Did my own oil and filter change @ 1,700km or so (mentioned in my profile below on one of the fill ups).

It was more a peace of mind thing as I view the first oil change / initial break in period to be the most important of the cars life. Going forward I'll just go with dealer servicing, which I recently did at around 6,500km after about the 10 month point. Should of been at the 9mth point, but let it slip due to a busy RL month more than anything.

In direct answer to your query. Stick to the manual / service books intervals.

If interested, this is the Australian interval for all Subaru's http://www.subaru.com.au/service/pri...rice-servicing

Oh and grats on the shiny new car!

I would for sure do a "first" change at somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 miles, just to get rid of break-in crap.

I'd do a second one 3k after that or something, but after those two, 9,000 miles doesn't actually seem that unreasonable. I think I did 7 or 7.5 on my last oil, and UOAs said the oil was still in fine shape when it was pulled, and recommended trying a longer interval.

Same here in Germany. They suggest to do an oil change after 1 year or after 15,000 km. Last time they changed the oil to a long-life one and now they tell me to change after 30,000 km!!

8000km oil change is a load of birdcrap. But then again that is how the stealership make money in the first place.

If you want to be absolutely proper with your car, you should change your oil after 30 minutes of running when it's brand new. After around 30 minutes, 80% of the lose metal pieces in the engine will be in the oil, and it'll be good to get that out.
When an engine is new it will wear a bit for the parts to get used to each other. Studies have shown, that the first oil change can greatly impact how well the engine stands up.

After the 1st oil change is done, every 15000 km is allright if you're not doing any excessive driving.
So waiting for 1500km before the 1st oil change will most likely not have any noticeable damage for you to begin with, but in the long run it's very important.

Subaru's recommended intervals were reduced, I thought it was 5000. I change mine at every 5000 miles because that feels right.

No idea what that mechanic is saying. He probably hasn't checked the maintenance interval schedule himself.