Area profile
A quick snapshot of Dungog Shire, drawn from official ABS estimates and the NSW Government's council data. Dungog sits in the Hunter region below Barrington Tops, threaded by the Williams River in the east and the Paterson and Allyn Rivers in the west. The town of Dungog is about 244 km north of Sydney, 79 km north of Newcastle and 55 km north of Maitland; the shire's population is spread thinly across river-flat farmland and steep forested range country.
New to these terms? Read them in plain English
- Local Government Area (LGA)
- The official area a council governs.
- Estimated Resident Population (ERP)
- The official population count for an area.
- Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
- The national statistics agency behind population figures.
The area at a glance
- Population (ERP, 2023–24)
- 9,905ABS Estimated Resident Population, per OLG time-series data.
- Area
- 2,250.0 km²
- Population density
- ~4 people per km²Among the more sparsely settled council areas in the Hunter.
- Region
- Hunter, NSW — the Williams, Paterson and Allyn river valleys below Barrington Tops
- Council classification
- Large Rural (OLG group 10)
- Main centres
- Dungog (council seat), Clarence Town, Paterson, Vacy, Gresford, East Gresford and Martins CreekThe local economy runs on beef and dairy grazing, timber, quarrying, and tourism built around Barrington Tops and Mount Royal National Parks, the Williams River and the heritage streetscapes of Dungog and Clarence Town. Tocal Agricultural College sits at Paterson. A selection of localities is listed below.
- Getting here
- Dungog railway station, Brown Street — on the North Coast lineDungog is the terminating point for NSW TrainLink Hunter Line services from Newcastle (about three to five services a day), and a stop for the North Coast XPT between Sydney, Casino and Brisbane. The station opened in 1911.
Suburbs & postcodes
- Dungog2420
- Clarence Town2321
- Paterson2421
- Vacy2421
- Gresford2311
- East Gresford2311
- Martins Creek2420
- Glen William2321
- Bandon Grove2420
- Wallarobba2420
On the map
The shaded area is the official Local Government Area boundary.
The suburb list and postcodes are a selection of the localities in the Dungog Shire LGA; the shire also takes in Alison, Allynbrook, Bendolba, Chichester, Eccleston, Halton, Hilldale, Lostock, Marshdale, Monkerai, Salisbury, Sugarloaf, Underbank and Wirragulla, among others. The shaded area on the map is the official Local Government Area boundary (OpenStreetMap administrative boundary for Dungog Shire Council). 'Dungog' is a Gringai name meaning 'place of thinly wooded hills'; the town began as a settlement on the Williams River, and cedar-getters were the first Europeans in the district in the 1820s.
Sources — check it yourself
- Office of Local Government — Time-Series Data 2023–24 (population, area, classification) · 2023–24
- Your Council (NSW Government) — council data · ABS ERP 2023–24
- Dungog Shire Council — Localities · 2026
- Dungog Shire Council — Where is Dungog Shire · 2026
- Dungog Shire (Wikipedia)
- Dungog railway station (Wikipedia)
- Australia Post — postcode search · 2026
Figures are current as at the dates shown and may change — always confirm with the linked source. See the notice at the bottom of the page for full details and how to report a correction.