City of Wagga Wagga

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.

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. 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.

Heritage listings
The City of Wagga Wagga has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
 * , Main Southern railway: Bomen railway station
 * , Tarcutta Street: Hambledon Homestead
 * Wagga Wagga, Botanic Gardens Site (BGS), Baden Powell Drive: Mobile Cook's Galley, Museum of the Riverina
 * Wagga Wagga, Main Southern railway: Wagga Wagga railway station

Demographics
At the, 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.

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. 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.

At the, 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).

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:

The current Council, elected in 2021, is:

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. 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.

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.

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.