By Kate Shilling — 13th September 2021
For a fifth generation woman-from-Wagga this was a find! Curious about the boutique hotel in which I was staying, I got googling and came across this Wagga Heritage Walk, put together by the Wagga Wagga City Library. It's a really well curated way to check out local history and architecture in some of the oldest and most interesting streets in the centre of town.
Taking up an hour of so on a sunny Saturday afternoon, this walk appealed for a diverse and different reasons. Firstly, there's a great range of grand ornate homes, small workers cottages, old churches, shops and schools, and many are listed on the National Trust Register.
Secondly, it's self-guided and well-paced, so you can do this walk quickly, reading the basic introductions to the people and the places and moving on along the lagoon, by the park, and past some of the best coffee shops in the Riverina. And if you have time, and know a few of the older locals, it's worth taking them along for the ride. Stories about long-gone relations living their lives in these streets will bring the Wagga Heritage Walk to life. On this small-scale Family History Holiday, the stories my mother told about visiting her cousins who had moved in to town after first settling the country around Coolamon in the 1850's added a really lovely personal perspective on the past.
The hotel: The Houston (formerly Belmore House) - fantastic boutique accommodation, featured on the Heritage Walk
The coffee: Trail Street Coffee Shop, Uneke Lounge, Carlos Coffee, Thorne Street Coffee
The history hit: Museum of the Riverina - near Wollundry Lagoon and the Wagga Wagga City Library
