Dudley, New South Wales

Dudley is a southern coastal suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, 13 kilometres (8 mi) southwest of Newcastle's central business district on the eastern side of Lake Macquarie. It is part of the City of Lake Macquarie local government area.

Dudley Newcastle, New South Wales
Dudley
Coordinates	32°59′24″S 151°43′05″E
Population	2,505 (2021 census)[1]
• Density	491/km2 (1,272/sq mi)
Postcode(s)	2290
Area	5.1 km2 (2.0 sq mi)
Location	13 km (8 mi) SW of Newcastle 4 km (2 mi) SE of Charlestown
LGA(s)	City of Lake Macquarie
Parish	Kahibah
State electorate(s)	Charlestown
Federal division(s)	Shortland
Suburbs around Dudley: Whitebridge Whitebridge Gateshead Dudley Pacific Ocean Redhead Redhead

History

The Aboriginal people, in this area, the Awabakal, were the first people of this land.^[2]

Dudley started off as a mining town. Dudley developed into a suburb after World War II.

Dudley Public School

Dudley Public school opened in 1892 and has among its alumni two recipients of the Victoria Cross. In 1976, the Jeffries and Currey Memorial Library was opened by the Governor of New South Wales, Sir Roden Cutler, himself a VC, at Dudley Public School to honour the two ex-pupils who were decorated with the Victoria Cross during the First World War: Clarence Jeffries and William Currey.^[3]

Jeffries and Currey (who survived the war and later went on to become a member of the NSW parliament) are also memorialised on the school's honour board which, in addition, records the names of the 93 other former pupils (of whom 19% were killed in action) who served in the First World War – a remarkable contribution given the small population of the school and the community in the early part of the 20th century.^[4]

References

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Dudley". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
2. "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people". Lake Macquarie City Council. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
3. "Jeffries and Currey Memorial Library". Jeffries and Currey Memorial Library. NSW Government. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
4. "Dudley Public School Honour Board – WWI". Register of War Memorials in New South Wales. NSW Government. Retrieved 21 April 2017. Ex-Pupils of the Dudley Public School Who Answered the Call

External links

• History of Dudley (Lake Macquarie City Library)
• Collection of Historic Photos – City of Lake Macquarie