|
| The vineyards from the
lookouts above the town |
Griffith (including Hanwood, Bilbul, Beelbangara, Lake
Wyangan, Yenda and Cocoparra National Park)
Major town in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area and
service centre for the surrounding orchards and vineyards.
Located 613 km west of Sydney via the Great and Mid Western
Highways and 131 m above sea-level Griffith, like Leeton, is
a town which emerged out of the construction of the
Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA) early this century. With
a population of 25,000 it is the third-largest population
centre in the Riverina.
The first European to pass through the area was John
Oxley who explored the district in 1817. He was unimpressed
with what he saw: 'the soil a light red sand parched with
drought, a perfect level plain overrun with acacia
scrub...there is a uniformity of barren desolation of this
country which wearies one more than I am able to express...I
am the first white man to see it and I think I will be
undoubtedly the last.'
He was wrong. Charles Sturt passed through the area
leaving similarly negative reports concerning: 'the
dreariness of the view ... the plains are open to the
horizon, but here and there a stunted gum tree or a gloomy
cypress seems placed by Nature as mourners over the
surrounding desolation. Neither bird nor beast inhabits this
lonely and inhospitable region, over which the silence of
the grave seems to reign.'
Inhabiting the area at the time were the Wiradjuri
peoples. They regarded the white presence as threatening and
unwelcome and killed one of Oxley's party. Their fears
proved well-founded. Smallpox quickly wiped out around 60
per cent of the population and traditional food sources were
soon displaced by European stock. Increasingly harassed they
appear to have decided to make an all-out effort to drive
the invaders away in 1839. A war ensued in which massacres
and atrocities occurred. Warangesda Mission was set up at
Darlington Point (see entry on Darlington Point) but even
proved short-lived.
The area around Griffith was once part of the Cuba and
Benerembah sheep stations. Circumstances changed when Samuel
McCaughey's success developing an irrigation system at Yanco
(see entry on Leeton) convinced the government to undertake
the construction of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area in
1906, which transformed the barren plains into a fertile
agricultural oasis. It is now the richest tract of
agricultural country in Australia.
The waters of the Murrumbidgee are harnessed by the
Burrinjuck Dam, near Yass, and Blowering Dam, on the Tumut
River. The two have a combined storage capacity of 2 654 000
megalitres. The water passes through Berembed Weir and is
diverted into the main canal, which is 159 km long with a
flow capacity of 6500 megalitres per day. Altogether there
are 2010 km of supply channels which operate by gravity
flow, and another 1391 km of drainage channels servicing
some 2500 farms in an area that covers 182 000 ha.
Local settlement started with makeshift accommodation for
the men who were building the canal 5 km south-east of the
present townsite. This site became known as 'Bagtown', after
the old canvas cement bags which were used for the workers'
tents. Facilities were soon added. There was a general
store, a co-op, an eating house, a barber, butcher, baker
and blacksmith.
Tango Joe's cordials had a sign outside saying 'Free
Drinks Tomorrow'. Of course, tomorrow never comes. However,
according to legend, a man came along and insisted his name
was Morrow and Tango kept his word, furnishing him with free
drinks.
3 km south of Griffith Bagtown cemetery can still be
visited. Head along Hanwood Rd and watch for the signposted
turnoff to the left.
Griffith, like Leeton and Canberra, was designed by
American architect Walter Burley Griffin according to a
radial design, with wide, tree-lined streets, ring roads and
parks, although the plan was not strictly adhered to.
Shopkeepers shunned the three concentric circles he laid
down for the city centre and set up premises along the
present main street, largely due to the fact that these
blocks were cheaper and closer to the railway station. A
technical college and the shire offices are now in the hub
with an industrial area in the circles. The town was
proclaimed in 1916, the year the railway arrived, and named
after Arthur Griffith, then state minister of public works.
The first farms were made available in 1912. Many of the
workers were among the first settlers. The residents of
Bagtown were initially reluctant to move. However, after
World War I, many returned servicemen settled on the new
farms and there were many Italian migrants, attracted by the
similarity of the landscape to that of their home country.
They brought with them their traditions of viticulture and
market gardening to the immense benefit of the district.
They capitalised on and greatly enhanced a winemaking
industry which began in 1913 when J.J. McWilliam planted 40
000 grape cuttings on his block at Hanwood. He built the
Hanwood Barrel Winery in 1917 to process his grapes.
Today the surrounding wineries produce 80 per cent of
NSW's and 20 per cent of Australia's wine grapes. 110 000
tonnes were harvested by 500 growers in 1996, with semillon
and shiraz accounting for the bulk of the production.
|
| Harvesting rice in the
Riverina near Griffith |
The rice industry was founded in 1924. A milling co-op
was formed in 1950 as local producers were unhappy with the
returns from private millers. There are now six mills in the
Riverina. The three irrigation areas of NSW produce about
1.4 million tonnes of rice a year which is virtually the
entire Australian output, most of which (around 90 per cent)
is exported.
Citrus fruit is the other major local product. 230 000
tonnes are harvested in the MIA each year, with valencia
oranges the largest crop. Stone fruits, vegetables, wheat,
cotton, sheep, wool, eggs and canola are also produced in
quantity. All of the gherkins used by McDonald's are also
grown here. There is, moreover, an engineering works, a
cannery, a rice mill, a distillery, a brickworks, fruit and
vegetable packing, the production of fruit juice and
Australia's largest egg and poultry plant, with 60 000 hens
being processed each week. Griffith also has, or had, strong
associations with marijuana growing and the activities of
the 'Griffith mafioso', which entailed the disappearance of
anti-drug campaigner Donald Mackay.
Griffith's central feature is the broad, attractive main
street with a wide median strip and a flourishing park. One
of the principal annual celebrations in town is La Festa,
held at Easter.
Things to see:
|
| The War Memorials in
Banna Street |
Self Drive Tour
If you wish you can follow a set of blue arrows on a
self-drive tour through town, starting at the visitor's
centre, at the corner of Banna and Jondaryan Avenues.
Adjacent, on a tall column, is a Fairy Firefly Fighter
Bomber. It is intended as a tribute to those of the district
who served in World War II. The nearby Dethridge Wheel is a
memorial to the MIA pioneers. This device measures the
volume of water which a given farm draws from the MIA canal.
If you head west along Banna Ave to the central hub you
will pass, on your right, the Regional Art Gallery, CWA
Park, then, at the roundabout, the attractive courthouse
(1928). It is in Memorial Park, where you will also find the
Griffith War Memorial. Once you reach the nucleus you will
see, in the garden surrounding the Shire offices, a brass
statue of a woman which is a memorial to the district's
pioneer women, and, in Neville Place, the Regional Theatre,
which contains a soft sculptured curtain featuring a
panorama of Griffith. It was created by 300 local women.
There is also a collection of historic photographs. The
curtain can be inspected at 11, 2.30 and 4 on weekdays and
at 10.30 on Saturdays.
|
| The memorial to the
district's pioneer women |
At the eastern end of town are Griffith Cottage Gallery
at 1434 Bridge Rd, Koala Gourmet Foods at 4 Whybrow St, and
the rather interesting cemetery with its family mausoleums
and elaborate headstones. The latter lies at the corner of
Banna Ave and Wakaden St.
Scenic Hill and Pioneer Village Museum
2 km north-east of town, via Remembrance Driveway, is Scenic
Hill, a spur of the McPherson range. There you will find the
Pioneer Village Museum, situated on 18 ha of pleasant
bushland. The complex consists of an array of about 40 old
and replicated buildings from the Riverina area. The
souvenir shop is housed within the former Bynya Homestead
(1879), with largely original timbers. There is an old
school, church and shearing shed, large collections of
horse-drawn vehicles, steam-powered machines and antiquated
examples of working engines, farm machinery and newspaper
printing machines. There is a replica pub, post office,
blacksmith's, stable and shop of the late nineteenth
century, a chemist's dispensary of the early 20th century,
an original coach house made of river gum slabs, a
transportable type of gaol much used in the early
settlements, recreated sections of the commercial and
residential districts of old Griffith, a recreation of
Bagtown, a drop-log saddler's shop, 'Fairview' cottage
(1880) with its home-made nails and timbers dressed with
broad axe and adze, Griffith's first hospital, Goolgowi
railway station, aboriginal canoe trees, a mini-lake and a
picnic area. The complex is open 8.30-4.30 daily (02 6962
4196).
Lookouts and Walks
There are a number of walking tracks around the hill,
outlined in a pamphlet obtainable from the visitor's centre.
They take in the reservoir, Pioneer Park Museum, Rotary
Lookout, the Stepping Stones, the lagoons, two barbecue
sites and Hermit's Cave.
If you head north along Remembrance Driveway it will take
you to the golf club, Dalton Park and the aerodrome. 1.5 km
north-east along Scenic Drive is Rotary Lookout. Further
along Scenic Drive is Sir Dudley DeChair's Lookout, a
natural rock formation which affords an interesting birdseye
view of the way agriculture has developed around the town.
Griffith is totally surrounded by orchards and vineyards.
From here, or via the Narinari Loop Walking Track from
Scenic Hill, it is possible to visit the fascinating
Hermit's Cave.
|
| The Hermit's Cave
|
Hermit's Cave
The cave was built by a colourful character named Valerio
Recitti, an Italian migrant who arrived in Australia in
1916, aged 17. He immediately went to work at Broken Hill
but soon began drifting. At one point he departed for
Adelaide with a year's timber-cutting wages in his pocket.
There he visited a brothel. Upon leaving he found that he
had left his wallet behind and that the bouncer wouldn't
allow him back in. After hurling a rock through a window, he
was chased and ended up in Adelaide gaol. After his release
he left for Melbourne where he intended to pawn his one
remaining possession, a coat. Unfortunately he was duped by
a passer-by who said he would pawn it for him and never
returned.
From there Recitti went to work on the Murray River
paddlesteamers. He is said to have taken refuge in the cave
while he was passing through in the 1920s and decided to
stay. He believed himself to be the only Italian in the area
and kept entirely to himself, whereas in fact old
compatriots from Broken Hill had settled nearby and
increasing numbers of Italian migrants were arriving.
Recitti decided to construct a private utopia. He cleared
and decorated the caves, creating massive stone galleries
and pathways, cliffside gardens and floral painted rock
walls. So as to remain unseen he worked at night and early
in the morning, moving hundreds of tons of rock. Eventually
he fell and injured himself and was taken to the hospital
when found by a passing swagman. There he became a celebrity
when the enormity of his work was discovered and much
marvelled at. He was reunited with his old friends and went
to work for them although he continued to live in his cave.
When security people became convinced he was a spy
Recitti was interned with his fellow countrymen at Hay
during World War II. He was put to work building roads and
instructed his captors on how to improve their road-building
methods. When released he was re-employed by his old friends
in Griffith. Troubled by visions and obsessions, largely
associated with his cave, he returned to Italy when his
health began to fail him in 1952 and he died there six
months later.
Wineries
There are a number of wineries in the area which are open
for tasting and some conduct guided tours. In Griffith
itself are Cranswick Estate in Walla Ave (02 6962 4133),
Riverina Wines in Hillston Rd (02 6962 4122), Miranda Wines
at 57 Jondaryan Ave, with a tour each Wednesday at 2.15 (02
6962 4033) and West End Wines at 1283 Brayne Rd with tours
upon request. All three are open seven days a week except
the latter which is only open weekdays, though it has a
play, picnic and barbecue area (02 6964 1506).
In the surrounding district are McWilliam's Wines open
9-5 Monday to Saturday with a tour available each Friday at
2. It is on Jack McWilliam Rd, Hanwood (02 6963 0001). There
is an outdoor museum with old winery equipment housed in an
enormous wine bottle and tastings are held inside an
enormous wine barrel with a mural out the front. There are
also barbecue and children's play facilities. De Bortoli
Wines, one of Australia's largest wineries, is open Monday
to Saturday from 9-5.30 and Sundays from 9-4 with tours on
Tuesdays at 2. They are located on De Bortoli Rd, Bilbul
(02-6964 9444). St Peter's Winery and Distillery are on the
Whitton Stock Route at Yenda, established by Count Sissoli
of the House of Buton in Italy. They are open Monday to
Friday from 8.30-5 (02-6968 1303).
|
| The Roman Catholic
section of the Griffith Cemetery
|
Festivals and Gardens
The local Wine and Food Festival is held annually at Easter
and features a street parade, street carnival, ball, family
fun day, street theatre, rodeo, grape treading competition,
fun run and the Venetian Carnival on the main canal. In
October there are the Agricultural Show and the Festival of
Gardens which opens up a number of outstanding private
gardens for viewing. The Belle Amour Garden is open year
round by appointment. It can be found in MacGraith Place
north of Griffith. Head out of town on Wyangan Avenue, turn
left into Mallinson Rd and then turn into MacGraith Place.
8 km north via Wyangan Ave/Boorga Rd is Lake Wyangan, an
ideal spot for camping, picnics, barbecues, fishing, sailing
and boating. There is also a wading pool, a playground and
animal enclosures. It is well-signposted from Banna Ave.
Cocoparra National Park
North-east of town is 8356-ha Cocoparra National Park. Here
a low mountain range rises above the plain, several of the
peaks being named by John Oxley in 1817. On the slopes are
dry sclerophyll forest with clumps of ironbark and cypress
pine. There are tea tree on the forest floor and a range of
acacia throughout the park. Colourful wildflowers are
profuse in springtime. There are a number of scenic gullies,
one of which, Ladysmith Glen, is a highlight. This is a
narrow gorge, 33 m deep, which has been cut into the rock by
Jack's Creek. The park is a nesting place for the peregrine
falcon and the wedge-tailed eagle. There are also plenty of
parrots, thornbills, honeyeaters, grey kangaroos and possums
plus echidnae, marsupial mice and bats.
The park is 25 km from Griffith via the road which heads
east through Yenda and on to Barellan and Ardlethan. Cross
the railway line about 3 km past Yenda and then head along
Barry Scenic Drive or Whitton Stock Route. A side road leads
to the top of Mt Bingar which affords fine views of the
area. The stock route was heavily used in the late
nineteenth century by Cobb & Co. coaches in transit from
Melbourne to Queensland.
There are camping facilities at Woolshed Flat and bush
camping is permitted away from roads and picnic areas, of
which there are several (The Pines, Jacks Creek, Iron Bark,
Woolshed Flat, Store Creek, Spring Hill), all with
facilities. The park is also ideal for bushwalking,
photography and nature studies.
MIA Forest and River Drives
For those interested in driving, there are the MIA Forest
and River drives, Binya State Forest Drive (22 km
north-east, via Yenda), and river drives through Willbriggie
State Forest, 38 km south via Darlington Point Rd.
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Griffith
