“She died in 1997 and I have a police program basically in her name still operating in 2020.”
The Indigenous Police Recruiting Our Way (IPROWD) program Mr Gibbs started in Fiona’s honour, has provided a pathway for Aboriginal people in Dubbo, and from across western NSW, to join the NSW Police Force.
As part of his work to improve the lives of his people, Mr Gibbs helped turn a small Aboriginal recruitment and group training company, known as the Aboriginal Employment Strategy, into a national organisation.
He’s worked as an adviser to various governments and is a proud Australia Day ambassador and advocate for the Dubbo region.
“I think it’s a lovely place to raise your family, we’ve got such a diverse economy, there’s so many attractions for families, great education precincts and we’ve even got a university in the town,” Mr Gibbs said.
“There are so many inspirational people who are on every street corner in this town.”
7. BEN SHIELDS
For 21 years, Ben Shields has been an outspoken champion for Dubbo and prominent part of the city’s political scene.
In 2017 he became the first mayor of the new Dubbo Regional Council, which was formed after an amalgamation with the former Wellington Shire Council took place.
First elected when he was a high school student, Cr Shields is Dubbo’s longest serving council member.
He’s also the longest serving Local Government NSW board member and was previously a member of the NSW Liberal Party State Executive before he stepped down to focus on his mayoral responsibilities.
Cr Shields said his proudest achievement since he became mayor was “leading a team of councillors who work the most cohesively in at least 30 years”.
8. CAMILLA WARD
Through her work as one of Dubbo’s most energetic, passionate and committed advocates for the arts, Camilla Ward has helped unlock the creative talents of children and young people across western NSW.
Ms Ward started the Macquarie Conservatorium’s musical theatre program and founded Black Box Creatives, a group which has supported youth to create and produce original theatre.
She has travelled to small communities across western NSW to deliver early childhood music programs, public speaking competitions and debating workshops.
Ms Ward’s work in the arts space has helped countless young people build their confidence and develop vital life skills.
As a musical and drama teacher at the Central West Leadership Academy and through her work as an academic at Charles Sturt University, she has inspired another generation leaders to spread her passion for the arts.
Ms Ward has volunteered to help run the Dubbo Regional Entertainment Arts and Music Festival (DREAM) and is determined to continue to find new ways to make the arts accessible to all in western NSW.
“I’ve just noticed in the last five years, things are exploding creatively in this area,” she said.
“It’s a very proactive community.”
9. DUGALD SAUNDERS
For more than a decade many Dubbo residents woke up to hear the voice of former ABC Breakfast radio presenter Dugald Saunders.
Now the community is seeing him in a different light as their cash splashing, problem solving local Nationals member of state parliament.
Mr Saunders withstood a serious challenge from high profile independent candidate and former Dubbo mayor Mathew Dickerson to clinch victory in the 2019 state election victory.
His success ensured the Berejiklian government could continue to lead the state in its own right, without support from independents or minor parties in parliament.
Since the election, the Mendooran-born Mr Saunders has been busy showing the electorate what he can deliver for them, from a redeveloped hospital to $195 million for a new bridge across the river and major Dubbo road upgrades.
10. LORNA BRENNAN
In Scotland Lorna Brennan was a surveyor, now she’s an early childhood educator whose advocacy is helping give more country kids access to preschool.
Ms Brennan runs the Schools as Community Centres (SACC) program out of Buninyong Public School.
It’s designed to help parents and more preschool-aged children get ready for school.
After she was appointed to the role, Ms Brennan said she realised a lot of preschool-aged kids were not attending preschool.
In response to that realisation Ms Brennan asked the Dubbo and District Preschool for help and the organisation agreed to set-up a dedicated preschool in East Dubbo at the Buninyong school site.
Thanks to Ms Brennan’s determination, many kids who might not otherwise have got a preschool education are now more prepared for school and equipped for success later in their lives.
In addition to her work supporting preschool kids in more formal settings, Ms Brennan regularly organises major events everyone in the community can attend like Kites for Kids, an iconic annual kite flying event which promotes the importance of early intervention services.
She also serves as a volunteer chef at a community kitchen in Dubbo which gives meals to struggling families on a Friday night, and as a member of the Burrabadine bush fire brigade.
11. STEPHEN LAWRENCE
Dubbo barrister Stephen Lawrence has dedicated much of his life to doing what he can to help disadvantaged members of local, national and global communities.
In 2013, he led work on a landmark High Court case which involved Dubbo man William Bugmy and saw the court rule that background factors like Aboriginality and social disadvantage must be given full weight when sentences are handed down.
Mr Lawrence was also part of the team that recently battled it out in court and helped allow Black Lives Matter protests to go ahead in Sydney.
He has travelled to countries like the Solomon Islands and Afghanistan to fight for the interests of justice and the legal rights of vulnerable citizens.
Through media appearances and his work behind the mic on top rating, award-winning podcast The Wigs, Mr Lawrence shapes debate and informs audiences.
A two-time NSW Labor election candidate, Mr Lawrence was elected to Dubbo Regional Council in 2017 and become deputy mayor in 2019.
12. JILLIAN KILBY
Civil engineer Jillian Kilby has worked on projects which have ranged from building shipping terminals off Sydney Harbour, to helping local governments get vital infrastructure projects shovel-ready.
After she finished her studies at the University of Sydney, Ms Kilby worked in the construction industry and then established her own boutique infrastructure advisory firm in Walgett.
She worked in America after she obtained a Master of Business Administration and Master of Public Policy at Stanford University in Silicon Valley.
When the former NSW Rural Woman of the Year returned to Australia she negotiated with Telstra to purchase the iconic Clock Tower building in Dubbo’s main street.
Ms Kilby’s vision, investment and hard work turned what was once an eyesore into The Exchange, a co-working space designed to spark ideas, innovation and build a community of small business owners and start-ups in western NSW.
13. JOE WILLIAMS
Boxer and former NRL player Joe Williams has used his struggle with depression to help create campaigns for better health, Indigenous rights and improved opportunities for young people.
Born in Cowra and now based in Dubbo, Williams is a proud Wiradjuri/Wolgalu man who played for South Sydney, Canterbury and Penrith before switching to professional boxing in 2009.
At workshops Williams talks of dealing with adversities, resilience, addiction, connection, emotional wellbeing and healing trauma in schools, communities, correctional services, sporting clubs and workplaces.
He is also a published author with his autobiography Defying The Enemy Within. His accolades include health awards in 2018 and 2019 for his work to prevent suicide.
14. JANE DIFFEY
Children with disabilities in Dubbo, their families and carers have been the biggest beneficiaries of Jane Diffey’s determination, advocacy skills and fundraising efforts.
When Ms Diffey’s baby daughter Clare was diagnosed with Rett syndrome, a rare neurological disease, she saw first-hand the benefits of early intervention services and has made it her mission to help as many children as possible get access.
After Clare’s death in 2014, Ms Diffey successfully lobbied the NSW Government to establish a new special needs school and hydrotherapy pool in Dubbo.
Through her fundraising work in Clare’s honour, Ms Diffey has helped raised more than $100,000 for Rett syndrome research.
She has also served on the Dubbo and District Preschool board and helped donations flow to the Orana Early Childhood Intervention Service, which she now chairs.
A former Dubbo Showgirl, Ms Diffey was a member of the Show Society committee for two decades and role model for other young women entering the Showgirl competition which she organised.
In 2017 Ms Diffey was elected to Dubbo Regional Council after she received the highest number of first preference votes of any individual candidate.
15. ADAM WELLS
As the Real Estate Institute of NSW Orana division chair Adam Wells represents the interests of a local industry he estimates to be worth an estimated $90 million to the Dubbo economy.
A passionate ambassador for Dubbo, Mr Wells says he focuses on using his position to highlight the needs of agents in western NSW.
“We just need to keep reminding the people in Sydney that there are different markets in the country, regional centres are still thriving so we continue to spruik the affordability of regional towns and opportunities there are here,” he says.
“It’s about making sure we’re heard as a community here.”
Outside of work, Mr Wells is busy preparing for the upcoming cricket season and serves as president of the South Dubbo Cricket Club.
16. DONNA FALCONER
Breast cancer survivor Donna Falconer has travelled as far as Uluru to urge people to check their breasts.
The widely admired Dubbo local is so committed to raising awareness about early detection, she sold her house to buy a bus, filled it with pink and decked it out with bras.
Ms Falconer’s Groovy Booby bus is just one vehicle she’s used to help save lives and support breast cancer patients.
In 2011 she formed Pink Angels, a charity which has hosted many events and raised much-needed funds that have enabled breast cancer patients in western NSW to access more support.
Mrs Falconer wrote a book about her cancer journey and has donated proceeds from its sale to the McGrath Foundation and Breast Cancer Network Australia.
She has co-ordinated the Look Good Feel Better community service campaign in regional NSW, which has given cancer patients support on how to manage the appearance related side effects of cancer treatment.
Mrs Falconer established one of the first wig libraries for cancer patients in regional NSW and is on the board which is shaping development of the new Western Cancer Centre in Dubbo.
17. MARK COULTON
For 13 years Dubbo residents and most people in western NSW have backed Mark Coulton to represent them in federal parliament.
The Parkes MP is regarded a cool, calm and collected representative and loyal member of his Nationals team.
Now the Regional Health, Regional Communications and Local Government Minister, Mr Coulton still regards helping constituents with their individual requests for assistance to be one of the most important parts of his job.
In his role as Assistant Trade Minister Mr Coulton represented Australia at the first meeting of the 11 countries who formed the Trans-Pacific Partnership which has helped exporters based in the bush grow their businesses.
One of his biggest wins as MP was securing $25 million for the construction of the Western Cancer Centre in Dubbo.
Mr Coulton also believes the Inland Rail development he has backed, and which will connect Melbourne to Sydney via communities he represents, will lower freight costs to farmers and transform towns in western NSW.
18. RIVERBANK FRANK
Poet, philosopher, writer, advocate and one of the Dubbo region’s most respected Aboriginal elders.
That’s Frank Doolan, more commonly known as Riverbank Frank.
A role model to Aboriginal youth, Frank lives in a caravan on the old Talbragar Mission between the Talbragar and Macquarie Rivers.
He has been involved in various community groups for about 40 years and currently works with LeaderLife, a Dubbo organisation that brings Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people together to support kids doing it tough and empower young people.
Frank also works as an R U OK? Day ambassador and is a champion of respectful relationships, which he believes will be what leads to genuine reconciliation.
19. KAREN GRANGER
Kindness is what fuels small business owner and much-loved volunteer Karen Granger to keep giving back to the Dubbo community.
Every Saturday at 6am, Mrs Granger is down at the Dubbo netball courts setting up so young girls can compete and have fun.
In addition to her work as a devoted member of the Dubbo Netball Association, Mrs Granger has also helped the Dubbo Cycle Club, Orana Aquatic Swim and physical culture clubs in the city.
She often travels to Sydney to give her time to the Royal Far West children’s health charity in Sydney.
Sick kids in The Children’s Hospital at Westmead gain comfort from many blankets Mrs Granger has made for them.
Despite juggling the demands that come with running her family’s small business Macquarie Automotive, Mrs Granger has also just finished sewing hundreds of bags the hospital will use to put sensory toys in for patients.
“Originally I wanted to make 20 and then COVID hit and I had nothing else to do I’ve done nearly 500,” she said.
“We all have something to give, it may not be money or items, but we all have time. We need to give back, we can’t just keep taking.”
20. DAVID PEACHEY
Rugby league legend David Peachey took to the footy field 266 times during his stellar 23 year career and inspired a generation of young people to take up the sport.
Born in Dubbo, Peachey rose through the ranks to represent his state and country and provided countless hours of entertainment to footy fans.
Named the Dally M Fullback of the Year in 1999, Peachey scored 117 tries during his distinguished career.
In 2017 the Cronulla Sharks named him as their fullback in their team of the half century.
After his time in the NRL came to an end Peachey helped promote a raft of initiatives aimed at curbing disadvantage among Aboriginal Australians.
His charity work benefited Aboriginal kids in the bush and gave them more access to education and sporting opportunities.