Beck Hennessy from event planners Stella and Bruce said a  speed dating night held last year was in response to a lack of other opportunity.

She said the event had resulted in several relationships and showed a need for more ways to meet people “besides the bar at 3am”.

“We saw that it hadn’t been done before, and Wagga is a hard place to meet people,” she said.

“I was single myself at the time and had tried the online dating scene.” 

Rendezvous organiser Judith Jenkinson said the social club, which caters for couples and singles over 50, had noticed a decline in people joining as a way to meet a partner.

“There’s been a few relationships formed within the group previously,” Ms Jenkinson said.  “But I understand that many are now trying internet dating.”

New social clubs are appearing online, with Riverina residents taking the initiative to start exclusive virtual spaces. 

One Facebook group, Wagga Wagga’s hottest singles chat, boasts more than 500 members and touts itself as the “premier singles chat page” for unattached city residents. 

Australia wide, people under 30 are taking to smartphone app Tinder.

While regional breakdown isn’t available, the app’s creators estimate 15 per cent of the nation’s population is on Tinder, the highest percentage of any country.  

The application lets users set the sex, age and distance they would like to search in.

Prospective partners then appear, with the option to swipe left for no or swipe right for yes based on a few photos and a short bio.

 If both parties “swipe right” then an online chat can take place.

But Ms Hennessy said she believed that many, especially women, were still craving a dating scene that required more effort.

“Every week we get a message saying ‘when is the next one?’,” she said. “This says to us people feel there is not many other places to meet single people in Wagga.”