the original inhabitants of the wagga wagga region were the wiradjuri people. in 1829, charles sturt became the first european explorer to visit the future site of the city. squatters arrived soon after. the town, positioned on the site of a ford across the murrumbidgee, was surveyed and gazetted as a village in 1849 and the town grew quickly after. in 1870, the town was gazetted as a municipality.