City of Wagga Wagga

This article is about the local government area. For the regional city, see Wagga Wagga, New South Wales. For other uses of "WWCC", see WWCC (disambiguation).

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

Wagga Wagga New South Wales
Location in New South Wales
Coordinates	35°08′S 147°22′E
Population	62,385 (2016)[1] 70,339 (2022 est.)[2]
• Density	12.92712/km2 (33.4811/sq mi)
Established	15 March 1870 (Borough)[3] 17 April 1946 (City)[4]
Area	4,825.9 km2 (1,863.3 sq mi)[5]
Mayor	Dallas Tout[6]
Council seat	Wagga Wagga[7]
Region	Riverina
State electorate(s)	Wagga Wagga
Federal division(s)	Riverina
Website	Wagga Wagga
LGAs around Wagga Wagga: Coolamon Junee Cootamundra-Gundagai Narrandera Wagga Wagga Snowy Valleys Lockhart Greater Hume Snowy Valleys

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

• Ashmont
• Bomen
• Bourkelands
• Boorooma
• Cartwrights Hill
• East Wagga Wagga
• Estella
• Forest Hill
• Glenfield Park
• Gumly Gumly
• Kapooka
• Kooringal
• Lake Albert
• Lloyd
• Mount Austin
• North Wagga Wagga
• San Isidore
• Tatton
• Tolland
• Turvey Park
• Wagga Wagga

as well as the villages of

• Tarcutta
• Ladysmith
• Mangoplah
• Uranquinty
• Collingullie
• Oura
• Humula
• Currawarna
• Galore

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:

• Bomen, Main Southern railway: Bomen railway station^[10]
• Tarcutta, Tarcutta Street: Hambledon Homestead^[11]
• Wagga Wagga, Botanic Gardens Site (BGS), Baden Powell Drive: Mobile Cook's Galley, Museum of the Riverina^[12]
• Wagga Wagga, Main Southern railway: Wagga Wagga railway station^[13]

Demographics

At the 2021 census, there were 69,047 people in the City of Wagga Wagga local government area, of these 48.6% were male and 51.4% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 6.6% of the population, close to twice the national average of 3.2%. 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% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 15.2% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 44.8% were married and 11.3% were either divorced or separated.^[14]

At the 2021 Census, 40.0% of residents stated their ancestry as Australian. Excluding not stated responses, 60.9% of residents in the City of Wagga Wagga nominated a religious affiliation with Christianity, which was higher than the national average of 47.1%. 85.3% of households only speak English at home, higher than the national average of 72%.^[14]

Selected historical census data for the City of Wagga Wagga local government area
Census year			2001[15]	2006[16]	2011[17]	2016[18]	2021[14]
Population		Estimated residents on census night	54,845	57,015	59,458	62,385	67,609
		LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales				39th	38th
		% of New South Wales population	0.87%	0.87%	0.86%	0.83%	0.84%
		% of Australian population	0.29%	0.29%	0.28%	0.27%	0.27%
		Estimated ATSI population on census night	1,767	2,336	2,731	3,508	4,471
		% of ATSI population to residents	3.2%	4.1%	4.6%	5.6%	6.6%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income		Median weekly personal income	No Data	A$463	A$586	A$696	A$839
		% of Australian median income		99.36%	101.56%	105.14%	104.22%
Family income		Median weekly family income		A$1,137	A$1,418	A$1,682	A$2,060
		% of Australian median income		97.10%	95.75%	97.00%	97.17%
Household income		Median weekly household income		A$967	A$1,149	A$1,354	A$1,638
		% of Australian median income		94.16%	93.11%	94.16%	93.81%
Dwelling structure
Dwelling type		Flat or apartment	8.8%	10.9%	10.3%	9.8%	9.2%
		Semi-detached, terrace or townhouse	4.6%	4.1%	4.2%	4.1%	4.8%
		Separate house	84.5%	84.2%	84.8%	84.9%	85.5%
		Other dwellings	0.8%	0.9%	0.6%	0.9%	0.4%
		Unoccupied dwellings	8.3%	8.2%	9.7%	10.2%	7.5%

Selected historical census data for the City of Wagga Wagga local government area
Ancestry, top responses
2001		2006		2011[19]		2016[20]		2021[14]
No Data		No Data		Australian[N 1]	45.4%	Australian	43.1%	Australian	40.0%
				English	38.8%	English	39.7%	English	39.4%
				Irish	13.8%	Irish	14.3%	Irish	12.9%
				Scottish	10.1%	Scottish	10.7%	Scottish	10.7%
				German	5.4%	German	5.3%	Aboriginal[N 2]	6.4%
Country of Birth, top responses
2001[15]		2006[16]		2011[17]		2016[18]		2021[14]
Australia	89.3%	Australia	88.9%	Australia	87.8%	Australia	84.1%	Australia	83.0%
England	1.5%	England	1.5%	England	1.4%	England	1.3%	India	1.5%
New Zealand	0.7%	New Zealand	0.7%	New Zealand	0.7%	India	1.0%	Iraq	1.2%
Scotland	0.3%	India	0.3%	India	0.5%	New Zealand	0.7%	England	1.2%
Netherlands	0.3%	Scotland	0.3%	China	0.4%	Philippines	0.7%	New Zealand	0.7%
Germany	0.2%	Netherlands	0.2%	South Africa	0.3%	China	0.4%	Philippines	0.7%
Language, top responses (other than English)
2001[15]		2006[16]		2011[17]		2016[18]		2021[14]
Italian	0.3%	Arabic	0.3%	Arabic	0.5%	Malayalam	0.6%	Kurdish	1.0%
Greek	0.2%	Mandarin	0.2%	Mandarin	0.4%	Mandarin	0.5%	Malayalam	0.8%
Cantonese	0.2%	Cantonese	0.2%	Cantonese	0.2%	Arabic	0.5%	Mandarin	0.6%
Mandarin	0.1%	Italian	0.2%	Hindi	0.2%	Tagalog	0.3%	Arabic	0.5%
German	0.1%	Greek	0.1%	German	0.2%	Filipino	0.3%	Punjabi	0.4%
Religious affiliation, top responses
2001[15]		2006[16]		2011[17]		2016[18]		2021[14]
Catholic	33.5%	Catholic	33.4%	Catholic	33.2%	Catholic	30.6%	No Religion	31.3%
Anglican	26.6%	Anglican	25.5%	Anglican	23.9%	No Religion	22.2%	Catholic	27.1%
No Religion	9.4%	No Religion	11.6%	No Religion	15.0%	Anglican	19.5%	Anglican	15.3%
Presbyterian/Reformed	7.6%	Presbyterian/ Reformed	7.1%	Uniting Church	5.5%	Presbyterian/ Reformed	4.9%	Presbyterian/ Reformed	3.8%
Uniting Church	7.1%	Uniting Church	6.4%	Presbyterian/ Reformed	4.9%	Uniting Church	4.5%	Uniting Church	3.4%
Not Stated	n/c	Not Stated	n/c	Not Stated	n/c	Not Stated	7.9%	Not Stated	6.4%

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:^[21]

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

The current Council, elected in 2021, is:^[21]

Councillor		Party	Notes
	Dallas Tout	Independent	Mayor[22]
	Jenny McKinnon	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.^[23] The change came into effect at the September 2016 elections.

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.^[24][25][26]

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.^[27][28][29]

Election results

2024

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2024 New South Wales local elections in Riverina § Wagga Wagga results.[edit]

2024 New South Wales local elections: Wagga Wagga

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Your Voice Matters To Us	1. Timothy Koschel (elected 1) 2. Allana Condron (elected 5) 3. Mick Henderson 4. Chris Ingram 5. Jacinta Evans	8,369	22.9	+14.1
	Community First	1. Dallas Tout (elected 2) 2. Karissa Subedi (elected 9) 3. Marie (Pascale) Vythilingum 4. Megan Norton 5. Nin Nin Sang Dong	5,952	16.3	+6.3
	Labor	1. Amelia Parkins (elected 3) 2. Tim Kurylowicz 3. Peita Vincent 4. Steven Dale 5. Mark Jeffreson	4,716	12.9	−10.1
	Getting It Done	1. Georgina Davies (elected 4) 2. Karen Butts 3. Pradeep Kurien 4. Sarah Humphries 5. Steve Taylor	4,412	12.1	+5.7
	Foley's Five	1. Richard Foley (elected 6) 2. Christopher Kanck 3. Shahnaz Akter 4. Wayne Deaner 5. Alisha Watkins	2,984	8.2	−15.8
	Greens	1. Jenny McKinnon (elected 7) 2. Sam Ryot 3. George Benedyka 4. Virginia Gawler 5. Emma Rush	2,279	6.2	−3.1
	Building Tomorrow Together	1. Lindsay Tanner (elected 8) 2. Ali Tanner 3. Clare Lawlor 4. Michael Nugent 5. Andrew Roberts	2,144	5.9	+5.9
	Christians	1. Paul McCausland 2. Christopher Cowell 3. Paul Cocks 4. Dorcas Musyimi 5. Darcy Maybon	1,585	4.3	+4.3
	Fix Our Roads	1. Robert Sinclair 2. Kane Salamon 3. Rosina Gordon 4. Julie Sinclair 5. Cassidy Turner	1,514	4.1	+4.1
	Supporting Diversity	1. Rory McKenzie 2. Samuel Avo 3. Gail Manderson 4. Midya Bari 5. Anna Gannon	939	2.6	−9.7
	Ready To Serve	1. Ryan Dedini 2. Kelly O'Kane 3. Andrew Tuovi 4. John Kennedy 5. Sarah-Jane Jameson	832	2.3	+2.3
	Voice of Wagga Residents	1. Saba Nabi 2. Singh Manjinder 3. Birenbhai Patel 4. Priyanka Udeniya 5. Hina Ashfaq	640	1.7	+1.7
	Independent	Rosyln Prangnell	159	0.4	+0.4
Total formal votes			36,525	91.9
Informal votes			3,233	8.1
Turnout			39,758

2021

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2021 New South Wales local elections in Riverina § 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^[30][31][32]

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

2016

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2016 New South Wales local elections in Riverina § Wagga Wagga results.[edit]

2016 New South Wales local elections: Wagga Wagga^[33][34][35]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	1. Rod Kendall (elected 1) 2. Tim Koschel (elected 5) 3. David Merlino 4. Donna Argus 5. Paul Watson 6. Leila Bright 7. Robyn Krik	6,840	20.50
	Country Labor	1. Dan Hayes (elected 2) 2. Vanessa Keenan (elected 8) 3. Leah Ellis 4. Bethany Saab 5. James Halliburton	5,670	17.00
	Independent	1. Kerry Pascoe (elected 3) 2. Michelle Bray 3. Belinda Coleman 4. Tim Sheather 5. Steven Wait	4,540	13.61
	Independent	1. Paul Funnell (elected 4) 2. Tina Gavel 3. Jack Egan 4. Mick Henderson 5. Denise Flack	4,545	13.62
	Independent	1. Yvonne Braid (elected 6) 2. Greg Packer 3. Simone Lieschke 4. Brett Grant 5. Myriam Hribar	1,882	5.64
	Independent	Greg Conkey (elected 7)	1,181	3.54
	Independent	Dallas Tout (elected 9)	876	2.63
	Independent	1. Andreia Schineanu 2. Atlanta Hall 3. Bianca Miller 4. Kerri-Anne Miller 5. Jenni Campbell	1,653	4.96
	Greens	1. Kevin Poynter 2. Jacquie Tinkler 3. Emma Rush 4. Michael Bayles 5. Ray Goodlass	1,447	4.34
	Australia First	1. Lorraine Sharp 2. Robbie Williams 3. Jean Williams 4. Chris Sharp 5. Jean Huges	1,476	4.42
	Independent	Alan Brown	584	1.75
	Independent	Mary Kidson	546	1.64
	Independent	Simone Eyles	413	1.24
	Independent	Richard Foley	506	1.52
	Independent	Peter Dale	435	1.30
	Independent	Anabel Williams	395	1.18
	Independent	1. Ros Prangnell 2. Patricia Murray	223	0.67
	Independent	Peter Templeton	147	0.44
Total formal votes			33,359	93.85
Informal votes			2,186	6.15
Turnout			35,545	80.54

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.^[36]

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.[37]

Gallery

• 
  Wagga Wagga Civic Centre
• 
  City Council Mayoral gong. Stolen 2 January 2009, remains unfound

See also

• Riverina Water County Council

Notes

1. The Australian Bureau of Statistics has stated that most who nominate "Australian" as their ancestry are part of the Anglo-Celtic group.
2. Those who nominated their ancestry as "Australian Aboriginal". Does not include Torres Strait Islanders. This relates to nomination of ancestry and is distinct from persons who identify as Indigenous (Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander) which is a separate question.