This name was derived from an Aboriginal word "Dooral Dooral", which means 'a smoking hollow tree' or 'burning log'. An 1817 map by the surveyor James Meehan shows that the name was originally spelled as Dooral. The aborigines must have been fascinated by the early settlers clearing the land and burning the trees.

A garden, orchard, nursery and hobby farm district set in the western rural quarter of the Hornsby Shire in Sydney's north-west where horse and rider often demand the right of way, Dural is not only a green oasis to counter-balance the hustle and bustle of Australia's largest city. It is just the place to rid yourself of the office blues with a couple of hours on a riding trail or browsing the art and craft galleries which characterise the area. It is also just a short, scenic drive from Koala Park at West Pennant Hills and the nearby Cumberland State Forest, a bushland oasis which features a sensory trail. Dural is a relaxed, convenient base to explore the cradle of the nation. A network of highways and freeways bring the harbour and city within comfortable driving distance, while the historic Hawkesbury River towns of Richmond and Windsor are just a few kilometres from Dural. You can also strike south-west across country to Parramatta and beyond to the Blue Mountains, while a foray to the east takes in Sydney's peerless national park, Ku-ring-gai Chase and its waterways.