27th September 2025
Compiled from the Daily Advertiser by the Wagga Wagga & District Historical Society.
25 Years Ago
- A crowd of 5000 gathered in the Victory Memorial Gardens to join in celebrations via a 20-square metre screen to mark the end of the Olympic Games in Sydney.
- Norm Brown, Wagga television pioneer and former general manager of television station RVN-2 died at the age of 69.
- Ben Harper is pictured with a shoe worn by 100-metre Olympic sprint champion Maurice Greene. He caught the shoe after Greene threw it into the crowd following his gold medal run at Stadium Australia.
- The William Farrer Hotel owned by Geoff Perryman and Helen Dunlop is for sale. In recent months there have also been new licensees at Romano’s Hotel, Turvey Tops and the Thomas Blamey Tavern.
- Former Ladysmith railway station master Fred Wheeler is pictured at the official opening of the Ladysmith Tourist Railway.
- Detective Sergeant Geoff Bernasconi has retired after 23 years as a police officer including eighteen years as a police officer in the Riverina.
- Turvey Park Bulldogs, best and fairest winners Craig McGough and Julian Nimmo are pictured with club president, Phil Hill and vice-president Barry Rake.
- Ian Begg has been re-elected as chairman of the Wagga Business Enterprise Centre with Steve Biggin as deputy chairman, Ros Harbrow as secretary and Frank Corbett as treasurer.
- Graeme Cox won the umpire of the year and the best clubman in seniors awards at the Riverina Umpires Association presentation night at the Rules Club. He is pictured with his award and fellow Umpires, Tim Beard, Duncan Potts and Andrew Crook.
- Fred Horsley, Noela Wallace, Mary and Robert McMeekin were among those attending a cocktail party at the Riverine Club, hosted by the president of the Wagga Picnic Racing Club.
- Award winners including Dan Edwards, Gavin Hofert and Ben Barnes are pictured with their trophies at the North Wagga-RAAF presentation night held at McPherson Oval.
- Harrison and Higgins are excited about the addition to their range of Sierra radiant cone heaters powered by natural gas or LPG.
- Kevin Wales was re-elected as Mayor after a strongly fought election battle with former mayor, John Harding. Lindsay Vidler was elected as deputy mayor narrowly beating former deputy mayor, Michael Georgiou.
- Craig Taylor has been appointed manager of the soon to be opened Wagga branch of Bendigo Bank.
50 Years Ago
- A record crowd of 8500 paid $5767 at the Eric Weissel Oval to watch Turvey Park defeat Harden-Murrumburrah 26-6 to win their second premiership in three years.
- “Peppi’s”, Wagga’s new pizza and pancake parlour opened in the former Lutheran Church on the corner of Forsyth and Peter Streets behind the Union Club Hotel.
- The Apex Clubs of Wagga are constructing a car park at Lake Albert assisted by Waugh and Josephson.
- Rava’s are the new distributors in Wagga for Victa ride-on mowers and will be displaying and demonstrating them at the Wagga Show.
- Eight girls, Judy Fraser, Debbie Lucas, Margaret Irons, Roslyn Meyer, Margaret Plemming, Bronwyn Lord, Colleen Thomas and Marissa Chindamo are competing in the 1975 Miss Wagga Showgirl Quest.
- A new Lutheran Minister, Rev. Peter Kriewaldt replacing Rev. Ray Schmidt, who has moved to Victoria, was welcomed to Wagga at a special induction service at the Lutheran Church in Athol Street, followed by a community luncheon.
- Wagga Cricket Association president, Mr Norman McLennan and Secretary Mr Brian Lawrence have been re-elected unopposed as Riverina Cricket Council chairman and secretary joining Mr Bill Inglis who is treasurer.
- Around 160 people representing five generations attended a Fife Family Reunion at the Forest Hill home of Member for Wagga Mr Wal Fife.
- Mr Kevin Hines, president of the Wagga branch of the Country Party announced he would be seeking Country Party endorsement for the seat of Wagga at the next State election.
- Farrer League premiers, Wagga, have appointed Doug Priest as coach for a fifth season.
- Sixty women have already enrolled in the Wagga Women’s cricket competition to be staged in Wagga this Summer.
- An 18-year-old man who climbed to the top of the screen at the Wagga Drive-In theatre and dangled over the edge for a $20 bet was fined $60 appearing before Brian Eland S.M. in the Wagga Court of Petty Sessions.
- Mr P J Kain, secretary-manager of the Wagga Radio Cabs Co-Operative Society said that the society has applied for a taxi flag fall increase from 30 to 35 cents and an increase in the mileage rate from 36 to 40 cents.
- The death occurred of former Wagga Coroner and Clerk of Petty Sessions, Mr Keith Inglis who retired about four years ago. He was also a past president of Wagga Magpies Rugby League Club and a former member of Wagga Rotary.
- Kooringal easily won the Wagga Primary Schools’ Sports Association annual athletics championships at Gissing Oval.
Membership of the Wagga Wagga and District Historical Society is open to anyone with an interest in the local and regional history of Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia. For more information about us and information on how to join our Society visit our website at https://www.wwdhs.org.au/about-us/members
