Vincent DowlingPrint Page

Inland, Outback, Out There !
Vincent James Dowling
1835 - 1903

Vincent James Dowling, explorer and pastoralist, was born on 11 January 1835 at Flinton, South Head Road, near Sydney.  On 4 May 1866, Dowling married Frances (Fanny) Breillat, and their first child was born in 1867.  The family moved to Thargomindah Station, where Vincent had established a homestead adjacent to the Thargomindah Waterhole on the Bulloo River.  Here, he built up a fine herd of Herefords, which he thought withstood drought better than Shorthorns.

Dowling established other stations in south west Queensland and New South Wales; mapped river and creek systems, ranges and plains ; recorded flora and fauna ; and also developed an uncanny navigation skill to cross the country without getting lost.  In 1874, Thargomindah Station was auctioned, and in the 1880`s Dowling, in partnership with Dr James Cox, bought Connemara, north of Cooper`s Creek.

Know as `V. J. D.`, Dowling loved all forms of sport.  After a very eventful life in outback Queensland and New South Wales, Vincent Dowling died from heart disease at Neotsfield, Singleton on 5 November 1903, and was buried in the Anglican Cemetery at Mudgee.

William Eicholtz 2011
This bronze sculpture has been created by distinguished national artist William Eicholtz, to honour the memory of an intrepid pioneer and explorer, and signify the importance of the contribution that he made to the settlement and growth of Thargomindah and the Bulloo Shire.

The "Inland, Outback, Out There !" Project was proudly supported by the Queensland Government - October 2011