Wagga Girls: A celebration of life, love and friendship at 38 Morrow St

May, 2026

6th May – I am very excited to learn new items had been added just last year to the Service Women’s Hostel (RW172) regional archive collection, including “The Spirit of the “Y” c.1990 – a reunion booklet, as well as newspaper clippings about Miss Griffiths famous reunions.

5th May – I have booked my next trip home to Wagga for Friday 17th July.

I’ll be attending the Booranga Writers Centre monthly workshop, and spending some time at the CSU Regional Archives.

16 Newspaper clippings relating to YWCA Miss Griffith’s Old Girls Reunions
1984

I can’t wait to get back to Mates Gully and explore the building further, take some pics, and hopefully spend some time with some of the women who lived there.

4th May – Today I published my first “Pockets of Joy” – some little quotes from the Wagga girls to invoke some memories, give an idea of the contents of the book, and of course spark a little joy!

Big thanks to the ladies who kindly gave their permission for me to share their recollections.

April, 2026

28th April – Today I spoke with Maria from the Country Women’s Association. I was delighted to hear that the facebook post mentioned below had been a topic of conversation at a recent CWA meeting!

I’ve added in an Expression of Interest Form here for those who want to get involved. I am very much in the process of learning WordPress as I go so bear with me while I upskill on a new platform.

I was also able to add an interactive timeline of significant women at 38 Morrow St. This timeline based on Geoff Burch’s extensive research. Hope you enjoy it!

26th April – I am thrilled with the community’s response to just one Facebook post! 26,369 people have viewed the post, which now has 216 comments, 237 likes, and 18 shares.

25th April – My first in person meeting with one of the Wagga Girls today! I travelled to Canberra to meet Pattie, and we had a lovely afternoon chatting about the Riverina and life in the Riverina. Stay tuned for more!

24th April – A great chat with David from the Booranga Writers Centre and plans to come home to join the Writer’s workshop in July.

23rd April – Commenced membership with Booranga Writers Centre

22nd April – The website is now live!

21st April – A lovely phone call with Geoff from Wagga Wagga District Historical Society to get some advice on research sources, community connections and local businesses. I was thrilled to get Geoff’s permission to share his work on the complete history of 38 Morrow St. Check out more history from WWDHS here.

20th April – Correspondence sent to CSU Regional Archives team seeking collaboration and guidance for this project.

Correspondence sent to Eastern Riverina Arts seeking collaboration and guidance on the project.

Correspondence sent to Booranga Writers Centre seeking collaboration and guidance on the project.

Within 24 hours of posting on Facebook, the Wagga Girls project had been viewed nearly 37,000 times, generated over 400 interactions and 195 comments, and filled my inbox with messages from women eager to share their stories.

Women have come forward who boarded at 38 Morrow Street from as early as the 1950s through to the 1980s and beyond. They have shared memories of shared rooms and curfews, of matrons who ran a tight ship and assistant matrons who smuggled girls in through their bedroom windows after hours. Of lifelong friendships forged in those rooms. Of meeting husbands, attending reunions decades later, and of a place that clearly left a mark on everyone who walked through its doors.

19th April – Community outreach commenced, with correspondence sent to the following organisations seeking partnership, advice and potential auspicing support for funding:

– Wagga City Library
– Wagga Wagga District Historical Society
– Museum of the Riverina
– Country Women’s Association

Initial social media outreach Facebook Group “Lost Wagga Wagga”

18th April – Domain name waggagirls.org purchased, ABN activated, gmail and google account and documentation created to archive research and track project deliverables.

17th April – Preliminary research on 38 Morrow St commenced, and Erin contacted Marcia to inform her of the project and seek support to do community outreach.

12th April – Erin travelled to Wagga for graduation ceremony and stayed at Mate’s Gully Boutique Accomodation, meeting current owner, Marcia McCoy.