About Wagin
Wagin (meaning the Emu’s Watering Place) is located 228 kms south east of Perth in the heart of Western Australia’s Great Southern Region. The population of the Shire is approximately 1800 and the Shire comprises an area of 1950 square kilometres.
The economy of the district is based on agriculture with wheat, barley, oats, canola and lupins being the main crops and sheep and cattle production being prominent.
Although the local industries and services are based around the agricultural sector Wagin is also home to Grainfeeds a pet food manufacturer, UniGrain a grain merchant, Gilmac a hay export company and also a steel fabrication firm and machinery & vehicle dealership.
The town is well serviced when it comes to medical infrastructure and offers a Medical Centre where the local doctor, dentist and Child Health Service operate from. Wagin has an 18 bed hospital which has received accreditation from the Australian Council for Hospital Standards and the community places a high priority on this facility.
A Frail Aged Hostel known as Waratah Lodge is equipped with 18 well appointed rooms adjacent to the hospital and the Wagin Cottage Homes.
In 2011/2012 the Wagin Airstrip was upgraded to provide a new patient transfer building and an all weather runway landing surface which is utilised by the Royal Flying Doctor Service to assist in the air transport of patients requiring emergency care in a larger hospital. The local airstrips are serviced by Pilot Activated Lighting.
The Wagin Swimming Pool has recently undergone an extensive upgrade including installation of a wetdeck beach entry to the fifty metre pool, and a heated learn to swim pool featuring beach entry, fountains, water bucket and mini lap pool.
The Wagin District High School caters for schooling from kindergarten to year 10 and a daily bus runs to the Narrogin Senior High School.
Sport and Recreation plays an important part in the Wagin community and the town is well serviced by recreational facilities with sports such as tennis, cricket, football, badminton, lawn bowls, golf, darts, shooting, trotting, go-karts, motor cycle club, swimming and hockey most prominent.
All major services are available and the following service clubs exist, Wagin Action Group, Lions, Masonic Lodge and Rotary. The Anglican, Catholic, Baptist, Uniting and Vineyard Christian Fellowship Churches are represented in the town.
Wagin is the home of the Giant Ram which is a man made tourist attraction being a replica of a merino ram which has become an icon of Wagin.
The Wagin Historical Village is an excellent reproduction of an old Australian Village and acts as a living historical museum. Wagin is also home to the largest annual sheep show in the southern hemisphere being the Wagin Woolorama. The Woolorama has attracted over 30,000 people over the two days of the event. The event is totally organised and run by the Wagin community.
The local newsletter which is printed and published from the CRC and a local radio station provide an excellent source of communication for our residents.
Wagin is fortunate to have the services of excellent local builders, electricians, plumbers, and the presence of a Bankwest branch, with the local post office providing a banking alternative and a strong Police presence in the town.
Wagin offers its residents a safe, well appointed town with a real sense of community and it has been heartening to welcome new residents to our community in recent years who are choosing to move to our town.