Wagga celebrated its beach on the Murrumbidgee River debuting at number nine in the list of top 20 beaches in Australia with a breakfast part on Thursday morning.
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Australian beach expert Brad Farmer, who has been reviewing the country's beaches for 35 years on behalf of Tourism Australia, checked out the city's popular swimming spot last month.
Mr Farmer returned to Wagga Beach for the celebration, which included a free breakfast, beach volleyball and cricket, yoga and Polaroid photo shoots with a giant novelty beach chair.
"We have shocked a lot of people on the east coast today, right around Australia's 11,761 beaches," Mr Farmer told the crowd at Wagga beach on Thursday.
"It's now 11,762 and counting. I know that Deniliquin is quite jealous. The people of Deni have been ringing me up.
"My job here is to thank you for warmly welcoming me here to this very special place with galahs as 'treegulls' instead of seagulls."
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Mr Farmer presented Wagga City Council mayor Greg Conkey with a ceremonial jar of Murrumbidgee River sand.
"We always said that Wagga was one of the top 10 cities in Australia and we have proven that now with the ninth best beach in Australia," Cr Conkey said.
"This is a great location; we've got the grass area with beautiful shade and we are only two blocks from the main street and we do not charge for parking, unlike the beaches in Sydney.
"We have spent a reasonable amount of money on the beach a few years ago and we're about to spend $6 million to $7 million upgrading the old caravan park."