Music, markets and murals: Why Wagga Wagga is now a cultural hotspot for rural NSW

For those of us who crave a country lifestyle but can’t imagine giving up the buzz of a busy town centre, Wagga Wagga could be the place where you can have your cake and eat it, too.

It’s the biggest inland city in NSW with a population of more than 60,000 and no shortage of urban conveniences to keep you occupied.

Last weekend Wagga held a Lost Lanes micro-festival, where council unveiled four new murals by street artists from as far afield as Melbourne and with live music and winter-themed food and drink from local favourites.

“Lost Lanes is about getting out and discovering everything our city and region has to offer year-round,” Wagga Wagga City Council’s events co-ordinator Fiona Hamilton says.

“A long-lasting impact of Lost Lanes will be the four murals on Cadell Place that can be seen while you walk along the Wiradjuri Walking Track, adding to the vibrancy of the Fitzmaurice Street precinct.”

Lined with buildings from the turn of the 20th century, Fitzmaurice Street is evolving as the city’s entertainment hub, with unique retail, cafes, pubs and restaurants.

There’s also day spa Circa 1929, The Thirsty Crow Brewing Co, Harans Patisserie and Uneke Homewares and its foodie partner Uneke Lounge.

“It’s great to still have that strip with so much character on the main street,” PRD Nationwide Wagga Wagga agent Amanda Tilyard says. “And we’ve just had Fitz Live, an event to showcase our local musicians.”

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Food and fun on offer

The Riverina Producers’ Market is a hive of activity. Photo: iStock / Getty Images

Tilyard says local produce is on offer every Thursday at the Riverina Producers’ Market, held at the showground and, on Saturdays, at The Mates Gully Produce Market held at the Mates Gully Cafe in Morrow Street.

Just out of town you might happen across the Markets by the Lake, showcasing local art and craft on the shores of Lake Albert, or you could pay a visit to the award-winning Borambola Wines, where you can try locally grown wine,
beer or cider.

The town’s selection of museums and galleries includes the National Art Glass Gallery, which houses the country’s most comprehensive public collection of Australian studio glass.

The Cork and Fork Festival is a key event on the social calendar. Photo: Wagga Wagga City Council

There are three theatres, a cinema complex and the Botanic Gardens to explore.

“Wagga is growing enormously,” Tilyard says. “As soon as new subdivisions become available they quickly sell out. We’ve got investors from Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane as well as young families moving into town. We even have some people commuting back to Sydney and Melbourne – Wagga is about halfway between the two.”

Top home in the area

196 Dukes Road, Lake Albert. Photo: Supplied

Run your own B&B, keep horses or just enjoy the country ambience at Elm Tree Park, a Lake Albert property on Dukes Road set on eight hectares and a 15-minute drive from the centre of Wagga.

Offering a four-bedroom main residence, a one-bedroom self-contained suite and a separate one-bedroom cottage, the property is surrounded by established gardens with clipped hedges and European deciduous trees.

The gardens are in pristine condition. Photo: Supplied

It’s for sale for around $1.325 million through PRD Nationwide agent Amanda Tilyard.