Robert Venour Dulhunty (1803 – 30 December 1853) is chiefly remembered as being the first permanent white settler of what has since become the City of Dubbo, in the rural heartland of the Australian state of New South Wales.
The original Gaelic form of the name was O'Dulchaointigh and his forebears belonged to a sept of the O'Carroll clan situated in the province of Munster, Ireland.
He was accompanied on the voyage from England by his brother, Lawrence Vance Dulhunty – a qualified surveyor with a sharp mind but a much less appealing manner than Robert's.
The economy of NSW was based overwhelmingly on sheep grazing, other types of livestock production and the growing of various crops – with some additional income generated through whaling and sealing.
Infrastructure projects were funded by the British Government and by the revenue reaped locally from taxes, including the collection of customs and excise duties levied on alcoholic spirits, tobacco and a wide range of imported goods.
In 1826, Robert's father Dr John Dulhunty settled with his wife on a parcel of rural land at Burwood, which was situated 12 kilometres west of the port's mercantile and governmental core.
The mansion belonged to Sir John Jamison and stood at the heart of the knight's showpiece agricultural estate on the Nepean River.
Not long after Dulhunty's wedding, he and Colonel Gibbes narrowly escaped being murdered by a pair of armed robbers while they were travelling in a carriage from the Sydney Customs House to a private engagement.
According to contemporary newspaper reports, when they reached a toll gate located near what is now the site of Sydney University they were ambushed by the two thugs, each of whom was brandishing a single-shot pistol.
Their appearance and distinctive way of speaking, as described by Dulhunty and Colonel Gibbes, led the investigating officers to conclude that they were English sailors who had probably come ashore from a ship moored in Blackwattle Bay.
They shared a love of books, good food and horse-riding, and they both accepted positions as honorary stewards at Sir John's private racecourse.
Dulhunty"s reputation among the working men of the region was that of a fine bushman, a firm but fair-minded boss and an extremely able landed proprietor.
Unfortunately, however, a severe economic depression struck the colony in the early 1840s, costing him a significant amount of money and forcing him to shed numerous assets.
He survived it but many of his coevals in NSW did not, as wool prices fell, banks failed, investment schemes collapsed and bankruptcies soared.
This relocation proved to be an arduous logistical exercise for the Dulhuntys, who had to transport dray-loads of furniture and other belongings across rough mountain roads and along rutted bush tracks in sometimes hostile weather conditions.
Robert Venour Dulhunty died on Friday, 30 December 1853, after suffering for three days from an illness that is not identified on his death certificate.
His brick-lined grave lies in the Dubbo Pioneers' Cemetery, which is situated on former Dulhunty land amidst a patchwork of paddocks and enclaves of bush.
His widow Eliza fought a resolute but ultimately losing battle to hold together the Dulhunty's sprawling rural kingdom in the face of droughts, floods, outbreaks of livestock diseases, harsh bank foreclosures and various other setbacks – and all the while being saddled with the additional responsibility of raising a large tribe of children to maturity.
Those who knew her said she never lost her vibrant sense of humour, cultivated manners or deep interest in music and literature, no matter how serious the latest problem besetting her.