[8][9] Located in the middle of dairy and timber country, it is the centre of the Dungog Shire Local Government Area and at the 2021 Census it had a population of 9,541 people.

[12] Lord Streett, as were Dowling, Mackay, Chapman, Hooke, Brown and Myles, were all named after landowners at the time surveyor Francis Rusden drew up his generous 1838 grid plan of Dungog's streets.

The plan and street pattern of 1838 gave Dungog generous sized lots that, over the years, have allowed people to build homes with ample space in between, as well as to enjoy cow and horse paddocks close by.

[12] Before the 1920s there was relatively little building beyond Lord St. John Wilson, born in Dungog in 1854, described the town as a 'sea of bush and scrub, with a house here and there', and with bullock teams and drays having 'to wend their way between stumps and saplings'.

In 1935 the Bank of NSW replaced its old building on the corner of Dowling and Mackay Streets with one in the, then, very modern Georgian Revival Style.

"[13] Since the 1950s, few new public buildings and shops have been erected but homes have continued to be built in weatherboard, brick, fibro or concrete; following the fashions of the time.

While dairying has declined, the beef industry has remained, and although most timber is now locked up in national parks, many visitors come these days to enjoy the area's natural beauty.

Dungog is the home of the James Theatre, the oldest fully enclosed purpose-built cinema continuously operating in Australia, located at 6 Brown Street.

In order to accommodate "talkie" movies and to provide improved dance facilities, Stuart commissioned major reconstruction works that commenced in 1930.

[20] The reconstruction works included construction of a stage, remodelling the street façade into the Spanish Mission Style, a new dance floor, new northern entrance, a projection room above the foyer and seating arrangement for 400.

[citation needed] In 2014, the State Government announced a three year investment to keep the Dungog Film Festival running.

[citation needed] The screenings were shown in local venues including the James Theatre and the RSL auditorium.

The "Dungog Stopover" featured Husky, Matt Corby, Willy Mason, Sarah Blasko, Yacht Club DJs, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, and headline act Mumford and Sons.

Attendees were accommodated on campgrounds at the edge of the town, while the band members and entourages stayed at motels and pubs in Dungog.

Nicknamed the "Boomerangs", Dungog compete in the Zone League competitions in the Northern NSW Football Federation.