western australia

We meet Rosey in Dowerin

@JudyEv (377837)

Rockingham, Australia

April 5, 2026 5:23am CST

On our way to Nungarin, one of the towns we passed through was Dowerin. Dowerin lies in West Australia’s wheatbelt area and has a huge annual Field Day year. This attracts farmers, businesses and innovators from all over the state and sometimes from the east as well. There are incentives for best invention in various areas. Private schools often have a display hoping to entice the sons and daughters of farmers to send their children to boarding school. Dowerin is also promoting itself as the ‘tin dog’ town and in the photo you can see Rosey. Rosey has a similar-sized friend called Rusty who sits just a bit further down the main street. Many of the shops have names relating to ‘tin dogs’ and there is also a Dingo Café.

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16 responses

@LadyDuck (498681)

• Italy

5 Apr

Rosey is a cute "tin dog". This town may be interesting for someone who would like to go there for farming.

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@JudyEv (377837)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Apr

The Field Day was a very big thing for the town. As far as I know, it still is.

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@LadyDuck (498681)

• Italy

6 Apr

@JudyEv It must still be a big thing, if there are still many shops there.

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@JudyEv (377837)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Apr

@LadyDuck It's morre like an agricultural show or fair. Many organisations set up their displays on the oval. It's held every year but only over one weekend.

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@Ineeddentures (28455)

•

6 Apr

The Funky Dingo Cafe

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@JudyEv (377837)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Apr

It was closed on Easter Saturday so we couldn't check it out.

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@JudyEv (377837)

• Rockingham, Australia

7 Apr

@Ineeddentures It's a small, somewhere isolated town. You can't blame them for closing at Easter. One roadhouse out near Lake Eyre, so almost in the middle of the country, had two customers over Easter. Fuel prices are having a huge impact.

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@Ineeddentures (28455)

•

6 Apr

@JudyEv It seems.to have a few names as well.as.not being open very often

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@Juliaacv (55585)

• Canada

5 Apr

Rosey is a friendly looking dog, I am sure that visitors love to be welcomed by her wave of the paw.

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@Juliaacv (55585)

• Canada

6 Apr

@JudyEv I do admire that about your country. You have posted many topics with pictures from your travels where art is used as a decoration and an invitation. It must feel so welcoming.

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@JudyEv (377837)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Apr

@Juliaacv The country towns have been trying really hard to entice the tourists but now fuel prices are going to hit them hard.

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@JudyEv (377837)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Apr

Hopefully it would entice a few to stop off for a coffee.

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@DaddyEvil (172144)

• United States

5 Apr

At least we know how Rusty and Rosey got their names.

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@JudyEv (377837)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Apr

Rusty is a good fit but I don't know about Rosey. I guess she is sort of a rose colour.

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@DaddyEvil (172144)

• United States

6 Apr

@JudyEv I had a rose bush that gave me pinkish-red colored roses.

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@JudyEv (377837)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Apr

@DaddyEvil Fair enough. That's a good enough reason.

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@DianneN (253818)

• United States

5 Apr

I want Rosey for my garden!

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@DianneN (253818)

• United States

6 Apr

@JudyEv It beats my neighbor keeping an eye on it

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@JudyEv (377837)

• Rockingham, Australia

7 Apr

@DianneN I wasn't going to mention the neighbour.

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@JudyEv (377837)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Apr

She could keep an eye on everything for you.

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@Ronrybs (21269)

• London, England

5 Apr

Wonder how they settled on dogs? I forget how much open space there is between towns in Australia, so it is a bit of an undertaking to get there, but it must be worth it for the schools and others

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@JudyEv (377837)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Apr

Down south there is a 'tin horse highway' and there is also a road peppered with old tractors. It's all about trying to entice tourists. Governement schools in some of these areas may not to to Year 12 and/or can't off the same subjects so farmers might send the kids off to boarding schools. They'd need to have good crops nowadays to be able to afford the fees.

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@JudyEv (377837)

• Rockingham, Australia

7 Apr

@Ronrybs The fees are huge! The school where Vince was bursar has some of the highest fees. If the fees hadn't been paid by the start of each term, the boy wasn't allowed back. It was a boys' school. Thankfully the headmaster was a really lovely man and often managed to give a bursary to some. Vince sometimes took post-dated cheques. Even some of the 'big names around town' would struggle sometimes to pay the fees. Asset-rich and cash-poor I guess.

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@Ronrybs (21269)

• London, England

6 Apr

@JudyEv If it is anything like here the fees are pretty big!

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@celticeagle (188025)

• Boise, Idaho

7 Apr

How fun to see peoples imaginations take shape like this.

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@celticeagle (188025)

• Boise, Idaho

7 Apr

@JudyEv ........It sounds like it.

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@JudyEv (377837)

• Rockingham, Australia

7 Apr

Some of these townsfolk come up with some great ideas.

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@jstory07 (148181)

• Roseburg, Oregon

6 Apr

I like the picture of Rosey the dog.

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@JudyEv (377837)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Apr

I didn't get a photo of Rusty which was a shame.

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@Tampa_girl7 (54614)

• United States

7 Apr

I like this tin doggie.

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@JudyEv (377837)

• Rockingham, Australia

7 Apr

She's quite cute, isn't she?

@wolfgirl569 (133056)

• Marion, Ohio

5 Apr

I love the big dog.

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@JudyEv (377837)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Apr

Rosey is an okay name but Rusty really fits the bill.

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@RasmaSandra (96480)

• Daytona Beach, Florida

5 Apr

I love that dog statue and would no mind checking out the Dingo Cafe,

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@JudyEv (377837)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Apr

Nothing was open on Easter Saturday so we had to keep going.

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@LindaOHio (219063)

• United States

6 Apr

I love Rosey. Too bad the cafe wasn't open.

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@JudyEv (377837)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Apr

The town was very quiet. The roads were all pretty quiet.

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@valherma00 (2526)

• Zagreb, Croatia (Hrvatska)

6 Apr

i love that there is dingo cafe

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@JudyEv (377837)

• Rockingham, Australia

7 Apr

There is. Here is the sign.

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@valherma00 (2526)

• Zagreb, Croatia (Hrvatska)

7 Apr

@JudyEv faboulous. simple yet attractive

i hope it's similar inside as well

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•

5 Apr

That's a lovely name of café. Tin dog. You know if I combined that it becomes "tindog" and that word can be mean in english as stand, to get up or to rise depending on how we use it.

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@JudyEv (377837)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Apr

Here is a photo of the cafe sign.

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•

6 Apr

@JudyEv the dog, that get up and rise up.

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@AmbiePam (117693)

• United States

5 Apr

It’s a really cute statue. I’d like to go to the Dingo Cafe.

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@JudyEv (377837)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Apr

Being Easter, nothing was open so we couldn't get a coffee there.

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@xFiacre (14563)

• Ireland

5 Apr

@JudyEv I can’t see the photo but I’m sure it’s lovely - yours always are. Update: There it is now.

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@JudyEv (377837)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Apr

I haven't been seeing photos all morning either but it seems to be fixed now, thank goodness. Edit: Thanks for the kind words.