North Wagga Wagga Explained

Type:suburb
North Wagga Wagga
City:Wagga Wagga
State:nsw
Lga:City of Wagga Wagga
Postcode:2650
Coordinates:-35.0957°N 147.3778°W
Pop:720
Parish:North Wagga Wagga
County:Clarendon
Stategov:Wagga Wagga
Fedgov:Riverina
Near-Nw:Estella
Near-N:Cartwrights Hill
Near-Ne:Bomen
Near-E:Eunanoreenya
Near-Sw:Wagga Wagga
Near-S:Wagga Wagga
Local Map:yes
Zoom:12

North Wagga Wagga (informally called North Wagga) is an inner northern suburb of Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia, located on the floodplain[1] of the Murrumbidgee River, directly across from the city's Central Business District. North Wagga is one of Wagga's oldest suburbs, being settled at approximately the same time as Wagga. Two pubs are located within North Wagga - The Black Swan Hotel and the Palm and Pawn Hotel, as well as a public school, a public hall, a football/cricket ground and a scattering of business and churches.

Due to its flood prone nature, Wagga Wagga City Council long sought to deter development in North Wagga and aimed for its residents to relocate. For many years the level of services provided in North Wagga was inferior to the rest of Wagga, and most alterations and additions to dwellings were prohibited. In 1960, a levee bank was built around Wagga to protect it from flood inundation, however, North Wagga was not included in this protection. It was during this time that North Wagga's slogan "We Shall Not Be Moved" first appeared.[2]

It was not until the late 1970s that the Council relented on its restrictions on development and built a levee around the suburb,[3] however to this day it is lower than the main city levee and only affords protection to flood events up to 9.9m (32.5feet), approximately 5.8% Annual Exceedance Probability (AEP) or 1 in 17 year Average Recurrence Interval (ARI) flood level event. [4]

In March 2012, the suburb was inundated after the levee was over-topped after the Murrumbidgee River reached 10.56m (34.65feet), 0.18m (00.59feet) below the 1974 flood, after record rainfall fell over a large area of the Riverina and the Murrumbidgee River catchment.[5] [6]

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Wagga Wagga, Australia Flood Map: Elevation Map, Sea Level Rise Map.
  2. Morris, S (1999). Wagga Wagga, a history. Bobby Graham Publishers, Wagga Wagga.
  3. Web site: The levee bank flood protection system on Committee4Wagga.
  4. Web site: Wagga Wagga City Council Main City and North Wagga Levee Upgrade Project.
  5. News: Kwek. Glenda. Wagga 'dodges a bullet' as severe weather warning issued for Sydney. 11 March 2012. Sydney Morning Herald. 7 March 2012.
  6. News: Murrumbidgee peak falls short. 11 March 2012. The Daily Advertiser. 6 March 2012.