Wagga Wagga
New South Wales
Location in New South Wales
Coordinates35°08′S 147°22′E / 35.133°S 147.367°E / -35.133; 147.367
Population
  • 62,385 (2016)[1]
  • 70,339 (2022 est.)[2]
 • Density12.92712/km2 (33.4811/sq mi)
Established15 March 1870 (Borough)[3]
17 April 1946 (City)[4]
Area4,825.9 km2 (1,863.3 sq mi)[5]
MayorDallas Tout[6]
Council seatWagga Wagga[7]
RegionRiverina
State electorate(s)Wagga Wagga
Federal division(s)Riverina
WebsiteWagga Wagga
LGAs around Wagga Wagga:
Coolamon Junee Cootamundra-Gundagai
Narrandera Wagga Wagga Snowy Valleys
Lockhart Greater Hume Snowy Valleys

City of Wagga Wagga is a local government area in the Riverina region of southern New South Wales, Australia.

The mayor of the City of Wagga Wagga is Cr. Dallas Tout, an independent politician.[6]

City, town and localities

The City of Wagga Wagga includes the suburbs of

as well as the villages of

History

Wagga Wagga was first incorporated as the Borough of Wagga Wagga on 15 March 1870.[8] It received city status and became the City of Wagga Wagga on 17 April 1946. The municipality enlarged substantially on 1 January 1981 when the adjoining Shire of Kyeamba and Shire of Mitchell were amalgamated into the City.[9]

Heritage listings

The City of Wagga Wagga has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

Demographics

At the 2021 census, there were 69,047 people in the City of Wagga Wagga local government area, of these 48.9 per cent were male and 51.1 per cent were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 5.6 per cent of the population, which was twice the national average of 2.9 per cent. The median age of people in the City of Wagga Wagga was 35 years, which was lower than the national median of 38 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 20.3 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 15.2 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 46.6 per cent were married and 11.4 per cent were either divorced or separated.[1]

Population growth in the Tamworth Regional Council between the 2011 census and the 2016 census was 4.92 per cent. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same period, being 8.8 per cent, population growth in the City of Wagga Wagga local government area was around half of the national average.[1] The median weekly income of $1,354 within the City of Wagga Wagga local government area was slightly lower than the national average of $1,438.[1]

At the 2016 census, the proportion of residents in the Tamworth Regional local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Saxon exceeded 80 per cent of all residents (national average was around 60 per cent). Approximately two-thirds (67%) of all residents in the City of Wagga Wagga nominated a religious affiliation with Christianity at the 2016 census, which was higher than the national average of approximately 60 per cent. Meanwhile, as at the census date, compared to the national average, households in the City of Wagga Wagga local government area had a significantly lower than average proportion (7.6 per cent) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 26.4 per cent); and a significantly higher proportion (87.8 per cent) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 68.5 per cent).[1]

Selected historical census data for the City of Wagga Wagga local government area
Census year20012006[14]2011[15]2016[1]
PopulationEstimated residents on Census night54,84557,015Increase 59,458Increase 62,385
LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales39th
% of New South Wales population0.87%Steady 0.87%Decrease 0.86%Decrease 0.83%
% of Australian population0.29%Steady 0.29%Decrease 0.28%Steady 0.27%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry,
top responses		Australian34.3%Decrease 31.7%
English29.2%Steady 29.2%
Irish10.4%Increase 10.5%
Scottish7.6%Increase 7.9%
German4.1%Decrease 3.9%
Language,
top responses
(other than English)		Malayalam0.6%
ArabicSteady 0.5%Steady 0.5%
Mandarin0.4%Increase 0.5%
Filipino0.3%
Tagalog0.3%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation,
top responses		Catholic33.2%Decrease 30.6%
No Religion15.0%Increase 22.2%
Anglican23.9%Decrease 19.5%
Presbyterian and Reformed6.2%Decrease 4.9%
Uniting Church6.3%5.5%
Median weekly incomes
Personal incomeMedian weekly personal incomeA$586A$696
% of Australian median income
Family incomeMedian weekly family incomeA$1,418A$1,682
% of Australian median income
Household incomeMedian weekly household incomeA$1,149A$1,354
% of Australian median income

Council

Mayor of the City of Wagga Wagga Cr Dallas Tout and Deputy Mayor Cr Jenny McKinnon

Current composition and election method

Wagga Wagga City Council (WWCC) is composed of nine councillors elected proportionally as a single ward. All councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The mayor is elected by the councillors at the first meeting of the council. The most recent election was held on 4 December 2021, and the makeup of the council is as follows:[16]

PartyCouncillors
  Independents 5
  Labor Party 2
  Getting It Done 1
  The Greens 1
Total 9

The current Council, elected in 2021, is:[16]

CouncillorPartyNotes
  Dallas Tout Independent Mayor[17]
  Jenny McKinnon The Greens Deputy Mayor
  Dan Hayes Labor
  Amelia Parkins Labor
  Richard Foley Independent
  Tim Koschel Independent
  Michael Henderson Independent
  Rod Kendall Independent
  Georgie Davis Getting It Done

A referendum was held on 8 September 2012 and an absolute majority of voters resolved in favour to reduce the number of councillors from eleven to nine.[18] The change came into effect at the September 2016 elections.

Election results

2021

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2021 New South Wales local elections § Wagga Wagga.[edit]
Elected councillor Party
  Michael Henderson Clean Out Council
  Richard Foley Clean Out Council
  Dan Hayes Labor
  Amelia Parkins Labor
  Rod Kendall Independent
(Group D)
  Dallas Tout Community First
  Jenny McKinnon Greens
  Tim Koschel Here For You
  Georgie Davis Getting It Done
2021 New South Wales local elections: Wagga Wagga[19][20][21]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Clean Out Council 9,201 25.6
Labor 8,279 23.1 +6.1
Independent (Group D) 4,416 12.3
Community First 3,576 10.0
Greens 3,347 9.3 +5.0
Here For You 2,808 7.8
Getting It Done 2,291 6.4
Independent (Group F) 837 2.3 +2.3
Independent Liberal Robert Sinclair 572 1.6
Independent Liberal Rosina Gordon 287 0.8
Independent Richard Salcole 235 0.7
Independent Liberal Robin Dennis 20 0.1
Independent Liberal Daniel Vieria 16 0.0
Total formal votes 35,885 93.2
Informal votes 2,634 6.8
Turnout 38,519 83.3

Administration staff

In December 2009, Wagga Wagga City Council announced that it had appointed Phil Pinyon as the general manager of the Wagga Wagga City Council replacing Lyn Russell, who suddenly announced her resignation in October 2009, after completing 18 months of her five-year contract.[22][23][24]

Cutting ties with China’s Sister City

In April 2020, The Wagga council voted to cut ties with China's Kunming city; a week later they would vote again joining Kunming as a sister city.[25][26] [27]

Symbols and emblems

Crows are considered a symbol of the city of Wagga Wagga, appearing in the council's logo, coat of arms, and throughout local business logos and public artworks. This is due to the debated interpretation of 'Wagga Wagga' being derived from a Wiradjuri term meaning 'place of many crows'. The floral emblem for the city is the Silver Banksia.[28]

Coat of arms

Coat of arms of the City of Wagga Wagga
Notes
Granted by the Kings of Arms.
Adopted
15 November 1965
Crest
Out of a Mural Crown in front of a Caduceus Or, winged Sable, eight leaves of the River Red Gum Tree (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) conjoined and in the form of two letters W proper.
Helm
A closed helmet.
Escutcheon
Vert, on a Fess between in chief eight stalks of Wheat, each four in the form of the letter W, and in base a Merino Ram's head caboshed, all Or, a Bar wavy Azure.
Supporters
On either side a Crow wings addorsed proper, gorged with a Collar dancetty Or, and perched on a forked twig.
Compartment
A compartment of grass divided by Water Barry wavy Argent and Azure.
Motto
Forward in Faith
Other elements
Mantling Vert doubled Or.
Symbolism
The colours of green and gold, and the gold band on green in the escutcheon are taken from the arms of Captain Charles Sturt, the first European explorer of the area. The wavy blue line represents the Murrumbidgee River. The wheat (arranged as two "W" letters for the city name), and the Merino Ram head are for the principal industries of the city. The eight River Red Gum leaves in the crest are also arranged as two "W" letters and are placed in front of the Caduceus, the symbol of Mercury, the Roman god of commerce. The crow supporters with "W" collars are taken from the former Council seal and allude to the meaning of Wagga Wagga ("the place of many crows"). The compartment of grass divided by water represents the building of the city on both sides of the river.[29]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Wagga Wagga (C) (Local Government Area)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  2. ↑ "3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2017–18". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 27 March 2019. Estimated resident population (ERP) at 30 June 2018.
  3. ↑ "Government Gazette Proclamations and Legislation". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 60. New South Wales, Australia. 15 March 1870. p. 642. Retrieved 9 September 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ↑ "LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT, 1919.—PROCLAMATION". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 43. New South Wales, Australia. 26 April 1946. p. 997. Retrieved 9 September 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ↑ "3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2012". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 30 August 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2014. Estimated resident population (ERP) at 30 June 2012.
  6. 1 2 "Wagga City Council: Dallas Tout elected mayor, Jenny McKinnon elected deputy mayor at first meeting". The Daily Advertiser. 10 January 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  7. ↑ "Wagga Wagga City Council". Department of Local Government. Archived from the original on 7 September 2006. Retrieved 30 November 2006.
  8. ↑ "Government Gazette Proclamations and Legislation". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 60. New South Wales, Australia. 15 March 1870. p. 641. Retrieved 9 September 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ↑ "Municipality of Wagga Wagga, New South Wales". Museum Victoria. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  10. ↑ "Bomen Railway Station". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H01093. Retrieved 18 May 2018. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC-BY 4.0 licence.
  11. ↑ "Hambledon Homestead". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H00351. Retrieved 18 May 2018. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC-BY 4.0 licence.
  12. ↑ "Mobile Cook's Galley, Museum of the Riverina". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H01722. Retrieved 18 May 2018. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC-BY 4.0 licence.
  13. ↑ "Wagga Wagga Railway Station and yard group". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H01279. Retrieved 18 May 2018. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC-BY 4.0 licence.
  14. ↑ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Wagga Wagga (C)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  15. ↑ Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Wagga Wagga (C)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  16. 1 2 "City of Wagga Wagga Councillor Election". Electoral Commission of New South Wales. 21 December 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  17. ↑ "Councillors". City of Wagga Wagga. 4 February 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  18. ↑ "Wagga Wagga City Council – Referendum". Local Government Elections 2012. Electoral Commission of New South Wales. 14 September 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
  19. ↑ "City of Wagga Wagga". ABC News.
  20. ↑ "Wagga City Council election 2021: Meet all the candidates battling it out in Wagga's local government election". The Daily Advertiser.
  21. ↑ "Wagga City Council elections 2021: Daniel Vieria calling for common sense". The Daily Advertiser.
  22. ↑ "Wagga council GM quits". ABC News. Australia. 5 October 2009. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  23. ↑ "New Wagga council GM looks to the future". ABC Riverina NSW. Australia. 4 April 2008. Retrieved 8 April 2008.
  24. ↑ "New CEO gets straight to it". The Daily Advertiser. 1 April 2008. Retrieved 8 April 2008.
  25. ↑ "City council severs China relations over 'death and destruction across the world with COVID-19'". ABC News. 15 April 2020.
  26. ↑ "Wagga Wagga severs ties with Chinese sister city over 'death and destruction' from coronavirus". TheGuardian.com. 15 April 2020.
  27. ↑ "Wagga council reverses controversial decision to cut ties with Chinese sister city". ABC News. 22 April 2020.
  28. ↑ "Water Wise and Salt Tolerant Plants" (PDF). Wagga Wagga City Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 October 2009. Retrieved 8 April 2008.
  29. ↑ Low, Charles (1971). A Roll of Australian Arms. Adelaide: Rigby Limited. pp. 19–20. ISBN 0-85179-149-2. OCLC 246821.
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