As the number of settlers in the area grew, so did demand for a local bench of magistrates as the nearest ones were 100–200 miles away in Tumut and Binalong. In April 1847 it was announced that Wagga Wagga was to be a place for holding petty sessions, dispensing justice and maintaining law and order over an area up to 100 miles away. The courthouse was located with the beginnings of a village formed near the ford used by most traffic passing through the area. The village included a crude blacksmith's shop and hotel. A post office was established in January 1849 and later that year the town was marked out by surveyor Thomas Townshend and formally gazetted as a village on 23 November 1849.