Another option is to get out to a star party, either an informal one or one organised by an astro club. A couple of regular informal gatherings happen at the Pony Club up at Mangrove Mountain, north of Sydney, and the other is at Katoomba Airfield in the Blue Mountains. There people set up both visual and photo rigs, and it would be a good opportunity to see the type of gear that's being used and the sorts of results that are had. Nothing beats seeing the Real McCoy first so you can make as best an informed decision. Notices for both of these gatherings are in the "Star Parties" forum. These are usually slated for the new Moon weekends. Others around Sydney are occasionally listed there too.
For astro clubs, look under the "Our Community" heading in the left margin.
At the Airfield this month, there were scopes, still cameras and a Polarie set up for imaging. Some folks take their imaging very seriously and have the gear to match. Others are just happy to do simple 15sec exposures of a wide field. It is very diverse the range. The visual boys and girls are also very diverse, some with small refractors all the way up to 17.5" dobs. From push-pull to some amazing go-to set ups. Pick your poison really,
The main thing you'll see is the gear in operation. What's involved, the scopes and what they can and can't do, the power requirements, the mounts, everything. AND you can ask questions - stroke an ego a little and they'll tell you everything,
. This will prove most invaluable as you'll be able to avoid some costly errors.
In the mean time, you might want to reconsider getting another dob from the classifieds. They aren't too expensive, you'll be able to get good results with a webcam, and when the time comes to upgrade, you can sell-on the dob and you won't be too far out of pocket as compared to buying new.
Mental.