Griffith, New South Wales

Griffith and other towns were created as part of the New South Wales State Government's Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA) project, a plan to supply irrigation from the Murrumbidgee river in order to open up western New South Wales for farming .[6]

The town plan for Griffith, and nearby Leeton, was designed by Walter Burley Griffin in 1914, an unusual geometric pattern centred on a set of circular streets, with broad avenues radiating out in an octagonal arrangement.[7][8] The streets were surveyed mostly according to that plan, and Griffith was declared a town in August 1916.[9]

Plan of Griffith, 1914

The main dam of the scheme was the large Burrinjuck Dam on the Murrumbidgee between Gundagai and Canberra, but was not completed until 1928. The Berembed Weir, near Narrandera, was built in 1912, diverting water from the Murrumbidgee River into the Bundidgerry Creek then into the Main Canal of the MIA at Narrandera.[10] The Canal, almost a river in its own right, flows through the MIA, supplying water to the entire area, then flows through Griffith as part of the geometric plan, and peters out to the northwest of the town in rice farms.

The water supply was further enhanced with the construction of the Snowy River scheme by the Australian Federal Government in the 1950s and 1960s. The Blowering Dam, a large dam near Tumut stores a significant amount of water to be released down the Murrumbidgee for irrigation around Leeton, Griffith and the newer Coleambally area south of the Murrumbidgee and Griffith.[6]

From the start of the MIA, citrus and other fruit and vegetables were grown in abundance around Griffith. In the 1950s the irrigation area expanded to include large rice farms. Vineyards were established early, and wineries followed, beginning with McWilliam's Wines at Hanwood and Yenda, two villages just outside the city.

From its earliest days, the MIA was populated by Italian workers, some of whom were initially employed by Australian farmers to run steamboats on the Murrumbidgee and Murray Rivers. Approximately 60% of today's Griffith population claim Italian background.[11] These include the initial settlement of Italians from the boat crews and other Italians who came out to Australia in the Depression, or from a second wave of immigrant Italians who came to Griffith in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

In the 1970s, Griffith was often associated with drug distribution (particularly marijuana) and organised crime,[12] as depicted in 2009 by Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities. However, Griffith is now associated with good wine and food, primarily as a result of its diverse population, with notable contributions by Italian-Australians. Griffith's multi-ethnic population is now absorbing new national groups, including a significant Sikh Indian community.[13] The city is sister city with the Italian city of Treviso in the Veneto Region. Many Italians in Griffith are from the Veneto Region or the Calabria Region of Italy.

The Italian influence expanded the range of fruit and vegetables, and also significantly increased the number of wineries and the range of wines produced by the existing wineries in the region, such as McWilliam's. De Bortoli, Rosetto and other wineries were established by Italian immigrants, and today they are well known around Australia. In recent times they have been joined by one of the country's best known wine labels, Yellow Tail, produced by Casella Family Brands. Casella, DeBortoli, McWilliam's, Warburn and Berton Vineyards are now among the top 20 wine producers in Australia.[14]

Griffith is the cathedral city of the Anglican Diocese of Riverina. The foundation stone of the Parish Church of St Alban the Martyr was dedicated in 1954. It was proclaimed as a cathedral in 1984.

Griffith has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

• Scenic Drive: Hermit's Cave[15]

Griffith has a semi-arid climate (BSk) under the Köppen climate classification with hot summers and cool winters.[16] Extreme temperatures at Griffith Airport AWS have ranged from 46.4 °C (115.5 °F) on 16 January 2019 to −5.9 °C (21.4 °F) on 17 July 1977.[17] During a heatwave on 10 February 2017, temperatures reached 45.8 °C (114.4 °F), a new record high for February.[18] On 16 January 2019, during a long heatwave, Griffith Airport recorded 46.4 °C (115.5 °F), the highest maximum temperature for any month on record.[19]

Griffith is the regional service centre for the vast Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, one of the most productive agricultural regions in Australia.[20] Thanks to irrigation, Griffith is rich in agriculture and the city is also known as Australia's "Wine and Food Country".[21]

Commercial

Banna Avenue, Griffith

Griffith has experienced strong commercial growth in recent years. Griffith's main streets are Banna Avenue and Yambil Streets but commercial growth has occurred throughout the city. Shopping centre developments include:

• Griffith City Plaza
• Griffin Plaza
• Griffith Central
• Griffith Lifestyle Centre
• The Gateway Centre
• Griffith Woolworths Complex
• Griffith City Central
• Driver Shopping Complex

In the 2016 Census, there were 19,144 people in Griffith.

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 5.0% of the population.
• The most common ancestries were Australian 22.4%, English 20.1%, Italian 17.6%, Irish 6.3% and Scottish 5.0%
• 68.3% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were India 4.7%, Italy 4.4%, New Zealand 1.8%, Philippines 1.0% and England 0.9%.
• 67.3% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Italian 7.5%, Punjabi 3.6%, Gujarati 1.2%, Samoan 1.1% and Mandarin 1.1%.
• The most common responses for religion were Catholic 37.4%, No Religion 14.2% and Anglican 12.6%.[23]

Griffith is the third largest centre for education in the Riverina after Wagga Wagga and Leeton. Griffith is home to two high schools:

• Murrumbidgee Regional High School - MRHS is a super school, made up of two sites, formerly known as Wade High School and Griffith High School
• Marian Catholic College (formerly Catholic High School)

Griffith also has 13 primary schools and various day care and pre-school facilities. Griffith has one of the largest campuses of Riverina Institute of TAFE. There has been recent plans to construct a fifth campus of Charles Sturt University in Griffith.

Griffith is a major junction for the Kidman Way, Burley Griffin Way and Irrigation Way. Griffith is located 550 km (340 mi) west of Sydney via Burley Griffin Way and Irrigation Way and 450 km (280 mi) north of Melbourne via the Kidman Way. Griffith has daily bus services to the major metropolitan areas.

Griffith Airport has daily flights to Sydney (operated by Regional Express) and, from 15 July 2019, to Melbourne (operated by Sharp Airlines). There are also regular flights to Broken Hill and Narrandera.

Griffith Buslines operates buses through Griffith and surrounding towns and villages, with seven main services and routes.

The railway reached Griffith on 3 July 1916 and since that date has provided a service transporting passengers and goods to and from the area. Regular goods trains continue, making it a unique railway centre.[24]

Griffith railway station is served by a weekly NSW TrainLink Xplorer service from Sydney. NSW TrainLink also operates a daily road coach service from Mildura to Wagga Wagga stopping at Griffith. This service connects at Wagga Wagga with NSW Trainlink rail services to Sydney and Melbourne.[25]

V/Line operates a daily rail/road coach service between Melbourne and Griffith, changing with the train at Shepparton. Melbourne (Southern Cross Station) to Griffith (Bus Terminal at Visitors Centre) is an evening service (daily), and Griffith to Melbourne service is overnight on Monday to Sataturday and afternoon on Sunday. Travel time is approximately six and a half to seven hours.[26]

The city of Griffith had contained no traffic lights up until February 2010 when the first set of traffic lights was installed at the intersection of Burrell Place and Wakaden Street.[27][28]

• Riverina Field Days, which is held annually in May.
• La Festa, Wine, Food and Multicultural Festival, which is held annually over the Easter weekend.
• Festival of Gardens, which is held annually in October
• Sikh Games, held annually on the June Long Weekend
• unWINEd, held annually on the June Long Weekend
• Multicultural Festival of Griffith - each year in October
• Festa delle Salsicce (Festival of the Sausage) - each year in August

for more events see www.griffith.nsw.gov.au/event.asp

Griffith from Scenic Hill lookout

Griffith has many tourist attractions. These include Pioneer Park, a 510-seat Regional Theatre, the Italian museum, the Griffith Regional Art Gallery, craft and antique shops, and its many high standard restaurants. Many of the Griffith wineries also have wine tasting at the cellar door, notably De Bortoli Wines, McWilliams, Beelgara Estate (formally Rossetto Wines), West End Wines, Berton Vineyards and Warburn Estate. Griffith is famous for its botrytis including Debortoli's Noble One and its fortified wine such as McWilliam's Hanwood Port. Ecotourism is also available in Griffith. Scenic Hill has various walking trails, lookouts and is home to the famous Hermit's Cave. Nericon Swamp, part of the Griffith Wetlands Important Bird Area, is an important site for migratory birds.[29] Nearby Cocoparra National Park offers walking trails and there are opportunities to explore along the Murrumbidgee River and Lake Wyangan.

• Simon Bonetti, Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s
• Joseph Colpitts, Sgt, Australian Infantry. Fought in nine countries during WWII.[31] Helped rescue many allied soldiers from occupied Crete whilst fighting with the Greek Resistance. Manager of Griffith Baths. Colpitts Place in Griffith is named in his honour.[32][33]
• Michael Henderson, Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s
• Andrew Fifita, Australian rugby league footballer who has played in the 2010s
• Evonne Goolagong, World No. 1 Australian female tennis player
• Mark Larkham, racing driver
• Donald Mackay, anti-drugs campaigner
• David Milne, Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s
• Phillip Noyce, director of the 2002 film Rabbit-Proof Fence and the 2010 American film Salt
• Esava Ratugolea, Current AFL player for Geelong
• Valerio Ricetti, cave-dwelling hermit
• Robbie Simpson (rugby league), Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s
• Robert Trimbole, Italian-Australian drug baron, organised crime boss and businessman

• Media related to Griffith, New South Wales at Wikimedia Commons
• Griffith travel guide from Wikivoyage