Can Wagga Beach defend its crown against Penrith's government-backed 'Pondi'?

Look out Wagga Beach, Penrith has its sights set on taking the crown of Australia’s best inland beach.

It has been almost five years since Wagga’s sandy river bend was celebrated in 2020 as the “9th-best beach in Australia” according to Tourism Australia’s annual list.

In 2023, Tourism Australia’s Beach Ambassador Brad Farmer confirmed to Region that Wagga Beach was still very much on his radar and “remains the finest example of an inland river beach”.

But will we be able to hold our place as the NSW Government throws its weight behind a new Western Sydney waterfront?

With much fanfare and a multi-million dollar investment, Penrith Beach reopened for summer on the weekend providing somewhere for those sweltering through a Western Sydney summer to cool off.

It is just the second season the sandy stretch alongside a lake off the Nepean River has been opened to the public and it is tipped to exceed last year’s tally of more than 215,000 visitors.

Dubbed “Pondi” by the locals, the NSW Government has invested $2.5 million to fund amenities and staffing for a second year and has promised to look at expanding its facilities.

The artificial lakeside beach is a former quarry site located on private land which is in the process of being developed into an upmarket, resort-style facility, Western Sydney Lakes.

But while Penrith Beach has proved to be a popular swimming spot, it currently offers little more than a carpark, sand and water.

Wagga Beach and the riverside precinct meantime have blossomed into one of the region’s prime summer locations, offering landscaped parks, towering shady gums, barbecues and one of the best playgrounds in Australia.

While the Riverside stage is yet to establish its place in Wagga’s cultural landscape, there are positive signs after a couple of local shows, and plans for Christmas with the Con to return next weekend.

Looking ahead, work is nearing completion on the new undercover, half-sized basketball court that will no doubt prove to be a big drawcard for locals and spark growth in 3 x 3 basketball in Wagga.

And of course, not to forget the golden-white sand and waters of the Murrumbidgee that have cooled off Riverina locals for generations.

Brad Farmer indicated last year that he is happy to expand on the 2020 “9th Best” title and officially declare Wagga Beach “the best inland beach, freshwater beach, river beach, beach-not-on-the-coast, whatever you want to call it,” adding that we could “probably have that handle for perpetuity”.

Clearly, Penrith’s ‘Pondi Beach’ currently has nothing on Wagga Beach, but we must be careful not to rest on our laurels.

Wagga needs to take a proactive approach to retaining our crown.

Surprisingly, many visitors and travellers passing through on the Sturt Highway remain unaware of the oasis that lies just over the levee.

And how would they know better? Where is the sign pointing the way to the river and Wagga Beach?

I am not a Wagga native and for many years, driving through town, I thought that Marshalls Creek was the river and was profoundly unimpressed.

From my Sturt Highway perspective, all I knew of Wagga was a fading Murray Cod sign, a plane on a stick, an abandoned flour mill, a footy oval and loads of bland concrete industrial buildings.

Wagga has so much to offer and has the potential to be a must-visit location in Southern NSW.

When we mention Wagga Beach to visitors, their eyes light up in bemused puzzlement and incredulity and it invariably begins a debate about what defines a beach and spinning a yarn about the “5 o’clock wave”, something that can’t be proved or disproved without an afternoon visit.

Surely Wagga Beach is the jewel in our crown and a marketing dream that we need to celebrate and share lest Penrith steals a march on us and makes a claim to be Australia’s best inland beach.