Climate
Average temperatures: January max 35C (95F) - min 18C (64F); July max 14C (57F) - min 5C (41F). Average annual rainfall: 669mm (26 ins).

Characteristics
The area was first settled by the largest Aboriginal tribe in New South Wales - the Wiradjuri. It is from their language that the city gets its name, Wagga (Wahga or Wahgam) means 'crow' and the repetition of the word expresses the plural.

In 1829, the land was explored by Captain Charles Sturt while he was on his famous expedition discovering the Murrumbidgee and Murray River systems. Settlement followed and Wagga Wagga was proclaimed a town in 1849. It became a city in 1948, and is the largest provincial city in New South Wales.

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How to Get There
By Bus
Greyhound Pioneer have services daily from/to Sydney, Adelaide and Canberra.

By Rail
The Sydney-Melbourne and Melbourne-Sydney Countrylink stops at Wagga Wagga, daily.

By Road
From Sydney, via the Hume and Sturt Highways, 493km (306 miles).

From Canberra, via Barton, Hume and Sturt Highways, 248km (154 miles).

From Melbourne, via Hume to Albury, then via Olympic Way - Culcairn/Henty/The Rock, 443km (275 miles).

Tourist Information
The Visitors Information Centre is in Tarcutta Street (02) 6926 9621. They have a website at www. tourismwaggawagga.com.au and you can email them at visitors@ wagga.nsw.gov.au
The centre is open daily 9am-5pm.

Accommodation                                            
Wagga Wagga has plenty of motels, hotels and caravan parks for a town its size. Here is a selection with prices for a double room per night, which should be used as a guide only. The telephone area code is 02.

Pavilion Motor Inn, 22 Kincaid Street, 6921 6411. 45 units, licensed restaurant, indoor heated swimming pool - $130-190.
Heritage Motor Inn, 244 Edward Street, 6921 4099. 22 units, sauna, swimming pool, barbecue, spa - $95-120.
Carriage House Motor Inn, Sturt Highway, 6922 7374. 37 units, licensed restaurant, swimming pool, spa, sauna, tennis, bbq - $120-170.
Townhouse International, Morgan Street, 6922 7374. 42 units, licensed restaurant, swimming pool - $80-250.
Allonville Motel, Sturt Highway, Gumly Gumly, 6922 7269 - 29 units, licensed restaurant, swimming pool, bbq - $51.
City Park Motel, 1 Tarcutta Street, 6921 4301. 26 units, barbecue - $70-80.
Palm & Pawn Motor Inn, Hampden Avenue, 6921 6688. 25 units, licensed restaurant, tennis, barbecue- $60.

Caravan Parks
Horseshoe Motor Village, 23 Horseshoe Road, 6921 6033. (Pets allowed by arrangement) 44 sites, good facilities, pool - powered sites $15 for two, cabins $45-50 for two.
Easts Van Park Riverview, 93 Hammond Avenue, 6921 4287. (No pets allowed)100 sites, good facilities - powered sites $20 for two, on-site vans $45 for two.
Airport Caravan Park, Sturt Highway, Forest Hill, 6922 7271. (Pets allowed under control)14 sites, basic facilities, barbecue, playground - powered sites $14 for two.

Eating Out
As with any city of its size, Wagga Wagga has a good selection of restaurants and takeaway food outlets. Here are some you might like to try.

Barter's Restaurant, 143 Fitz-maurice Street, 6921 1922 licensed, traditional and nouvelle cuisine, seven nights a week.
Capers Restaurant, at the Country Comfort, cnr Morgan & Tarcutta Streets, 6911 6444.

Reasonable, for the whole family:
Montezumas Mexican Restaurant, 85 Bayliss Street, 6921 4428 - licensed - open Wed-Fri noon-2pm, Tues-Sun from 6pm.
Golden Season Family Restaurant, 31 Forsyth Street, 6921 1177.

Other restaurants worth considering:
Locksley Steak House, 137 Peter Street, 6921 4886 - licensed, also serves seafood, chicken, etc - open Wed-Fri noon-2pm, Tues-Sat 6pm-midnight.
Indian Tavern Tandoori Restaurant, 176 Baylis Street, 6921 3121.
Capers Restaurant, Morgan Street, 6921 6444.
Olivers, 8 Day Street, 6921 3646.
The Rivergum Restaurant, Sturt Highway, 6922 7256.
La Porchetta Pizza Restaurant, 161 Baylis Street, 6921 5122.
McDonalds and Pizza Hut are in Edward Street, and KFC is on the corner of Edward and Baylis Streets, and in Fitzmaurice Street.

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Points of Interest
The Visitor Information Centre has maps of three historic walks through the city which were put together by the National Trust. Amongst other places these walks highlight many of the historic buildings which date from 1865, including houses, churches, old gas works, police station, Lands Department, Court House, Post Office and the ANZ Bank.

The Centre also has copies of the 28km (17 miles) Red Arrow Tour, which takes about an hour by car, and the Wollundry Loop, a 10km (6 miles) loop following Wollundry Lagoon and the river bank.
In 1999 an impressive new Civic Centre was opened. It contains the regional art gallery, the Museum of the Riverina and the national art glass gallery. The city is proud of its civic centrepiece, and it is worth stopping in to have a look.

The Wagga Wagga Regional Art Gallery, on the corner of Bayliss and Morrow Streets, has changing exhibitions of international, national and regional art. It is open Mon, Wed-Sat 11am-5pm, Sun 2-5pm, 6926 9610.

The Wagga Wagga and District Historical Museum in Willan's Hill, 6925 2934, is open weekends, public holidays and school holidays, and hTues-Wed from 2pm.

Wagga Wagga is the Garden City of the South, and the many parks and gardens range from the formal Shakespearian Garden to Apex Park located on the shores of Lake Albert.

The Botanic Gardens, 6923 5499, are set in 8.9ha (22 acres) on Willans Hill, and have many garden displays such as the Tree Chapel, with trees and shrubs of biblical significance, a rough-hewn cross and altar, complete with pews, which is a popular spot for weddings. Also in the Gardens are the Camellia, Cactus, Succulent and Shakespearian Gardens, and an Outdoor Entertainment Centre and Music Bowl which can accommodate a symphony orchestra and has seating for 3,000 people. A model railway runs through the gardens and features a station and booking office. The train operates on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month.

Wagga Wagga City Library is in Gurwood Street, and is the headquarters of a regional library. The service caters for 89,000 people in seven council areas - Coolamon, Cootamundra, Gundagai, Lockhart, Temora and Tumut. It is open Mon-Fri 9am-8pm, Sat 9am-noon.

Sunday Markets are held from 8am-noon in Woolworth's Car Park.

Visitors are welcome to drive through the grounds of the Charles Sturt University - Riverina, and visit the College Winery, in Boor-ooma Street, North Wagga, which is open Mon-Fri 10am-4pm, Sat 11am-4pm, for wine tastings and sales.

Aurora Clydesdale Stud & Pioneer Farm, Cameron's Road, 9km past Collingullie, towards Nar-randera, has antique machinery, a pioneer's hut and Clydesdales in action. There is also a large collection of birds and animals, 6928 2215 for information and times.

Murray Cod Hatcheries and Fauna Park on the Sturt Highway, 6922 7360, is home to Big Murray, a 52kg (115 lb) Murray Cod, who measures 1.37m (4.5 ft). The park also has Crab Eating Macaquehs (monkeys) from South East Asia, native snakes, camels, wombats, koalas, kangaroos, native fish and many native birds. There is a gift shop selling pottery, paintings and souvenirs, and a snack bar. Barbecues and playground equipment are set in the picnic area, and the complex is open daily 8.30am-5.30pm.

Kapooka Military Camp invites visitors to view the parades held each Monday at 11am. The camp is the base for the Army's 1st Recruit Training Battalion. The Ka-pooka Band performs during the parades, and holds a series of Music at Midday concerts in Wagga Wagga city. You can join a Green Arrow Tour of the base by reporting to the guard room at the main entrance. The camp is 10km (6 miles) west of Wagga on the Olympic Way.

Facilities
Lawn bowls, croquet, fishing, golf, greyhound racing, horse racing, trotting, sailing, water skiing, sailing, swimming, boating and tennis. The city has 4 licensed Clubs with dining facilities and poker machines.

Festivals
The Wagga Wagga Agricultural Show is held over the long weekend in October (the first Monday in October sets the dates of the long weekend).

Outlying Attractions
Lockhart
Proceed south from Wagga Wagga along the Olympic Way to The Rock, then turn left. Lockhart is 42km (26 miles) further on. The Rock (the town), originally named Kingston, is located 6km east of craggy outcrops which rise more than 360m (1181 ft) above the surrounding districts. The peak of the Rock Hill Nature Reserve is the only place in Australia where the Senecio wildflower is found.

The Yerong Nature Trail within the Reserve takes about 3 hours to complete, and is worth the effort. The 3km track is gentle on the lower slopes, but fairly steep at the higher levels.

Lockhart has a well shaded caravan park, a motel and licensed Ex-Services, golf and bowling clubs. The centre of the town is an outstanding example of a turn-of-the-century streetscape, and has been classified by the National Trust. Also classified is the Old Uran-geline Woolshed, which originally had 100 shearing stands. It is built from local timber with a shingle roof, and although on private property, is open for inspection by arrangement. Contact the Tourist Information Centre in Wagga Wagga, 6926 9621, for details.

The Pioneer Memorial Gates, is an unusual structure set at the entrance of the Lockhart Showground. The 22 'wool bales' are branded with the stencils of original homesteads.

The Lockhart Museum, in 45 Urana Street, 6920 5674, contains many fine memories of the district's pioneering past.

Approximately 16km (10 miles) north of Lockhart is Galore Hill Recreation Reserve. The reserve comprises 510ha (1260 acres) of natural bushland, and Galore Hill rises to a height of 215m (705 ft) above the surrounding countryside.

Coolamon Shire
The shire includes the townships of Coolamon, Ardlethan, Ganmain, Beckom, Grong Grong, Matong and Marrar, and is the agricultural centre of the Riverina.

Ganmain, situated between Junee and Narrandera, is the centre of the chaff industry of Australia, and the residents, with the aid of the Shire Council, have constructed a building in Pioneer Park, Ford Street, to give the impression of a haystack. From the viewing area you can see a workable binder, a mural of a hay scene, photographs and history of hay in the district, and a video giving an insight into the hay industry.

Coolamon is 39km (24 miles) north-west of Wagga Wagga, and has many old world antique shops. The Coolamon Golf Club, 6927 3178, welcomes visitors to play a round on the sand green course, and visit their Chinese restaurant.

Junee
The town of Junee is built to an unusual plan with the railway running down the middle of the central business district. The railway has been important to the town as is shown by the impressive railway station, built in 1883.

Monte Cristo, a homestead in traditional Georgian design, is hopen daily 10am-4pm, and is a museum of Victorian furniture and antiques.

Temora
Temora, a centre Harness Racing (Paleface Adios, the famous pacer, and winner of the Inter Dominion, was born here), was established after the 1880 gold rush when the famous Mother Shipton nugget weighing 258 ounces was found. The decline of gold saw the town become a major wheat growing district.

Most of the mining areas have disappeared, though several, including the Mother Shipton mine, are located off Moroney's Lane.

The Temora Rural Museum, 6977 1291, is open daily 2-5pm, and is a .8ha (2 acres) complex with agricultural machinery, antique tractors and engines, a pioneer cottage with lifestyles of yesterday, and a rock and mineral display.

The Temora Visitor Information Centre is at 294 -296 Hoskins Street,  6977 1511.

Cootamundra
The town of Cootamundra, with a population of 6,600, is the home of the Cootamundra Wattle (Acacia Baileyana) and the birthplace of the late Sir Donald Bradman, Australia's famous cricketer. The cottage where he was born is privately owned but may be viewed from the street (89 Adams Street).

The focal point of the township is the Bicentennial Post Office Plaza, which incorporates the historical post office building and clock tower, and the old Peppercorn tree. Pioneer Park, on the southern outskirts of Cootamundra, off the Olympic Way, commands extensive views of the town and district.

Bethungra Rail Spiral is 23km (14 miles) south-west of Coota-mundra, and is a unique engineering feat. The rail line spirals around Bethungra Hill, crossing itself and the south line while traversing some of the deepest rail cuttings in Australia.

The Cootamundra Tourist Information Centre, Hovell Street, (02) 6942 4212.

Gundagai
The famous Dog on the Tucker Box is, as every Australian knows, 5 miles (8km) from (north of) Gundagai, on the western side of the Hume Highway. Opposite the memorial to Mateship between man and dog, are copper representations of the Dog, and Dad, Dave, Mum and Mabel at Snake Gully, the characters of Steele Rudd.

The Gundagai Visitor Information Centre, 294 Sheridan Street, (02) 69 44 1341, is open daily Mon-Fri 8am-5pm, Sat-Sun 9am-5pm. You can contact them by email at ztc1@gundagaishire.nsw.gov.au. The Centre houses the Rusconi Marble Masterpiece, a cathedral in miniature containing 20,948 pieces of NSW marble, built by Mr Frank Rusconi in his spare time over a period of 28 years. The Centre also has a gemstone collection, flood inundation maps and flood scenes of Gundagai.

The walking tour, devised by the Tourist Centre, takes in: the Dr Gabriel Gallery; the Court House built in 1859, where Moonlight the Bushranger was tried; the Gundagai Historic Museum; the Old Flour Mill constructed in 1849; and the two bridges, Railway Bridge, 1901, and Prince Alfred Bridge, 1866, the longest timber viaduct in Australia.

The Tourist Centre also has details of the Mount Parnassus Walking Tour, and can arrange coach tours and canoe tours of the Murrum-bidgee and Tumut Rivers. On the Hume Highway is the Tucker Box Tourist Centre, (02) 6944 1450, which serves as an alternative information source.

Tumut
In 1824, Explorers Hume and Hovell crossed the Tumut River slightly south of the site of present day Tumut. The local natives called the area Doomat or Tumott, which meant "quiet resting place by the river".

In the early days, Tumut was squatter country, and was populated mainly by unfriendly Aboriginals.  The town grew slowly, and by 1856 had one school, several slab and bark buildings, and three hotels. By 1870, the number of hotels had grown to 18. Dairy farming was the main industry then, but today, timber is big business, particularly softwood like Pinus Radiata, with 52,520ha (130,000 acres) being grown within 25km (16 miles) of Tumut.

Tumut is now a town of around 6,000 people, and the Festival of the Falling Leaf is held there every year in April-May. There are street parades, band recitals, Plaza Night and a Family Fun Day at the Sports Club.

Tumut is 128km (80 miles) west of Canberra, about midway between Sydney and Melbourne, and is the gateway to the giant Snowy Mountains Scheme. The town is surrounded very picturesque countryside, and the rivers and mountain streams within easy access are stocked with trout.

There are regular air and rail services to Tumut, the road access is very good, and the climate averages between 35C (95F) in summer to a low of 5C (41F). The Visitor Information Centre is at the Old Butter Factory, 5 Adelong Road, (02) 6947 7025.

The Yarrangobilly Caves, which are covered in the Snowy Mountains section, are 77km (48 miles) south of Tumut.

Griffith
Located 196km north west of Wagga Wagga, Griffith is worth considering for a day trip or overnight stay. It is part of the Riverina district, its soil made rich and fertile by the irrigation scheme bringing water all the way from the Snowy Mountains. Wine, fruits, vegetables, rice, and poultry products are grown and cultivated here.

There are a number of interesting attrations, including the extensive Pioneer Park museum, the Regional Art Gallery, Catania Fruit Farm, and the natural wonders of Lake Wyangan and Cocoparra National Park.
Griffith Visitor Information Centre, cnr Banna & Jondaryan Avenues, 6962 4145 or 1800 681 141. You can email them at griffithvc@griffith.nsw.gov.au