In May of 2026, Wagga Wagga City Library celebrated its 80th birthday.
The library opened on May 24th, 1946, as the Municipal Free Library, in a temporary building located between Council Chambers and the Wollundry Lagoon. At the time, the free library movement, a campaign that had begun in 1935, was highly active throughout New South Wales, but even after the Library Act of 1939 was passed, supporters had to wait until the end of World War Two for available funds.
Wagga Library was enlarged and modernised in 1958, and later occupied the ground floor of the six-storey Civic Administration Centre when it opened in 1967, in almost the same location. From 1981, the library and art gallery shared larger premises at 40 Gurwood Street, before moving back into the Civic Arcade that replaced the Administration Centre, in 1999.
Over those 80 years, in four different buildings, but only two locations, the library has collected a great deal of Wagga's local history, and much of it can be seen in our 80th birthday display, near the lifts on Level One.
The 80th Anniversary Exhibition was curated by Sophie Magnusson, who developed the exhibition and constructed the purpose-built display case. Sophie and Leila Davandeh then selected the items for display, and were assisted with installation of the exhibition by Rebecca George from the Museum of the Riverina.
HIghlights include The Keating Album, which was presented in April 1911 to John Thomas Keating, who had been the chairman of the Wagga Wagga Land Board since 1904. The album was rescued by Mrs J. M. Page from a pile of rubbish placed out for collection in Beverley Hills, Sydney, in 1994.
Also featured are a 1940s-era projector and glass slides used by the 2WG Women's Club, and A first Wiradjuri dictionary, compiled by Dr Stan Grant Sr in partnership with Dr John Rudder, for which a launch was held at the library in November 2005.
