Everyone in Wagga is crying for the return of the Water Whizz. Photo: CSU Regional Archives.
It baffles me that Wagga and Griffith councils still won’t prioritise building decent water attractions — complete with proper waterslides — in their towns.
The absence of these facilities was glaring this week, as the Riverina endured another stretch of unbearable, scorching heat.
Yes, it was a welcome gesture to offer families free entry to the Oasis Aquatic Centre and the Griffith Regional Aquatic Leisure Centre from Wednesday to Friday, when temperatures soared past 40 degrees. But free entry only goes so far.
Neither venue really cuts it when it comes to entertaining bored kids for hours on end during a heatwave. Both lack shade and variety, and both are designed primarily for lap swimming — not fun, chaos and summer survival.
As Region has asked many times before: how is it that two neighbouring councils with much smaller populations and revenue bases can provide vastly superior water facilities?
Narrandera’s Lake Talbot Water Park has boasted three waterslides since 2019, including twin mirror-reversed speed slides with special effects inside enclosed tubes, plus an open, reverse-banked SuperJet section with translucent panels.
Narrandera’s water attractions put Griffith and Wagga to shame. Photo: Steph Cooke MP.
In 2023, Leeton unveiled a nine-metre-high twin-ring waterslide alongside a children’s splash park.
Both facilities are outstanding. Both have been hugely popular. And both have delivered a steady stream of tourism dollars to their towns.
Meanwhile, families from Wagga and Griffith regularly pile into the car and head elsewhere, wondering when — or if — their own councils will ever deliver something comparable.
I’ve argued before that the Riverina’s bigger councils seem far more comfortable spending on art and cultural facilities that appeal to a narrow audience, rather than infrastructure that serves the broader community. But even when it comes to sport and outdoor recreation, water attractions somehow remain stuck at the bottom of the priority list, when they should be right at the top.
Seven years ago, Wagga Council unveiled plans for a regional sports hub under the Bolton Park Masterplan, including a splash park and waterslides at the Oasis. Seven years on, there is still no clear timeframe for when — or whether — this will happen.
Paddle boat riding in Lake Wyangan in 1984, when the waterway was the heartbeat of the town. Photo: Sharon Ponder/Old Griffith NSW Album Facebook page.
Last year alone, council completed a $9 million redevelopment of the Jim Elphick Tennis Centre, creating a world-class venue capable of hosting major tournaments. As president of the Griffith Tennis Club, I welcome investment in my sport. But tennis is played by about five per cent of the population. Water attractions, by contrast, appeal to just about everyone.
It wasn’t always this way. Older residents still fondly recall the Wagga Water Whizz at Wagga Beach and the Rippa Slippa at the Wagga Baths, along with picnics and carefree summer days at Lake Albert and Lake Wyangan — before neglect and blue-green algae largely ended their days as recreational swimming spots.
It’s time to stop treating water fun as a nostalgic footnote and start recognising it as essential community infrastructure. Bring back the spirit of the Water Whizz and the Rippa Slippa, give kids somewhere to burn off energy without a road trip to Narrandera or Leeton, and prove that Wagga and Griffith can still do fun — not just feasibility studies.
