Slim Dusty's childhood home

Slim Dusty — born David Gordon Kirkpatrick in 1927 — grew up on a farm called Homewood at 1279 Nulla Nulla Creek Road, Bellbrook, a tiny settlement about 50 kilometres north-west of Kempsey on the NSW mid-north coast. His father built the house between 1915 and 1916, and it was here, surrounded by mountain country and working cattle stations, that the boy who would become Australia's most beloved country musician first heard the songs that would shape him. He picked up the guitar as a child and began writing his own songs before his teens.

Dusty went on to record more than 100 albums over six decades, sell millions of records, and win more ARIA Awards than any other artist in Australian history. His 1957 recording of 'A Pub With No Beer' became the first Australian record to achieve international success. Songs like 'Lights on the Hill' and 'Duncan' remain embedded in the Australian national consciousness. He received the Order of Australia and performed at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games closing ceremony before his death in 2003.

Homewood is a heritage-listed property and still stands in Bellbrook, where it survived the catastrophic 2019 bushfires that swept through the region. Photographs of the house surrounded by burned landscape, miraculously intact, became a symbol of resilience during those fires. The Slim Dusty Centre in nearby Kempsey celebrates his life and legacy and is open to visitors.