8th August 2026

Compiled from the Daily Advertiser by the Wagga Wagga & District Historical Society.

25 Years Ago

• Executive Director of the Riverina Media Group, Graham Gorrel, has been appointed as president of The Pacific Area Newspaper Publishers Association, which represents 190 newspaper publishing countries in fourteen countries.

• The founder of Riverina Woolcombing, Michel De Waegeneire, passed away at his former Wagga home after a short illness.

• Kooringal Hotel owner Jim Malcolm is pictured with his son and hotel director, Bruce Malcolm and licensee Kevin Boyton looking over plans for a two-stage refurbishment expected to start later this year, which will almost double the size of the hotel and cost almost $2 million.

• Maree Wilesmith is pictured with two seven-month-old eastern grey kangaroos at a WIRES training day at the Wagga Leagues Club.

• Reverend Scot Armstrong and Reverend Steven Ledinich were ordained as Catholic priests at Saint Michael’s Cathedral.

• The Riverina Carriage Driving Society received $500 from Tourism Wagga as a contribution towards the running of a carriage driving combined event to be held at North Wagga next year.

• After more than 40 years, the annual Loretto Home of Compassion Fete has been cancelled this year, with organisers nominating the age of committee members as the reason for its demise. A raffle will still be held.

• John Dinnell, Cheryl Drummond and Bob Drummond are pictured with five young New South Wales Pony Club Association members, Bree Furze, Justin Churchill, Lindsay Burke, Marina Douglas and Francis Smith, who have completed a year of studies into all aspects of horses and their care.

• Rising netball star Paula Mitchell became the first Wagga player to be selected in the New South Wales Combined High School netball team.

• Wagga’s Cantilena singers and Wollundry singers are rehearsing under the guidance of Patrick Pickett for next week’s “Celebration in Song”.

• Seventeen Year 10 Japanese students from Nakamura Gakuen High School in Central Tokyo are being billeted by local families while they are attending classes at Wagga Christian College until 19^th August.

• Wagga City Council is awaiting legal advice over the leaking of confidential advice to the Daily Advertiser, alleging a breach of the criminal code.

• Greater Murray Area Health Service remains confident that the organisation will not face a specialist staffing crisis despite 31 specialists not yet reapplying for their positions.

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50 Years Ago

• A gala day of greyhound racing at the Wagga Showgrounds will be highlighted by the official opening of the new $120,000 bar and amenities complex by N.S.W. Minister for Youth and Community Services, Mr Rex Jackson.

• Only 30 building blocks ranging in price from $4400 to $6,500, out of a total of 70, remain to be sold in Wagga City Council’s “Eastlakes” Estate at Lake Albert.

• Miss Wagga entrant, Fiona Wright and Stephen Jaques were among those making their way to Falls Creek, which has had the best snow falls in the past seven years.

• Mrs Anne Godfrey-Smith, who directed the Wagga School of Arts first production in the Civic Theatre “Teahouse of the August Moon” in 1963, will return to Wagga this month to adjudicate the annual Wagga Drama Festival.

• The Riverina Primary Schoolgirls hockey team finished second in the State Titles at Kempsey.

• Mrs Ellen Elliott celebrated her eighty-fifth birthday at this week’s gathering at St John’s Day Care Centre for the frail and elderly.

• Members of the Central Wagga Henpexians including Robyn Norris, Jill Dixon, Marian Bittar and Anne Greystone presented a cheque for $250 to the Wagga branch of the Crippled Children’s Society.

• The Wagga branch of the Crippled Children’s Association is holding a fashion parade at the Wagga Leagues Club with clothes for the parade by courtesy of Joan Gardiner’s and Warren Glanville’s Menswear.

• More than ninety people attended a wine and cheese evening at the John Macarthur Grill Room arranged by Mr and Mrs Bob Miller to launch the fund-raising efforts of Miss Wagga entrant, Miss Fiona Wright.

• 1785 entries have been received for the 56^th City of Wagga Eisteddfod, about 150 more than last year.

• Wagga’s Red Cross held its Annual General Meeting with Mrs D Hutchinson re-elected as president, Mrs S Pither re-elected as secretary and Mrs L Johnston re-elected as treasurer. A sum of $3357 has been raised, and there had been 4552 donors at the blood bank during the year.

• Fifty striking Australian Meat Industry Employees’ Union members at the Wagga Meat processing Plant voted to end their five weeks-old strike and return to work.

• Students from the Conservatorium of Music in Sydney will give a lunch hour concert at Saint Michael’s Cathedral featuring “New Music for An Old World”.

• The Quota Club of Wagga will hold a camelia display in the Wesley Church Hall, the first camelia showing in Wagga for some years.

• Mr W W Horsley has been unanimously re-elected president of the Riverina Polo Club. Retiring vice presidents, Mr B W A McGeogh and Mr Ian Horsley, were also re-elected unopposed.

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