Wagga Wagga Victory Memorial Gardens

The Wagga Wagga Victory Memorial Gardens are set within two hectares of public land. It was originally established as a memorial to the men and women who served in the First World War. The gardens were dedicated on Anzac Day (25 April) 1931 and were named by Alderman Collins in dedication “to the perpetual memory of those who left this town and district, at the call of the Empire and undertake that they will be guarded and cherished for the sacred objects for which they were founded.” (Daily Advertiser, 27 April 1931)

The origins of the garden stemmed from a general meeting of the Wagga Wagga sub-branch of the Returned Sailors and Soldiers League (RSL) held on 3 March 1922 where five schemes were discussed for a memorial in the area. The two most popular options being a memorial hall and a memorial garden located on the banks of the Wollundry Lagoon. 

Various public meetings were held over the next two years to discuss the competing merits of these two schemes before it was finally reported in the Daily Advertiser on 29 April 1925 that the memorial should take the form of a public garden. As a result, the Wagga Wagga Memorial Gardens Committee was formed.

By 1927 negotiations were underway for the handover of the grounds following the relocation of the old police station from the site. The Daily Advertiser reported on 11 November 1927 that calls had gone out for design submissions for the new memorial gardens. In February 1928, a design entitled 'Phoenix' by the Sydney Botanic Gardens Officer Thomas Kerr was announced as the winner. However, a shortage of funds soon became evident which delayed the development of the plan for over two years before they were finally opened in 1931.

Today, the Wagga Wagga Memorial Gardens contains at least 14 individual war memorials within its boundaries and acknowledges service both at home and overseas ranging from the First World War through to National Service and the Vietnam War. These are listed individually on this register.