| Wagga Wagga New South Wales | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 An aerial view of central Wagga Wagga | |||||||||
  Wagga Wagga | |||||||||
| Coordinates | 35°7′8″S 147°22′8″E / 35.11889°S 147.36889°E | ||||||||
| Population | 57,003 (2021)[1] (26th) | ||||||||
| Established | 1829 (explored)[2] 1847 (village) 1849 (surveyed) 1849 (town) 1870 (municipality) 1946 (city) | ||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 2650 | ||||||||
| Elevation | 180[3] m (591 ft) | ||||||||
| Time zone | AEST (UTC+10:00) | ||||||||
| • Summer (DST) | AEDT (UTC+11:00) | ||||||||
| Location |
| ||||||||
| LGA(s) | City of Wagga Wagga | ||||||||
| County | |||||||||
| Parish | South Wagga Wagga | ||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Wagga Wagga | ||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Riverina | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Wagga Wagga (/ˌwɒɡə ˈwɒɡə/;[4] informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 57,003 as of 2021,[5][6] it is an important agricultural, military, and transport hub of Australia. The ninth largest inland city in Australia,[7] Wagga Wagga is located midway between the two largest cities in Australia—Sydney and Melbourne—and is the major regional centre for the Riverina and South West Slopes regions.
The central business district is focused around the commercial and recreational grid bounded by Best and Tarcutta Streets and the Murrumbidgee River and the Sturt Highway. The main shopping street of Wagga is Baylis Street which becomes Fitzmaurice Street at the northern end. Wagga is accessible from Sydney via the Sturt and Hume Highways, Adelaide via the Sturt Highway and Albury and Melbourne via the Olympic Highway and Hume Highway. Wagga is in an alluvial valley and much of the city has a problem with urban salinity.[citation needed]
The original inhabitants of the Wagga Wagga region were the Wiradjuri people. In 1829, Charles Sturt became the first European explorer to visit the future site of the city. Squatters arrived soon after. The town, positioned on the site of a ford across the Murrumbidgee,[8] was surveyed and gazetted as a village in 1849 and the town grew quickly after. In 1870, the town was gazetted as a municipality.
During the negotiations leading to the federation of the Australian colonies, Wagga Wagga was a contender for the site of the capital for the new nation.[9] During World War I, the town was the starting point for the Kangaroo recruitment march. The Great Depression and the resulting hardship saw Wagga Wagga become the centre of a secession movement for the Riverina region. Wagga Wagga became a garrison town during World War II with the establishment of a military base at Kapooka and Royal Australian Air Force bases at Forest Hill and Uranquinty. After the war, Wagga Wagga was proclaimed as a city in 1946 and new suburbs were developed to the south of the city. In 1982, the city was amalgamated with the neighbouring Kyeamba and Mitchell Shires to form the City of Wagga Wagga local government area.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Census2021was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
WillamEwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Chen, Xangyang (2003). "Wagga Wagga 1:100 000 Map Sheet, New South Wales" (PDF). Cooperative Research Centre for Landscape Environments and Mineral Exploration. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
- ^ Macquarie ABC Dictionary. The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd. 2003. p. 1108. ISBN 978-1-876429-37-9.
- ^ "2021 Maitland (NSW), Census All persons QuickStats | Australian Bureau of Statistics". www.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
- ^ "Maitland (City, Australia) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
- ^ "What is Australia's fastest growing inland town?". blog.id.com.au. 5 March 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
gazettewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Morris, p. 115.