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119-583: The Federal Football Club was formed at the Imperial Hotel in Wagga Wagga in 1861, making it the oldest Australian rules football club outside of Victoria , however little else of the early history of the club. Its first recorded interclub matches did not appear for at least another decade. Federal wore red and white vertical stripes. It appears to have organised scratch intraclub scratch matches and early records appear to indicate that it aligned with

238-578: A Charles Sturt University campus. In the 2021 census , there were 57,003 people in the Wagga Wagga Urban Area. Wagga is home to approximately 39% of Australia's Yazidi population. Wagga Wagga falls within the boundary of the Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn . Anglican parishes include St John's, Wagga Wagga (Church St); St Paul's, Turvey Park (Fernleigh Rd); St Alban's, Kooringal (Lake Albert Rd); Community of

357-756: A break-of-gauge in 1883, and the Melbourne-Shepparton line was extended to Tocumwal in 1908. The number of cross border railways expanded with the passing of the 1922 Border Railways Act , with the Benalla – Yarrawonga branch line extended to Oaklands in 1938, both lines meeting standard gauge lines that were subsequently closed. Victorian Railways commenced construction of a railway from Robinvale to Koorakee and Lette in New South Wales in 1924 (the Lette railway line ), but this railway

476-621: A sewerage scheme and by 1914 most of the main streets were sewered. A free public library was opened in 1875 and the council began to establish parklands such as Bolton Park and the Town Hall Gardens. In September 1859 local residents formed a committee for the construction of a pile bridge over the Murrumbidgee River. After the New South Wales Government refused to support this type of bridge

595-538: A temperate climate with hot dry summers and cool to cold winters. Under the Köppen climate classification , the city has a humid subtropical climate ( Cfa ), with a semi-arid influence due to its vegetation. At a latitude of 35 degrees (altitude of 212 metres), Wagga Wagga has four distinct seasons. Winters can be cold by Australian standards. The mean maximum temperature falls in July to 12.7 °C (54.9 °F) and

714-609: A branch line was completed from Junee to Narrandera in 1881 and extended to Hay by 1882. Another branch pushed south from Narrandera toward the Victorian border reaching Jerilderie in 1884 and the Murray at Tocumwal in 1898. Transport links assisted the development of the Riverina economy, at the same time areas of the region found themselves under threat from robbery and murder by various bushrangers . Between 1862 and 1865,

833-744: A campus in Albury–Wodonga , located just across the state border in Wodonga , Victoria . The delineation of the Riverina region varies by government agency or body. Common official boundaries include the Australian Bureau of Statistics ' Statistical Area Level 4 Riverina region, Australian Electoral Commission 's Federal Election Boundary called Riverina, Natural Resource Management Regions Riverina region, Regional Development Australia's Riverina region and Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia's Riverina region. In common usage

952-524: A decline in the diversity of native flora and fauna in the area. Aboriginal people are thought to have inhabited the Riverina for at least 40,000 years. The Wiradjuri people were the original inhabitants of much of south western New South Wales including much of the Riverina region along the Murrumbidgee and Lachlan rivers. Other groups living along the Murrumbidgee included the Nari-Nari on

1071-804: A diverse range of backgrounds and nationalities. In particular, the Italian community prospered in the Area, owning nearly half of all the farms around Griffith by 1954. Later, further irrigation was developed for areas in the Murray valley starting with the Wakool Irrigation District in 1932, then the Deniboota and Denimein Irrigation Districts in 1938, the Berriquin Irrigation District in 1939 and

1190-675: A flurry of snow was reported in Hay , which at just 90 metres (300 ft) above sea level would make it the lowest altitude that snow has ever been observed to in New South Wales. In Narrandera it last snowed in June 1908, July 1901 and August 1899. The most recent occurrence of snow in the Riverina proper was at Junee in August 2019 – excluding the mountainous parts of the South West Slopes . One method of classification of boundaries for

1309-572: A geophysical pattern which is linked to fauna and flora ecosystems . The Riverina bioregion is an area of land that comprises part of the larger Riverina area but also extends into Victoria. It has been defined by the New South Wales Parks and Wildlife Service as extending from Ivanhoe in the Murray Darling Depression Bioregion south to Bendigo , and from Narrandera in the east to Balranald in

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1428-412: A gold (yellow) mural crown on a knight's helmet. Inside the mural crown are a yellow caduceus with black wings, and eight gum leaves arranged as two letters W. Both the supporters are crows, each with a gold (yellow) collar in the shape of the letter W. The base of the coat of arms is grassy with a river in between, indicating that Wagga Wagga is built on both sides of the river. Crows are considered

1547-574: A leading role in the lifestyle of the Aboriginal people, acting as a source of food and a means of communication and trade. Murray cod and shellfish were gathered for food and bark canoes were used for travel along the rivers. Scars on many trees alongside the rivers are evidence of this extensive use of canoes. In the summer it is likely that the Bangerang and Wiradjuri joined the Monaro groups in

1666-541: A mean minimum of 2.8 °C (37.0 °F). The lowest temperature recorded at Wagga was −6.3 °C (20.7 °F) on 21 August 1982. The lowest maximum temperature did not surpass 3.4 °C (38.1 °F) on 16 July 1966. Fog and heavy frosts are common in the winter while snow is a very rare occurrence. Summers in Wagga Wagga are warm to hot, with mean maximum temperatures ranging between 29 and 32 °C (84 and 90 °F). The hottest temperature on record

1785-449: A member of the bank staff and returned to Victoria £2,000 richer. The close geographic and cultural ties between the Riverina and northern Victoria, combined with continuing frustration with inter colonial tariffs, made the Riverina a fertile area for ideas for uniting the various colonies in an Australian federation . This would see the southern Riverina in particular take a leading role in bringing about federation. Prior to federation,

1904-474: A new Woolshed was constructed, only 10 stands were being used. The Estate of D & W Gibb sold "Cocketgedong in 1972. Moulamein , in the western Riverina, appears to make legitimate claims as the oldest town in the Riverina, and indeed to being older than Melbourne . The settlers often came into conflict with the indigenous inhabitants. In the Narrandera district, a battle took place between settlers and

2023-443: A population in 1921 of 11,631. Much of this residential growth was housed in the higher ground to the south, extending to the south of the railway tracks. A suburb consisting of tents and crude huts, known as "Tent Town", developed along the river providing housing for the poorer residents of Wagga Wagga. In 1922, electricity was provided for the town, with hydro-electric power available from Burrinjuck Dam from 1928. Hardship as

2142-413: A problem with waterlogged soil and soil salination . Urban salination in Wagga Wagga is now the subject of a large multi-pronged approach to prevent further salination and reclaim salt-affected areas. The location of Wagga Wagga's Central business district was already well established by the late 1800s and remains focused around the commercial and recreational grid bounded by Best and Tarcutta Streets and

2261-523: A region extending as far as Griffith to the west, Cootamundra to the north and Tumut to the east. Wagga Wagga is upstream from the Riverina plain in the mid-catchment range of the Murrumbidgee River in an alluvial valley confined by low bedrock hills. Much of Wagga Wagga is on heavy clay soils in a large drainage basin with a small catchment discharge point. Groundwater therefore cannot leave easily, leading to Wagga Wagga having

2380-596: A result of the Great Depression , and the election of Jack Lang of the Labor party as Premier of New South Wales , sparked the formation of the "Riverina Movement". Throughout the Riverina in early 1931, a series of rallies were organised by the movement, culminating in a great meeting in Wagga Wagga on 28 February 1931. The meeting called on the State and Federal governments to alleviate the concerns of producers in

2499-508: A role it maintains to this day. RAAF Base Wagga at Forest Hill also expanded, with training of defence force aircraft technicians there from 1969. After a series of major floods in the early 1950s, the City Council protected the city area on the south flood plain through construction of a levee , completed in 1962. The levee was designed to provide protection from floods at levels expected once every one hundred years. North Wagga Wagga

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2618-502: A salt-tolerant grass, saltbush and daisy understorey. Yellow Box ( Eucalyptus melliodora ) and Grey Box ( Eucalyptus microcarpa ) occur along with Cypress Pine ( Callitris glaucophylla ) on areas rarely subjected to flooding. The area away from the rivers often consists of treeless plains, consisting of various saltbush ( Atriplex ) species, Cotton Bush ( Maireana aphylla ) and varieties of Danthonia and Austrostipa native grasslands. Significant mammals endemic to forests in

2737-537: A series of conventions and elections and finally, the inauguration of a federal constitution on 1 January 1901. Large scale irrigation commenced with the establishment of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA) in 1912 which diverted water from the Murrumbidgee River near Narrandera. The River Murray Waters Agreement of 1915 allowed 26 weirs to be constructed with locks to provide permanent riverboat access to Echuca. When riverboat transport

2856-445: A significant contribution as storekeeper, scrub clearers and in other occupations. As observed in 1879: “Chinamen seem to pervade everywhere. It is evident that the yellow agony doesn't annoy the good folks of Wagga Wagga much. Chinese cooks, Chinese "boots" Chinese labourers, Chinese servants are everywhere." "Most of the "ringing" on the surrounding runs and selections is in the hands of Chinamen, who, be it noted, have so far advanced in

2975-512: A symbol of the city of Wagga Wagga, appearing in the council's logo, coat of arms, and throughout branding of local businesses, as well as in public artwork. This is due to the debated interpretation of 'Wagga Wagga' being derived from a Wiradjuri language term meaning 'place of many crows'. Since 2019, the Wagga Wagga City Council has recognised this meaning as incorrect, instead adopting "many dances and celebrations", which

3094-590: 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, it is an important agricultural, military, and transport hub of Australia. The ninth largest inland city in Australia, Wagga Wagga is located midway between the two largest cities in Australia—; Sydney and Melbourne —and

3213-880: Is based on the Sturt Highway, and is a supplier of dairy products in the Riverina, Other major industries include Cargill and Heinz , which are in the suburb of Bomen . The Australian Army base at Kapooka includes the Army Recruit Training Centre , where general enlistment members of the Australian Army undertake their initial training. The barracks at Kapooka are named after World War II military commander Sir Thomas Blamey , born at Lake Albert Wagga Wagga and Australia's only Field Marshal . Following recruit training, soldiers move on to take specific training at training establishments throughout Australia. The soldiers club at Kapooka

3332-501: Is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation . This combination has allowed the Riverina to develop into one of the most productive and agriculturally diverse areas of Australia. Bordered on the south by the state of Victoria and on the east by the Great Dividing Range , the Riverina covers those areas of New South Wales in

3451-534: Is named for John Hurst Edmondson , Australia's first Victoria Cross winner in World War II, who was born in Wagga Wagga. There is a separate Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) base at Forest Hill , RAAF Base Wagga , which is the administration and logistics training base for Air Force personnel and the tri-service (RAN/Army/RAAF) electronic (White hander) and aircraft (Black hander) trades school. Some Royal Australian Navy Aircraft Technicians assigned to

3570-461: 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

3689-647: The Bogong moth feasts in the alpine country to the east. The first European explorer in the Riverina was John Oxley in 1817 following the Lachlan River to what is now the town of Booligal . Oxley was followed by Charles Sturt , who followed the Murrumbidgee downstream to Lake Alexandrina in South Australia between 1828 and 1831 and Major Thomas Mitchell in 1836 on his way to the Wimmera and

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3808-521: The Edward River , an anabranch of the Murray. Much of the water carried by these streams is diverted. In 2001–2002, 52% of the Murray and Murrumbidgee water runoff was diverted, 77% of which was used for irrigation . The Bureau of Meteorology classifies the Riverina in the Hot Dry Zone (with cooler winters) climatic zone. Places in this zone can be very hot in the summer months while in

3927-539: The Murray and Murrumbidgee drainage zones to their confluence in the west. Home to Aboriginal groups including the Wiradjuri people for over 40,000 years, the Riverina was colonised by Europeans in the mid-19th century as a pastoral region providing beef and wool to markets in Australia and beyond. In the 20th century, the development of major irrigation areas in the Murray and Murrumbidgee valleys has led to

4046-515: 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 . 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

4165-656: The Victoria Cross for his actions in the Battle of the Hindenburg Line in 1918. The march finished at Campbelltown with over 220 recruits. After the war some of the area around Wagga Wagga was designated for settlement by returned soldiers , who faced insurmountable difficulties due to poor and unwatered land, lack of farming experience and lack of access to markets. Many walked off the land after years of backbreaking work. Residential growth continued with

4284-646: The Western District . Pastoral settlement followed soon after, with grazing runs established along the Murray and Murrumbidgee as far west as Hay by 1839. At the time, the area was known as the Murrumbidgee District . "Cocketgedong" Station, between Jerilderie and Urana, was established in the 1840s by Messrs Brock & Hardie. A map, dated 1864, held by the State Library of Victoria shows them still in possession. At that time, there

4403-488: The Wiradjuri people and the word wagga in the Wiradjuri language was thought to mean ' crow ', so wagga wagga could be taken to mean 'the place of many crows'. Other interpretations had wagga to mean 'reeling' (a sick man or a dizzy man); 'to dance, slide or grind'. In August 2019, the City of Wagga Wagga dropped the definition 'crow' and adopted the city's Aboriginal meaning as 'dance and celebrations'. The new meaning

4522-521: The confluence of the Murray and Murrumbidgee is the beginning of the more arid Far West region. In general, the Riverina is an alluvial plain formed by deposition carried from the Great Dividing Range by streams between 30,000 and 15,000 years ago. The terrain includes rolling hills to the east but then becomes flatter to the west with most of that plain reaching less than 200 metres (660 ft) above sea level. The western Riverina consists largely of featureless saltbush plain. The geology of

4641-421: The early 2009 southeastern Australia heat wave , in which Wagga Wagga recorded 13 consecutive days over 38 °C (100 °F). Wagga Wagga has a mean annual rainfall of 571.5 millimetres (22.50 in) per year. This rainfall is distributed fairly equally over the 12 months, with a slight peak in winter and spring. On 8 March 2010, Wagga Wagga Airport recorded 110.2 mm (4.34 in) of rain. This broke

4760-424: The 1860s most goods were transported to markets by bullock wagon . For a short time, the arrival of faster, cheaper and more reliable riverboats allowed goods to be transported more easily to export markets. The riverboat era ended when the New South Wales government extended the railway line to North Wagga Wagga in 1878 and across the river to Wagga Wagga itself in 1881. As in most rural towns Chinese people made

4879-467: The College amalgamated with the College of Advanced Education at Bathurst to become Charles Sturt University . In 1981, the New South Wales government forced the amalgamation of Wagga Wagga City Council with neighbouring Kyeamba Shire and Mitchell Shire to form the new City of Wagga Wagga local government area , containing 4,886 square kilometres. In February 1993, Wagga Wagga was the first city in

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4998-622: The Leeton and Yanco district in 1924, expanding to Wakool during World War II , the Denimein and Deniboota Irrigation Areas in the 1950s and Coleambally and Finley in the 1960s. In recent years, rice is also grown in the Hay, Carrathool and Hillston areas. Historically, well over one million tonnes of Australian rice has been produced each year and exported to over 70 countries, generating A$ 500 million in export income and supporting 63 towns in

5117-595: The Murray River. The Riverina region is one of the most prosperous grape growing regions in Australia (particularly in Griffith), along with the Barossa Valley in South Australia . The region grows 55% of wine grapes in New South Wales and 15% of the total grape production within Australia and 80% of wine/grape production of New South Wales; the region is Australia's largest producer of wine. Over 50% of

5236-415: The Murrumbidgee River and the Sturt Highway. The main shopping street of Wagga Wagga is Baylis Street which becomes Fitzmaurice Street at the northern end. The Wollundry Lagoon is the water focus of the city centre and has been a key element in the development and separation of the north (older) and south (newer) parts of the city centre. Most residential growth in Wagga Wagga has been on the higher ground to

5355-535: The Peppin-developed sheep. The Riverina is home to many Merino studs and the saltbush plains are regarded as one of Australia's best wool growing regions. The Riverina produces the vast majority of rice grown in Australia, particularly in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA), but also around the Finley , Coleambally and Deniliquin areas. The first commercial rice crops in the Riverina were grown in

5474-527: The Redeemer, Ashmont (Blakemore Ave). Wagga Wagga is the seat of a Roman Catholic diocese , with its principal church being St Michael's Cathedral. Wagga attracts people from all over the Riverina and southwestern New South Wales to its shopping facilities. It is the major support city for over 200,000 people who live across the region. Wagga's shopping centres include two notable centres of metropolitan standards, Wagga Wagga Marketplace and Sturt Mall in

5593-529: The Riverina and northern Victoria. More recently, drought has drastically reduced this quantity to less than 30,000 tonnes with resultant economic effects. Recent rains however will see this volume increase. The headquarters of Ricegrowers Limited , who trade under the SunRice name, is located in Leeton, Australia's rice capital. Major rice mills are located in Leeton , Coleambally and the largest rice mill in

5712-687: The Riverina comprises several troughs and sedimentary basins . The western Riverina is presumed to be a continuation of the Ballarat and Bendigo geological zone while eastern sections are underlain by western portions of the Lachlan Fold Belt . There is potential for the Riverina to host several mineral deposit types including coal , petroleum , coal seam methane , gypsum , orogenic gold, Cobar style polymetallic systems, heavy mineral sands and possibly diamonds in these fold belt rocks and basins. Riverina soils are generally sandy along

5831-487: The Riverina generally comprises the agricultural and pastoral areas of New South Wales, west of the Great Dividing Range and in the drainage basin of the snow-fed Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers . The northern boundary beyond the Riverina is determined by the Lachlan River catchment area and is referred to as the Central West . Along the Murray to the south, the Riverina borders the state of Victoria . West of

5950-623: The Riverina is the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia that defines the bioregion as an area comprising 9,704,469 hectares (23,980,270 acres), with biogeographic sub-regions covering each of the Lachlan, Murrumbidgee, Murray Fans, Victorian Riverina, Robinvale Plains and Murray Scroll Belt. The NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service has divided New South Wales into 17 distinct bioregions. Bioregions are quite large areas of land that capture

6069-691: The Riverina often includes parts of the Murray SA4 region, as of 2016 the population of Murray was 115,803, 3.4% of the population were indigenous and 17.7% were born outside of Australia. The Riverina includes two cities; Wagga Wagga and Griffith . Other large towns include Leeton , Finley , Deniliquin , Cootamundra , West Wyalong , Narrandera , Junee and Temora . Wagga Wagga is the largest inland city in New South Wales with an estimated resident population of 56,675 people in 2019 and serves as an important employment, educational, cultural, social and entertainment centre for surrounding towns throughout

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6188-429: The Riverina's wine production is exported. As a producer of specialist wine grapes, its wine style of international importance is Botrytised Semillon and the outstanding speciality made from these grapes is a " sauternes -style" dessert wine . Irrigation made it possible to grow grapes for wine. The first grapes were planted at Hanwood in the spring of 1913 by John McWilliam and his eldest son Jack who had come to

6307-419: The Riverina. Wagga Wagga's facilities are of metropolitan standards with shopping, cafes, recreational facilities and nightlife present within the city. The two largest centres in population in the region after Wagga Wagga are Griffith and Leeton and they provide advanced services to the outlying farming regions. Parts of the Riverina experienced substantial population growth in the late 1990s and early 2000s; in

6426-519: The Sturt Mall in 1979. The City Council developed a series of industrial areas including areas for service and general industries, and agricultural processing and noxious industries were established in a new industrial estate in Bomen . In the 1950s the defence bases in Wagga Wagga again became an important part of the city. The Army camp at Kapooka was reopened as a recruit training centre from 1951,

6545-503: The Tullakool Irrigation Area in 1942. The Coleambally Irrigation Area, established in 1968, was the last of the major government-sponsored irrigation developments in New South Wales. The high soil fertility and abundance of water in the Riverina floodplain has made the Riverina region one of the most productive farming regions in Australia with rice, wheat, maize , canola , citrus and wine grapes being grown in

6664-488: The Victorian Rules of football. In response to the rapid growth of the Victorian code the newly formed Sydney based Southern Rugby Football Union (SRFU) in 1874 instituted a ban on its member clubs from playing any matches under those rules. Wagga were left with little other option than to organise local scratch matches as most surrounding clubs had by then begun adopting rugby. Its first recorded interclub match

6783-502: The area and included a crude blacksmith 's shop, a hotel , and a post office. By 1849 the town was marked out by surveyor Thomas Scott Townsend and formally gazetted as a village. Wagga Wagga grew quickly, reaching a population of 627 in 1861 and during that decade a number of hotels and stores opened, as well as professional services in the form of banks, solicitors, doctors and dentists. The Wagga Wagga Advertiser (today's Daily Advertiser ) commenced publication in 1868. Until

6902-443: The area. The Riverina contains many irrigation schemes including the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area . 182,000 hectares (450,000 acres) are under irrigation in the region. For the first few decades following the 1830s, European pastoral activity focused in the main on cattle production but by the 1860s sheep were the predominant stock. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the region's agricultural and horticultural production

7021-451: The bioregion include various species of glider, such as Sugar Gliders ( Petaurus breviceps ), Feathertail Gliders ( Acrobates pygmaeus ) and Squirrel Gliders ( Petaurus norfolcensis ) as well as Koalas ( Phascolarctos cinereus ) A wide variety of birdlife makes its home in wetlands in the Riverina, including many migratory species. Competition from introduced species and the effect of clearing, grazing and pasture improvement has led to

7140-519: The bushranger shot dead a policeman in cold blood near Tumbarumba . The reward placed on his head reached £1,000 before, in April 1865, he was shot dead near Wangaratta , Victoria . The infamous Australian bushranger, Ned Kelly , made possibly his most daring raid in the Riverina, at Jerilderie in 1879. After riding overland from north east Victoria, Kelly and his gang in a brazen move captured two local policemen and stole their uniforms. Impersonating

7259-1057: The central business district, and suburban shopping centres such as the South City Shopping Centre in Glenfield Park , the Lake Village Shopping Centre, Lake Albert , the Tolland Shopping Centre and Kooringal Mall in Kooringal . Wagga has a large HomeBase store located on the Sturt Highway . Wagga's central business district, with both Baylis and Fitzmaurice Streets and other surrounding streets, offers hundreds of speciality retailers including national chains such as Big W , Myer and Kmart . Target Country closed its store on Baylis Street in March 2021. The dairy company Fonterra (formerly Murrumbidgee Dairy Products ),

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7378-406: The characteristics of a garrison town. After the war, Wagga Wagga grew steadily and was proclaimed a city on 17 April 1946. Suburbs such as Turvey Park and Kooringal were developed to the south of the city and in the 1960s, residential growth expanded to cover areas such as Tolland and Lake Albert . The main commercial district also moved south to the Baylis Street end with the development of

7497-421: The city. Squatters arrived soon after. The town, positioned on the site of a ford across the Murrumbidgee, 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. During World War I,

7616-408: The civilisation of the west as to understand fully the advantage of a fair day's pay for a fair day's work. Chinese cheap labour is unknown here. The Celestial business establishments seem well patronised by Europeans as well as by their compatriots."   On 15 March 1870, Wagga Wagga was incorporated as a municipality and George Forsyth was chosen as the first mayor of Wagga Wagga. Gas lighting

7735-440: The club was renamed the Wagga Tigers. The club has gone on to sustained success with consistent premierships in each decade since. 1887, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1985, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2007, 2016, 2019, 2020 There is a list of players who have played at AFL/VFL : Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga ( / ˌ w ɒ ɡ ə ˈ w ɒ ɡ ə / ; informally called Wagga )

7854-448: The committee decided to finance it themselves. The bridge was completed in October 1862 and opened on 27 October at just over 91 metres long and 7 metres wide. In 1884 the New South Wales Government purchased the bridge and it was demolished in 1895. In 1895 a truss bridge called the Hampden Bridge , was built across the Murrumbidgee River at Wagga. The bridge served the Wagga Wagga community for over 100 years until 16 August 2006 when it

7973-588: The competitiveness of these towns supplying the Melbourne and Adelaide markets. In addition, crossing the border on the Murray River was a tiresome experience as each border crossing had customs posts inspecting goods and luggage to ensure all duty was paid and to reduce smuggling, a popular activity. Another item of concern was the lack of adequate river crossings. Along the Riverina the Murray was—and remains—part of New South Wales, who had no interest in assisting border residents to access goods and services in Victoria that may otherwise have been sourced from Sydney. In

8092-651: The differences between the squatters on one side and the small farmers and townspeople on the other causing its objectives to become obscured by other associated issues such as inter-colonial tariffs and rail links. From 1853, the Riverina was linked to markets through a series of riverboats along the Murray and Murrumbidgee to the river ports of Mannum and Goolwa in South Australia and from 1864, to Echuca connected by rail to Melbourne . Riverboats reached as far upstream as Gundagai and Albury and towns such as Darlington Point , Narrandera and Moulamein became important river ports. The riverboat era peaked in

8211-431: The district from their winery in Junee. Irrigation was by carting of water until the irrigation channels were opened a few months later. The first grapes were picked in 1916 and sent to Junee for processing. Penfolds established its winery in the region in 1919. At the 2016 census , the population of the Riverina (ABS SA4 Region) was 155,934, 5.4% of whom were indigenous and 18.4% born outside Australia. In common usage

8330-415: The district on 15 November 1879 and held up 39 people at Wantabadgery Station . Moonlite and his gang escaped a police pursuit only to be captured at another nearby property when police from the neighbouring townships of Gundagai and Adelong arrived. Along with most of the Riverina region, the majority of Wagga Wagga residents supported the federation of the Australian colonies, in large part due to

8449-470: The district or hold a referendum to determine if the Riverina should secede . The movement petered out following the dismissal of Lang in 1932 and the recovery of the regional economy. The outbreak of World War II saw Royal Australian Air Force bases established at Forest Hill in 1940 and Uranquinty in 1941. A major Australian Army camp was constructed at Kapooka in 1942 and one year later there were 8,000 troops in training there with Wagga taking on

8568-549: The early 1890s, for mainly patriotic reasons, the Australian Natives' Association helped establish the Federation League, a society dedicated to the creation of a federal nation. Following a series of addresses by the future Prime Minister , Edmund Barton to large crowds, some 15 League branches were established in the towns along the southern border. One of these towns, Corowa , was the location for

8687-410: The eastern Riverina between Wagga Wagga and Albury saw the depredations of Dan "Mad Dog" Morgan . Having previously been convicted of armed robbery, Morgan came to the attention to authorities in the Riverina when he bailed up a police magistrate, Henry Baylis , near Urana in 1863. In 1864, Morgan bailed up Round Hill station , a large sheep farm near Morven , killing a station hand. Later that year,

8806-499: The first conference of the Australian Federation League in 1893. At this conference, Dr John Quick , a delegate from Bendigo, proposed a resolution calling for the colonial legislatures to pass an act providing for the election of representatives to a convention to develop a federal constitution . This has been seen as the turning point in the push for Federation. The momentum generated from this point lead to

8925-427: The five-year period between 1996 and 2001, Griffith's population increased by 10.8%. Until recently Wagga Wagga's population was declining slowly and ageing with strong growth in age groups 40 and over. This has now changed and Wagga Wagga has become one of Australia's leading examples of the "sponge" city phenomenon, attracting residents from smaller towns in the Riverina such as Urana . In the year ended 30 June 2006,

9044-611: The great rivers of the Murray-Darling Basin , and the city centre is on the southern bank, protected by a levee from potential flooding. Wagga sits halfway between the largest cities in Australia, being 452 kilometres southwest of Sydney and 456 kilometres northeast of Melbourne with the Sydney–Melbourne railway line passing through. The Sturt Highway , part of Australia's National Highway network, passes through Wagga on its way from Adelaide to its junction with

9163-405: The hot-summer Mediterranean climate ( Csa ) zone, although areas in the southwest of the region would feature the semi-arid ( BSk ) climate and those in the east would have a humid subtropical ( Cfa ) climate, though still with Mediterranean climate tendencies when it comes to the rainfall pattern. Rainfall levels in the Riverina are generally low with the median annual rainfall over most of

9282-483: The introduction of crops such as rice and wine grapes . The Riverina has strong cultural ties to Victoria, and the region was the source of much of the impetus behind the federation of Australian colonies. Major population and service centres in the Riverina include the cities of Wagga Wagga , Leeton , Griffith and Albury . Wagga Wagga is home to a campus of Charles Sturt University and two major Australian Defence Force establishments. La Trobe University has

9401-535: The land which seemed a desert was actually good fattening country. In the 1860s and 1870s, German settlers from the Barossa Valley travelled upstream to settle in the eastern Riverina. Because of their religious distinctiveness as Lutherans , they preferred to form clustered German settlements . In 1867 and 1868 several land parcels were taken up in the Jindera area. 56 German farmers, in 1869, took six weeks to travel six hundred miles in covered wagons to establish

9520-410: The leasehold was resumed for Soldier Settlement blocks, leaving "Cocketgedong" with 36,000 acres and "North Urana" 9000 acres divided by several holdings. The latter part was sold in the early 1950s, leaving the approximate area originally taken up by Brock & Hardie, held by the D & W Gibb Estate. The Woolshed constructed in 1910 consisted of 20 stands, although by 1970 when it was demolished after

9639-511: The local Narrungderra clan at a location now known as Massacre Island, reportedly leaving only one survivor. Cattle raising was the major industry in the 1840s with sheep becoming predominant in the 1860s. At this time many Victorians settled in the Riverina to breed sheep and cattle to feed the miners taking part in the Victorian Gold Rush . The herds were considered inferior at first, but these pastures were good for stock, and

9758-537: The main Sydney–Melbourne route, the Hume Highway , a further 45 kilometres east. This location astride some of Australia's major transport routes has made Wagga Wagga an important heavy truck depot for a number of companies, including Toll Group . Wagga Wagga itself is the major regional centre for the Riverina and for much of the South West Slopes regions, providing education, health and other services to

9877-608: The movement strongest in Deniliquin and Albury , Dunmore Lang, squatter and parliamentarian Gideon Lang (unrelated) and other influential pastoralists joined with local newspaper editors, George Mott and David Jones in the campaign. This culminated in presenting petitions to the Governor of New South Wales , Sir John Young and the Colonial Secretary , Edward Cardwell . Soon after the movement fell apart due to

9996-542: The naval air station HMAS  Albatross are based at RAAF Base Wagga as an Aircraft Maintenance and Flight Trials Unit (AMAFTU). As of 2008, No 1 Recruit Training Unit (1RTU) has moved from RAAF Edinburgh to RAAF Wagga Wagga. RAAF Base Wagga is also the home of the Wagga Wagga RAAF Museum . Riverina The Riverina ( / ˌ r ɪ v ə ˈ r iː n ə / ) is an agricultural region of southwestern New South Wales , Australia. The Riverina

10115-620: The police, they then proceeded to rob the Bank of New South Wales and held the town captive for several days. While in Jerilderie, he sought to have his manifesto published, the famous Jerilderie letter, a rambling 8,000-word condemnation of the colonial administration in Victoria and specifically the treatment of the Irish . Being unable to find the local newspaper editor, he left the letter with

10234-449: The population of Wagga Wagga grew by 1.3%, driven by its role as the regional centre for the Riverina and its hosting of a campus of Charles Sturt University and Australian Defence Force bases. The Local Government Area of Temora experienced a population decline in the early 2000s, dropping from 6288 people in 2001 to a low of 5936 in 2009. Since then the LGA has grown steadily. As of 2019

10353-417: The previous all-time record of 104.1 mm (4.10 in) set on 16 March 1966, with 127 mm (5.0 in) of rain recorded at Gurwood Street in the city's CBD. In December 2010, the city recorded its wettest year on record and the first yearly rainfall recording of 1,000 mm (39 in). The original inhabitants of the Wagga Wagga region, who maintain a relationship with the area to this day, are

10472-404: The prospect of free trade across colonial borders. In 1898, a group of residents promoted Wagga Wagga for consideration as the site of the future national capital due to its location equidistant from Sydney and Melbourne and its ample water supply. Despite the bid's lack of success, in the 1899 referendum Wagga Wagga residents voted strongly in favour of federation. During World War I the town

10591-419: The region between 250–500 millimetres (9.8–19.7 in), rising to between 500–800 mm (20–31 in) on the eastern fringe. Because the region is situated on the upwind side of the Great Dividing Range , winter would receive the most rainfall in the year, with areas in the southern Riverina (around Albury ), having the wettest winters, while in the north rainfall patterns are fairly consistent throughout

10710-424: The river channels, with more saline grey and brown clays found on rarely flooded areas on the perimeter of the floodplain. As the Murrumbidgee passes downstream, the water and soil become more saline. The Riverina is drained by the large Murray-Darling Basin . Rivers and streams in the Riverina generally flow east to west. As well as the Murray, Murrumbidgee and Lachlan, other streams include Billabong Creek and

10829-662: The section beyond Murrabit after 1932 and it was closed about 1943. Standard gauge rail services from Sydney came with the extension of the Main Southern line to Cootamundra and Junee in 1878 and the construction of the Murrumbidgee River Railway Bridge in 1881 allowed the line to be extended past Wagga Wagga to Henty and Albury later that year. A branch line was constructed to Temora in 1893 and extended to Barellan in 1908, Griffith in 1916 and Hillston in 1923. Further south,

10948-433: The shield of the city's coat of arms. The upper quarter of the shield contains eight stalks of wheat positioned to form two capital letters W on a vert (green) field. The lower quarter of the upper half of the flag contains a wavy blue line on gold (yellow) representing the river winding through the wheat fields. The lower half of the flag contains the head of a ram positioned centrally on a vert (green) field. The crest has

11067-416: The south bank. Other settlers followed, all squatting illegally, but by 1836 the colonial government regulated the tenure of land and established a licensing scheme. Within a few years settlers' numbers increased greatly and before 1850 a local bench of magistrates and a place for holding petty sessions was established. The beginnings of a village formed near the ford used by most traffic passing through

11186-450: The south of the city centre, with the only residential areas north of the Murrumbidgee being the flood prone suburb of North Wagga Wagga and the university suburb of Estella . Major industrial areas of Wagga Wagga include the northern suburb of Bomen and the eastern suburb of East Wagga Wagga . Thomas Mitchell , the surveyor who served under Lord Wellington , named many of the streets after Peninsular War veterans. Wagga Wagga has

11305-607: The southern hemisphere in Deniliquin. The area generally known as "the Riverina" is broader than the area legally defined as the Riverina wine region Australian Geographical Indication (AGI) as registered in the Register of Protected GIs. The Riverina GI is centred on Griffith and is roughly circular with towns on the boundary including Mossgiel , Condobolin , Temora , Junee , Culcairn , Berrigan , Finley , Deniliquin and Moulamein . It does not extend as far south as

11424-638: The town of Walla Walla . Nearby Holbrook was originally named Germantown after these settlers until changing its name in 1914 as a result of tensions caused by World War I . The name "Riverine", coined from the Entre Ríos Province (between two rivers) in Argentina, South America, was in use as early as 1857: a long letter under the caption "Riverine Colony" appeared in the Albury Border Post of 24 January that year. The name

11543-472: 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

11662-416: The twenty years from 1870 to 1890, declining with the coming of the railway and finally ending with the disruption to the workforce caused by World War I. From Melbourne, broad gauge railway lines opened to Deniliquin in 1876 and west to Moulamein and Balranald in 1926. The Moulamein–Balranald section closed in the 1980s. The North East line reached Wodonga in 1873, and was connected to Albury at

11781-405: The urban area of Wagga Wagga was home to 57,003 people. Wagga had grown, on average, 0.65 percent year-on-year during the previous five years. Much of this growth is attributable to the "sponge city" phenomenon as Wagga Wagga attracts residents from smaller towns in the region such as Urana . Other factors include Wagga's role as a regional centre and its hosting of major defence establishments and

11900-423: The various Australian colonies could, and often did, charge tariffs on goods from the other colonies, ostensibly for the protection of their domestic manufacturing industries, mainly based in the larger cities such as Sydney and Melbourne. For a border community such as the southern Riverina, these tariffs were a sore burden, making goods purchased from Melbourne, the closest large city, more expensive and reducing

12019-620: The west. 74.03% of the bioregion is in New South Wales, the remainder in Victoria. In another mapping the World Wildlife Fund has made this area part of the larger Southeast Australia temperate savanna ecoregion that covers the western plains of New South Wales. River channels in the region support River Red Gum ( Eucalyptus camaldulensis ) and River Cooba ( Acacia stenophylla ) communities. Nearby higher areas contain Black Box ( Eucalyptus largiflorens ) woodlands and

12138-842: The western plains where the town of Hay , the Muthi-Muthi along the Lowbidgee, Gurendji and the Yida-Yida of Oxley. Along both sides of the Murray River lived the Yorta Yorta people inhabiting the area of the Riverina as far east as the present day city of Albury and as far north as the Finley and Deniliquin districts. The Murray was also home to other groups such as the Bangerang , Baraba-Baraba , Wemba-Wemba , Wadi-Wadi, Dadi-Dadi and Paarkantji communities. The rivers played

12257-509: The winter, nights can be considerably cold with cool to mild days. Mean daily maximum temperatures in the Riverina range from 31.0 °C (87.8 °F) in January and 12.4 °C (54.3 °F) in July in Wagga Wagga to 33.2 °C (91.8 °F) in January and 14.8 °C (58.6 °F) in July in Hillston . Under the Köppen climate classification , the region predominantly falls in

12376-410: The world to be proclaimed as a Rotary Peace City, with a Rotary Peace Monument unveiled on the corner of The Esplanade and Best Street. Wagga Wagga has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: The Wagga Wagga city flag was designed by H Ellis Tomlinson and adopted in 1965. Wagga Wagga City Council holds the copyright to Tomlinson's design. The flag is officially square and takes its design from

12495-552: The year. Corowa , in the south eastern Riverina has an average rainfall of 539.4 millimetres (21.2 in) per year while mean annual rainfall at Hay is 367.2 millimetres (14.5 in). Drought in 2006 saw the lowest ever recorded rainfall in towns such as Lockhart , Tarcutta and Narrandera . Despite the very low elevation compared to other regions of the state known for colder winters, snow has been recorded on multiple occasions in Albury and Wagga Wagga, and on 24 July 1936

12614-436: Was 46.1 °C (115.0 °F) on 4 January 2020. Relative humidity is low in the summer months with a 3 pm average of around 30%. Wagga Wagga has 124.3 clear days annually. In 2009 the city recorded an anomalous maximum of 25.03 °C (77.05 °F), which was 2.33 °C (4.19 °F) above the country's average of 22.7 °C (72.9 °F) and the highest anomalous maximum in Australia for 2009. This preceded

12733-568: Was closed and fenced off to the public due to the bridge being declared a safety risk after one of the trusses failed. In 2014 the Hampden Bridge was demolished. With its increasing prosperity and population, Wagga Wagga and the surrounding district became a place of interest to several infamous bushrangers . The Wagga police magistrate Henry Baylis was bailed up by Mad Dog Morgan in 1863. Captain Moonlite and his band arrived in

12852-478: Was coined by Dunmore Lang who translated it from the Spanish. Dunmore Lang was also involved with the short-lived Riverina secession movement which was active in the 1860s. The movement was inspired by the success of the Victorian and Queensland secession movements and motivated by a desire to draw more public funds to the region and maintain the favourable land tenure the " squatter " pastoralists enjoyed. With

12971-761: Was in 1881 against the Albury Football Club in Wagga, just a year before the first rugby matches were held in the region. Despite the SRFU ban, the Victorian code was rapidly growing in popularity and by 1882 there were two more clubs in Wagga. Local competition between clubs commenced in earnest in 1884 around Wagga Wagga which became the Wagga Football Association. In 1949, the Richmond Football Club provided jumpers and

13090-573: Was initially excluded from protection however by 1982 another levee was constructed to protect the village, although at a lower standard. In 1971, following pressure from the Wagga Wagga community for a university, the teachers' college established in 1947 became the Riverina College of Advanced Education and was relocated to a site adjacent to the Wagga Agricultural College, with which it amalgamated in 1975. In 1989,

13209-482: Was installed throughout the streets of Wagga Wagga in 1881, although once again North Wagga Wagga was neglected. By 1885, a town waterworks and reservoir was established although water quality remained a problem. Poor sanitation caused a horrific stench in the town and was blamed for a large increase in infectious diseases such as typhoid fever in the 1890s and early 1900s. In 1908 the council approved

13328-658: Was little fencing and the sheep were brought back to camps each night by the shepherds. The camps named on the map include Stockyard Camp, Mick's Hill Camp, Columba Camp, The Gums Camp, Coonong Camp, and Sydney Gate Camp. Messrs Watt & Thomson, the owners of an adjoining property, "North Urana", subsequently purchased "Cocketgedong" from Brock & Hardie, giving them a total area of approximately 65,000 acres. In 1904 D & W Gibb, Wool Brokers in Melbourne, purchased "Cocketgedong" which comprised 45,000 acres freehold and approximately 20,000 acres Crown Leasehold. After World War I,

13447-424: Was never completed. The Murray River bridge between Robinvale and Euston was instead converted to a road bridge, which will be demolished when the new road bridge currently under construction is completed. The Stony Crossing railway line was built from Kerang to Murrabit in 1924 and Stony Crossing (originally called Poonboon) in 1928 under an agreement with New South Wales. No passenger services were carried on

13566-617: Was no longer significant, the weirs supported irrigation. Irrigation in the region continued to develop with the construction of the Hume Dam between 1919 and 1931, the Burrinjuck Dam built in 1928 and Blowering Dam built in 1968. Development and promotion of the MIA led to large scale settlement on land described by Oxley 100 years earlier as "country which, for barrenness and desolation, can I think, have no equal." Settlers came from

13685-604: Was officially enshrined in the city's first Reconciliation Action Plan. European exploration of the future site of Wagga Wagga began in 1829 with the arrival of Captain Charles Sturt during his expedition along the Murrumbidgee River. Settlers arrived shortly thereafter with Charles Tompson establishing the Eunonyhareenyha 'run' in 1832 on the north bank of the river, and also in 1832 the Wagga Wagga 'run' established by Robert Holt Best (died September 1853), on

13804-430: 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 . Wagga Wagga is at the eastern end of the Riverina region where the slopes of the Great Dividing Range flatten and form the Riverina plain. Wagga straddles the Murrumbidgee River , one of

13923-418: Was supported by Wiradjuri elder Stan Grant . Crows remain a ubiquitous civic symbol of Wagga Wagga. Both the council and ABC Riverina have promoted the use of the barking marsh frog as an alternative animal emblem for the city, originally suggested by Canberra resident Dec Browne. Wagga Wagga is the major city of the Riverina and the second largest inland city in New South Wales after Maitland, In 2021

14042-529: Was the starting point of the "Kangaroo March", one of a series of snowball marches conducted in New South Wales during the war in which groups of recruits marched towards Sydney and appealed to men in the towns along the route to join them and enlist in the Australian Imperial Force . 88 recruits left Wagga Wagga on 1 December 1915, farewelled by a large crowd and to the accompaniment of a band. The marchers included John Ryan , who later won

14161-558: Was worth more than A$ 1 billion. The region produces: In 1991–92 sheep and lamb numbers in the region were close to seven million and there were 500,000 meat cattle. The Riverina is also a significant almond growing region. Much of the dryland areas of the Riverina contain large sheep stations , producing medium class wool . The Peppin Merino sheep was first bred in the area around Wanganella . As many as 70 percent of today's Australian Merinos are said to be directly descended from

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