City of Wagga Wagga

Wagga Wagga New South Wales
Location in New South Wales
Coordinates	35°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]
• 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

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]

The City of Wagga Wagga includes the suburbs of

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]

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]

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%

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]

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

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.

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]

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]}

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 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]

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

• Riverina Water County Council

• Media related to City of Wagga Wagga at Wikimedia Commons
• Wagga Wagga City Council website