Wagga Wagga, New South Wales

Understand

What's now Wagga Wagga was originally inhabited by the Wiradjuri people, considered to be the largest Aboriginal cultural grouping in New South Wales. They inhabited much of what is now the Riverina and the Central West.

Early colonists first sighted the land on which the city of Wagga Wagga now stands in December 1829 during an expedition of discovery down the Murrumbidgee and Murray Rivers. Settlement swiftly followed.

Wagga Wagga was proclaimed a town in 1849 and by the 1860s had a population of 700. The train line reached Wagga in the 1870s, and by 1881, the population had increased to 3,975. In 1879 the railway line was extended south of the river.

"Wagga" in the local Wiradjuri Aboriginal dialect means "crow". The repetition of a word is the method of expressing the plural or emphasis; thus, Wagga Wagga means "crows" or "the place where crows assemble in large numbers". The Murrumbidgee River which runs through the city also derived its name from the Wiradjuri language and means "plenty of water" or "big water".

Get in

thumb|300px|Welcome to Wagga Wagga

Get around

thumb|Route 961 serviced by Busabout Wagga Radio Cabs operate 24/7 throughout the city.

See

thumb|"Henry's Tunnel" on the Willans Hill Miniature Railway, with the Museum of the Riverina's Botanic Gardens site visible behind it

Do

300px|thumb|Civic Theatre

Walk, the Wollundry Track or the Wiradjuri Walking track with maps available at the Wagga Wagga Visitor Information Centre. Swim in the Murrumbidgee River, at Wagga Beach (which is a sand beach). The local newspaper, The Daily Advertiser, is a good guide to what's on around town. Walk the track to the top of The Rock, a short drive away from Wagga. Wagga Wagga Heritage Walk. A self-guided walking tour showcasing 41 fascinating heritage-listed buildings in Wagga Wagga.

Buy

Baylis Street is the main street of Wagga and is where you will find most shops. You'll find the Sturt Mall and Marketplace shopping centres which should have everything you need. You'll also find some smaller malls in the suburbs such as the Kooringal Mall (Kooringal) and the Southcity Shopping Centre (Glenfield Park).