| Wee Waa New South Wales |
|
Main street |
|
|
Wee Waa
|
|
| Postcode: | 2388 |
| LGA: | Narrabri Shire |
| State District: | Barwon, Tamworth |
| Federal Division: | Parkes |
Wee Waa (pronounced "Wee War") is a town with a population of 1,689 people (2006 census)[1] located on the north-western slopes of the New England region in New South Wales, Australia. The town is within Narrabri Shire local government area and is on the Namoi River. Wee Waa is 41 m north-west of Narrabri and 571 km northwest of Sydney on the Kamilaroi Highway. It is the oldest established town in the area and is the birthplace of the commercial cotton industry in Australia. It claims the title "Cotton Capital of Australia".
To protect it from floods, the entire town is protected by a levee bank.
Contents |
The town has three primary schools (Wee Waa Public School and two private primary schools (Namoi Valley Christian School) and one high school (Wee Waa High School), that cater for children living up to 100km away. In addition, there are several preschools to cater for children prior to school age.
The Wee Waa News is published weekly, by the nearby Narrabri Courier. National Christian Narrowcaster, Vision FM broadcasts on 87.6FM in Wee Waa. The Wee Waa Ink is published monthly and available on the Wee Waa Website www.weewaa.com and in various shops in the main street for free. This Newsletter has been printed over 100 times and been running for 12 years.
It was in Wee Waa police station that Eddie Murray was killed in 1981, one of the Aboriginal deaths in custody that prompted a Royal Commission to be set up to investigate them. It was also the first town to use DNA testing to find a rapist.[2]
The town has a multi-function Sports Complex, which acts as a de facto Community centre.
The main sport around Wee Waa is Rugby League, the name of the town's club is The Wee Waa Panthers. This is also Jamie Lyon's home club in which he played for up until his international career. Lyons later left his professional career with the Parramatta Eels to return for a season with the Wee Waa Panther's. The 1st-grade team went on to win that year against Moree, 55 to 12.