A surprise in the Riverina
Featured in Australian Travel Writing & Photography
A surprise in the Riverina belongs to the following groups:
Australian Travel Photography and Writing - 1 per 24hrsWho would have thought we’d find one of Australia’s most successful multicultural communities in south west New South Wales? That’s exactly what happened when we visited Griffith.
The Riverina is an area we’ve only driven through on the way to somewhere else. I got the impression that’s what a lot of people do when we checked into the Tourist Caravan Park. “Got friends or relatives here, have you?” asked the lady at reception. When I replied that we were there as tourists she gave me a quizzical glance before getting on with the paperwork. To be honest we’d hedged our bets and were prepared to make it a stopover if things didn’t pan out. Many of the park’s visitors were “grey nomads” resting for the night before continuing their travels along Kidman Way but, as we were to discover, there are plenty of reasons for an extended stay.
Griffith is the regional centre of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area. The dry grazing and cropping land south of the Murrumbidgee gives way to rice fields, vineyards and orchards on crossing the river. Irrigation has made a world of difference to the landscape here.
Catania Fruit Salad Farm provides entertaining tours of a working orchard and gives visitors an understanding of the irrigation system. It also has a small gift shop selling local produce and handicrafts. A slightly different perspective is provided at the SunRice Centre in nearby Leeton. There are plenty of wineries and cellar doors in the area to chose from (although the lady at the tourist information centre took one look at our tribe put the winery brochures back on the shelf).
Towns, farms and the environment all along our rivers are feeling the pinch of greatly reduced flows. We got an idea of just how much when a huge duststorm hit. We’d sat enjoying lunch at Il Corso Cafe as the horizon became redder and darker. Soon gale force winds and sun blocking dust shrouded the area. A local told us a few days later it was the worst in 40 years. Most of the dust ended up in Canberra and on the Australian Alps – nearly 400 kilometres away!
What I found fascinating about Griffith is its multiculturalism. Walking past the locals in the main street, Banna Ave, we could just as easily be in Melbourne. The area is very rich in Italian heritage, but there were many other nationalities too. The surprising thing is this is a town of just over 15,000 people in truly rural New South Wales – 450 kilometres from Melbourne and 570 kilometres from Sydney.
With irrigation bringing the parched countryside to life in the late 1800’s, the first farms were settled in 1912. Many came to the area hoping to have better luck with agriculture than they did with mining. A lot of Italians especially felt a familiarity with their homelands and made significant contributions to the development of the area. Their efforts are recognised in the Griffith Italian Museum, which is located in the grounds of Pioneer Park Museum.
Both museums are well worth a visit, with interesting and well maintained displays of life in early Griffith and Bagtown, where the settlement originally began. The Pioneer Museum is set on 11 hectares and is practically a little village in itself. We were able to talk to some volunteers in period costume, who helped build an impression of life in early Griffith.
We learnt that the settlement of Bagtown (5 kilometres south of the present day Griffith) was so named because the bags that contained cement for irrigation channel construction were used in the buildings there. And that between the world wars a hermit lived in caves on the hillside overlooking the city. He was on to something though – he had best views in the area.
Griffith was planned by Walter Burley Griffin who is more widely known as the designer of Canberra. His trademark circular drive with wide, radial streets is home to the civic centre.
Nearby Lake Wyangan, a large man-made lake, is popular for water sports, although at the time we visited it too was suffering from the drought. There’s a small camping area there with basic amenities, along with many picnic spots. The shores of the lake are home to a menagerie that provides great entertainment for young kids.
Five days on and there was still plenty more of Griffith to see. As we discovered, it’s worth much more than a stopover on the way to somewhere else.
Where:
On Kidman Way (Highway 87) 440 kilometres north of Melbourne, 570 kilometres west of Sydney
Eat:
Il Corso Cafe & Pizza Restaurant
232 Banna Ave
Ph. 02 6964 4500
Open: Mon-Sat 8am-10pm; Sun 5pm-10pm
Clock Restaurant & Wine Bar
239 Banna Avenue
Ph. 02 6962 7111
Open: Lunch Tue-Sat 12pm-2pm, Dinner Mon-Sat from 6pm
Stay:
Tourist Caravan Park
919 Willandra Ave
Ph. 02 6964 2144
Kidman Wayside Inn
58-72 Jondaryan Ave
Ph. 02 6964 5666
Events:
La Festa celebrates Griffith’s multiculturism every Easter
UnWined food and wine festival over the Queen’s Birthday long weekend
© Leanne Nelson 2009
EarthGipsy
Leanne, you have provided a very interesting trip into an are less targetted by tourists ~ you’ve convinced me to visit ~ thanks !
LeanneNelson
Thanks EarthGipsy. I was a bit of a surprise for us to find so much to see & do there.
Ruth Anne Ste...
Leanne a lovely description of my birthplace and where my remaining older family members still live. Did you visit the hermits cave? I remember as child on holidays visiting my great aunt and uncles table grape vinyard going up to the hill and rambling around for hours.
All much changed now but still a great town with a regretful reputation.
Thanks for sharing your impression with others.
LeanneNelson replied
I’m glad you liked it Coolibah. Yes, we had a wander around up on the hill. I can imagine it would be a kids paradise, mucking around up there. It’s sad that the town’s reputation often overshadows all the great things to see and do. But credit to Griffith for soldiering on and creating, in my view, a very worthwhile destination.