Mary Gilmore and The History of Wagga Wagga - The Meaning of 'Wagga Wagga'

The Meaning of 'Wagga Wagga'

Mary Gilmore suggested that the name 'Wagga Wagga', given to the area by Wiradjuri people, was associated with the methods used by Wiradjuri to maintain the ecological well-being and natural abundance of the land. Crows abounded in the area, she explained, because of the many bird eggs and chicks on which the crows could feast: Wagga Wagga means the meeting-place of the crows. The locality was the breeding-ground of birds of all kinds. Food abounded on land and in the water, consequently eggs were plentiful (young birds too), and the crows fared well. So did the eagles, some of which were of great size. The abundance of eggs and chicks was probably the result of strategies developed by Wiradjuri to tend the land. Like other Aboriginal groups across Australia, Wiradjuri clans reserved places where no hunting, fishing, gathering, or burning was allowed. The sites held special religious and social significance. Animals and plants flourished inside the sacred refuges, spreading beyond sanctuary boundaries to replenish populations legally available for hunting and gathering.