History of Wagga Wagga - World War II and Beyond

World War II and Beyond

The outbreak of World War II saw Wagga Wagga become a key centre in the defence of Australia. Royal Australian Air Force bases were established at Forest Hill in 1940 and Uranquinty in 1941. A major Australian Army camp was constructed at Kapooka in 1942 and one year later there were 8,000 troops in training there with Wagga taking on the characteristics of a garrison town. A native of Wagga Wagga, Sir Thomas Blamey, became Australia's highest-ranking officer during the war. Also born in Wagga Wagga was John Hurst Edmondson, a corporal in the 2/17 Infantry Battalion of the 9th Division, the first Australian winner of the Victoria Cross in World War II, for actions at the Siege of Tobruk.

On 17 April 1946, Wagga Wagga was proclaimed a city and Wagga Wagga grew steadily after the war. Suburbs such as Turvey Park, Mount Austin and Kooringal were developed including over 1,200 Housing Commission homes. In the 1960s, residential growth expanded to cover areas such as Tolland and Lake Albert. As the suburban sprawl moved south, the main commercial district also moved south to the Baylis Street end, including developments such as the Sturt Mall, built in 1979 while the northern end of the central business district slowly became deserted. To promote the development of additional secondary industry in Wagga Wagga, the City Council developed a series of industrial areas including areas for service and general industries, and agricultural processing and noxious industries were established in a new industrial estate in Bomen.

In the 1950s the defence bases in Wagga Wagga again became an important part of the city. The Army camp at Kapooka was reopened as a recruit training centre from 1951, a role it maintains to this day. RAAF Base Wagga at Forest Hill also expanded, with training of defence force aircraft technicians located there from 1969. A teachers' college was established in Turvey Park in 1947 and an agricultural college in 1949. In 1971, following pressure from the Wagga Wagga community for a university, the teachers' college became the Riverina College of Advanced Education and was relocated to a site adjacent to the Wagga Agricultural College, with whom it amalgamated in 1975. In 1989, the College amalgamated with the College of Advanced Education at Bathurst to become Charles Sturt University. The Wagga Wagga Base Hospital became the major referral hospital in southern New South Wales and in 1963 a new seven-story hospital was constructed.

Flooding remained a common problem for Wagga Wagga, with major flooding occurring in 1844, 1852, 1853, 1870, 1891, 1900, 1925, 1931, 1950, 1952 and 1956. After the 1956 floods, the City Council protected the city area on the south flood plain through construction of a levee. The levee was completed by 1962 and provided protection from 1 in 100 year floods. North Wagga Wagga was excluded from protection, and attempts were made to force residents of North Wagga Wagga to abandon their homes through rigid enforcement of planning controls. North Wagga Wagga residents resisted the attempts to remove them and a sign mysteriously appeared beneath the North Wagga Wagga welcome sign with the wording - We Shall Not Be Moved. By the 1970s, the Council eventually acceded to residents' demands, removing planning constraints and a levee was constructed to protect the village, although at a lower standard, by 1982. In 1981, the New South Wales government forced the amalgamation of Wagga Wagga City Council with neighbouring Kyeamba Shire and Mitchell Shire to form the new City of Wagga Wagga Local government area, containing 4,886 square kilometres.