Dungog and its Royal Hotel

Dungog is a name based on a Gringai Aboriginal name meaning “place of thinly wooded hills”. The Gringai people resided in the general area prior to the first white settlement in the early 1800s. The first settlers in the area were thought to be searching for lost stock. They were followed by timber getters, attracted by the magnificent cedar trees in the hills.

Early land holders in the area included names such as Mackay, Hooke, Chapman, Windeyer, Dowling and Verge. Many present day streets are named after these families. The town was named Dungog in 1834 by the magistrate Captain Thomas Cook JP, as part of the county of Durham.

The first settlers grew crops such as wheat, corn and tobacco, but over time Dungog became known for its timber and dairy products. Dungog’s prosperity increased in the late 1800s, and the Dungog Co-op Dairy Company was formed in 1905. By 1909, the area was serviced by a telephone network, by the rail line in 1911, and with an open air cinema in 1912.

The Royal Hotel

The first hotel on the current site was a single storey timber construction built in 1850. This was later replaced by a Georgian style, two-storey rendered brick building. Initially known as the Durham, it was renamed the Royal Hotel. This building was demolished in 1912 and rebuilt in an elaborate Federation style.

The Royal Hotel was purchased by Tooth & Company in March 1921. A fire destroyed much of the building in the late 1930s. The current Art Deco two storey hotel opened in 1939. The architectural style is known as P. & O. Ship Style because of its similarities to ocean liner forms.  Architects Copeman, Lemont and Keesing designed the hotel, which is of similar style to many other Tooth’s hotels of the period.  

The Royal has typical rounded Art-Deco curved façade with added decorative elements. It opened with a commercial kitchen and a flash dining room to serve the latest in moderne dishes to its country clients.