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The Municipalities Act, 1867 (31 Victoria Act No. 12) provided for the establishment of a municipality following the petition of at least 50 residents liable to be assessed for municipal taxes, provided that no counter-petition was received within three months. (1)
A petition of 104 residents proposing that a Municipality be established at Wagga Wagga was forwarded to the Governor of New South Wales in June 1869. (2) On 15 March 1870, the municipality known as the ‘Borough of Wagga Wagga’ was proclaimed in the New South Wales Government Gazette. (3)
The borough was situated in the Counties of Clarendon and Wynyard. Initially, Wagga Wagga was designated a Municipal Borough instead of a Municipal District due to its population and geographical size, as stipulated by Section 8 of the 1867 Act. (4)
In March 1870 George Mair was appointed as Returning Officer in order for elections to be held. (5) The election of Aldermen to the Borough Council was held on the 11 June 1870. (6) The following Aldermen were elected: Edward Mumford, Robert Nixon and Thomas Hodson for the East Ward; George Forsyth, Henry Moxham and Matthew Callaghan for the South Ward; and John Holloway, Benjamin Bradley and Charles Wall for the North Ward. In the first Council meeting, held on 20 June 1870, George Forsyth was elected as Mayor. (7) Until 1899, the three wards of Wagga Wagga (North, East and South) each elected three Aldermen. With the establishment of a fourth ward (Central), the total number of Alderman on the Council rose to twelve. (8)
In 1906, Kyeamba and Mitchell Shires were established to service the rural areas surrounding Wagga Wagga. (9)
The Borough of Wagga Wagga was replaced by the ‘Wagga Wagga City Council’ after the town was declared a city on 17 April 1946. (10)
On 1 January 1981 the City of Wagga Wagga amalgamated with the adjoining Shires of Kyeamba and Mitchell. (11)
Endnotes
1. Municipalities Act, 1867 s.10.
2. Keith Swan, ‘A History of Wagga Wagga’, 1970, p.116.
3. New South Wales Government Gazette, 15 March 1870, pp.641-642.
4. Swan, op. cit., p.116.
5. Ibid., p.116.
6. Sherry Morris, ‘Wagga Wagga – A History’, 1999, p.89.
7. Ibid., p.89.
8. Swan, op. cit., p.150.
9. Morris, op. cit., p.93.
10. Swan, op. cit., p.170; NSW Government Gazette, 26 Apr 1946 [Issue No.43], p.997.
11. Local Government Areas Amalgamation Act 1980 (1980, No.110), s.3, Sch.1 Pt.1; NSW Government Gazette, 17 Oct 1980 [Issue No.152], p.5393.
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