EVENTS

Council Events aim to bring together our diverse community members in social and recreational activities throughout the year.

Community Consultations

Wagait Shire Council has an open-door policy and encourages inclusive, active community participation. Community consultations are held biannually in April and November to discuss important community issues and provide feedback to annual business plans and budgets. Popular issues include waste management, rates and levies, road and verge maintenance, Senior’s day, youth activities and the public beach access points in the Crown Land RUA. Council also hosts special community forums with invited speakers for strategic planning and topical issues, such as the Gamba Grass Program and Mandorah Marine Precinct construction.

Australia Day

Australia Day celebrations in Wagait Beach are held at Cloppenburg Park and focused on family fun with an awards ceremony recognising the contributions that our residents make to make a difference in our community, individually and collectively. The awards rely on members of the public to nominate, and past winners of the Award are those who have been proactive in our community, helping others and inspiring those around them; quiet achievers doing outstanding things.

ANZAC Day

ANZAC Day is commemorated in Wagait Beach to remember Australians who served and died in all wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations. The Council service is held at 10am at the Cenotaph in front of the Council office near the flagpoles. Chaplain, Major Ian Dawson has delivered the service for many years and returns each year to grace our space. The service is followed by a morning tea with locally made ANZAC biscuits and two-up at the Cox Country Club. In 2015, a special commemoration service was held at the Milady crash site and well-researched booklets describing the history of Cox Peninsular and the B-24 bomber were published, marking 100 years of ANZAC.

National Ride2School Day

The National Ride2 School Day is an annual activity that Wagait kids look forward to every year. Early on the day, school-age kids meet to ride the 5km to the jetty to catch the ferry. On returning in the afternoon, kids return to Cloppenburg Park for afternoon tea before riding home. The event is coordinated by Council, sponsored by Wagait Beach Supermarket, and supported by volunteer parents.

National Walk Safely to School Day

The National Walk Safely to School Day is another activity that Wagait kids look forward to on the Council calendar. The local school bus drops the children aprox 1km short of the jetty at 6:30am and the children walk the rest of the way towards a healthy breakfast on the Mandorah Jetty overlooking the Darwin city views across the Harbour. The event is coordinated by Council, sponsored by Wagait Beach Supermarket, and supported by volunteer parents.

Darwin Harbour Clean Up Day

Darwin Harbour Clean Up Day is held every year in July and is sponsored by City of Darwin and NT Department of Natural Resource Management. In 2020, the event was hosted by Larrakia Nation with volunteer support from local governments, environmental groups, conservation organisations, and the Darwin Port Authority.

As well as removing rubbish from the waters and coastline of the Harbour, the clean-up aims to raise awareness about the effects of rubbish entering our waterways.

Wagait Shire Council proudly supports the day by coordinating a local team to work with Larrakia Rangers in collecting rubbish from our local beaches and coastal dunes; and is proud to promote the message of ‘bin it or take it with you’ to keep our waters and coastline rubbish free, and to protect our wildlife.

Each year, data is collected by Tangaroa Blue and contributes to the national Australian Marine Debris Database initiative.

WAG Festival

In partnership with Council and Sealink, the Wagait Arts Group Festival is held in the Wagait Community Centre and Council grounds annually over a weekend in July-August. The event is an annual celebration of the creativity and diversity of the NT with a focus on Cox Peninsular artists. The event includes a themed art exhibition of local paintings, mosaics, textiles, sculptures and much more. Visitors are welcome and will be entertained with live music and kids performances. For more information about the WAG Festival and artists see here.

Territory Day Fireworks

Territory Day Fireworks at Cloppenburg Park are a standing tradition for Wagait Beach residents and visitors are welcome. The celebrations are supported by NT Government and the Cox Peninsular Volunteer Bushfire Brigade.

Santa Fun Run

On an evening the week before Christmas, Wagait community dresses up to run, walk or ride a 4.2 km track as a finale to the year of Runners and Walkers training program.