War memorials around our towns are now listed in the national register called Places of Pride

The Australian War Memorial initiated the registry available online for locations of towns with public monuments for war heroes.

They are attractive monuments or poignant symbols such as trees or flower gardens enshrining the local war heroes, every men and women who fought since the Boer War, the two world wars and other conflicts Australia had been involved in.

These monuments are filled with loving sentiments carved on cenotaphs, obelisks, stones, statues, gates, trees, rolls of honour, and honour boards found in almost every town around the region.

At Victoria Park on Darling Street in Dubbo, it can be explored online showing the towering cenotaph, the focal point for townsfolks, particularly the veterans' families, to gather on ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day.

Around the cenotaph, the names of those who sacrificed their lives are engraved, famous local names such as pilot officer Rawdon Hume Middleton, and wandering at the Memorial Rose Garden remind visitors of the local women who joined the men in the wars.

If one searches for Dubbo on the interactive website, it provides a list of all the war memorials around the town and nearby towns that people may want to visit.

Trip Advisor has voted the AWM in Canberra among the favourite tourist destinations in Australia and the interactive Places of Pride points tourists to other war memorials they are interested to explore.

Among the memorials at Dubbo listed online, you can find the roll of honour at Dubbo Public School, a memorial on Cobbora Road for Private WW Donnelly, and the stained glass window in honour of Royal Australian Air Force pilot and former Dubbo student Bruce Astley whose name is on popular football's Astley Cup.

Since the registry went online, the families of veterans and those who knew the servicemen and women can share their stories, events, upload photographs and share the location of war memorials that are not yet listed on the registry.

"You'd be hard-pressed to find a town or village that doesn't have a war memorial in the Parkes electorate," Parkes MP Mark Coulton said.

"We have a proud military history which has been memorialised...they're the heart of community commemoration."

Mr Coulton has been assisting numerous veterans' associations, community groups and Returned Services Leagues' branches in many towns in his electorate to initiate war memorial projects and upkeep them as part of the town's local histories.

The Pallamawalla War Memorial was among the latest recipients of a $5,363 Saluting their Service grant from the federal government so they could install a CCTV camera.

The National Servicemen's Association of Australia's North West branch in Moree was funded with $9,650 to construct a memorial in the Moree Anzac Centenary Park commemorating every serviceman from their area.

The Coo-ee March Memorial Park has a new entrance sign and eternal flame installed for the Gilgandra RSL sub-branch and dozens more community groups have been assisted by Mr Coulton since 2012.

One in every 20 households in Australia has at least one family member who has served in the previous wars and current conflicts, according to the federal veterans' affairs department citing the 2021 census of the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Of the 581,100 Australians who served with the Australian Defence Force, 54 percent or 267,600 came from NSW which is why many towns across the state have dedicated war memorials honouring their veterans.

"Our local memorials provide a symbolic place for people to gather and remember those men and women who have served from our communities," Mr Coulton said.

"They're also an important source of information, particularly for young people in understanding the sacrifices made by their past generations.

"We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to all those Australians, and their families, who have served our nation.

"And while we have to commemorate and respect the fallen, it's critical that as a government we provide the very best support we can for those who are with us today."

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Retired veteran Tom Gray, who served in the navy for 20 years, is among the many veterans born and bred in the region who is continuously assisting in coordinated efforts to support veterans who made it home.

A house was recently purchased for the Dubbo RSL sub-branch to turn it into a hub for support services for veterans in the region.

But for Mr Gray, the war memorials he visits on special occasions with families of his fellow veterans are living edifices "to remember those of us who never came home."

"They are important for families especially. We are very lucky we've got the Dubbo Regional Council who is the custodian of the cenotaph because they do a marvelous job keeping them always neat and tidy."

To view the war memorials around Dubbo-Orana region, click this link to the Places of Pride website of the Australian War Memorial.