Griffith is a major regional city in the

Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area The Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA) is geographically located within the Riverina area of New South Wales. It was created to control and divert the flow of local river and creek systems for the purpose of food production. The main river s ...

that is located in the north-western part of the

Riverina The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation ...

region of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, known commonly as the food bowl of Australia. It is also the seat of the

City of Griffith The City of Griffith is a local government area in the Riverina region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The area comprises and is located in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area and on Kidman Way. The Mayor of the City of Griffith Co ...

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

. Like the Australian capital,

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

, and extensions to the nearby town of Leeton, Griffith was designed by

Walter Burley Griffin Walter Burley Griffin (November 24, 1876February 11, 1937) was an American architect and landscape architect. He is known for designing Canberra, Australia's capital city and the New South Wales towns of Griffith, New South Wales, Griffith and ...

and

Marion Mahony Griffin Marion Mahony Griffin (; February 14, 1871 – August 10, 1961) was an American architect and artist. She was one of the first licensed female architects in the world, and is considered an original member of the Prairie School. Her work in ...

. Griffith was named after

Arthur Hill Griffith Arthur Hill Griffith (16 October 1861 – 1 November 1946) was a politician, teacher and patent attorney in New South Wales, Australia. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1894 until 1917 and held a number of min ...

, the then New South Wales Secretary for Public Works. Griffith was proclaimed a city in 1987, and had a population of 20,251 Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. in June 2018. It can be accessed by road from

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and

via the Hume Highway and the

Burley Griffin Way Burley Griffin Way is a New South Wales state route, is located in south eastern Australia. Named after the American architect Walter Burley Griffin, designer of the cities of Canberra and Griffith, the road links these two cities via Yass a ...

and from

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, via the

Newell Highway Newell Highway is a national highway in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. It provides the major road link between southeastern Queensland and Victoria via central NSW and as such carries large amounts of freight. At in length, the Newell is th ...

and either by using the

Kidman Way Kidman Way is a state rural road in the western Riverina and western region of New South Wales, Australia. The highway services the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area and outback communities and links the Newell Highway with the Sturt, Mid-Wes ...

or the

Irrigation Way Irrigation Way is a major rural road that runs approximately through the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area in south western New South Wales, Australia. Route Irrigation Way commences at the intersection with Newell Highway in Narrandera and head ...

. Griffith can be accessed from other places like

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

, and Bathurst through the

Mid-Western Highway Mid-Western Highway, sometimes Mid Western Highway, is a state highway located in the central western and northern Riverina regions of New South Wales, Australia. The highway services rural communities and links the Great Western, Mitchell, ...

and the

Rankins Springs Rankins Springs is a village in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia in Carrathool Shire and on the Mid-Western Highway. At the 2011 census, Rankins Springs had a population of 299 residents living in 145 private dwellings. This d ...

road from

and the

from

Goolgowi Goolgowi is a small town located in western New South Wales, Australia, around west of Sydney via the Mid-Western Highway and is the administrative centre of Carrathool Shire The Carrathool Shire is a local government area that borders b ...

History

Griffith and other towns were created as part of the New South Wales State Government's

(MIA) project, a plan to supply irrigation from the

Murrumbidgee river The Murrumbidgee River () is a major tributary of the Murray River within the Murray–Darling basin and the second longest river in Australia. It flows through the Australian state of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, desce ...

to open up western New South Wales for farming. 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. The streets were surveyed mostly according to that plan, and Griffith was declared a town in August 1916. Plan of Leeton, 1914

The main dam of the scheme was the large

Burrinjuck Dam Burrinjuck Dam is a heritage-listed major gated concrete-walled gravity hydro-electric dam at Burrinjuck, Yass Valley Shire, New South Wales, Australia. It has three spillways across the Murrumbidgee River located in the South West Slopes regi ...

on the Murrumbidgee between

Gundagai Gundagai is a town in New South Wales, Australia. Although a small town, Gundagai is a popular topic for writers and has become a representative icon of a typical Australian country town. Located along the Murrumbidgee River and Muniong, Hon ...

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. 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 The Blowering Dam is a major ungated rock fill with clay core embankment dam with concrete chute spillway impounding a reservoir under the same name. It is located on the Tumut River upstream of Tumut in the Snowy Mountains region of New Sou ...

, a large dam near

Tumut Tumut () is a town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, situated on the banks of the Tumut River. Tumut sits on the north-west foothills of the Snowy Mountains and is located on the traditional lands of the Wiradjuri, Wolgalu ...

stores a significant amount of water to be released down the Murrumbidgee for irrigation around Leeton, Griffith and the newer

Coleambally Coleambally () is a small town in the Riverina of New South Wales, Australia, in Murrumbidgee Local Government Area. Coleambally is one of the newest towns in the state of New South Wales, officially opened in June 1968, with the Post Office o ...

area south of the Murrumbidgee and Griffith. 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 Hanwood is a large village in Shropshire, England. It is located SW of Shrewsbury town centre, on the A488 road. The A5 is only a mile away. The Cambrian Line runs through the village but there is no longer a railway station here. It was cl ...

and

Yenda Yenda is a town in the Riverina district of New South Wales, Australia. The town is located about east of Griffith, north-west of Narrandera, and west of Sydney in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area of southern New South Wales. Although most ...

, 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 River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) (Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest r ...

s. Approximately 60% of today's Griffith population claim Italian background. 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 Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

) and

organised crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

, 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. The city is sister city with the Italian city of

Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Veneti ...

in the Veneto Region. Many Italians in Griffith are from the

Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

Region or the

Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

Region of Italy. Griffith StAlbanCathedral

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 Family Brands is a family-owned wine company based in Australia. Its most well-known brandname is ellow tail History Filippo and Maria Casella immigrated to Australia in 1957. They bought land and established a vineyard at Yenda in th ...

. Casella, DeBortoli, McWilliam's, Warburn and Berton Vineyards are now among the top 20 wine producers in Australia. Griffith is the cathedral city of the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

Diocese of Riverina The Diocese of Riverina is one of 23 dioceses of the Anglican Church of Australia. The diocese covers 37% of New South Wales, including the Riverina and the far west of the state. The diocese was established in 1884 when the Diocese of Goulbu ...

. The foundation stone of the Parish Church of St Alban the Martyr was dedicated in 1954. It was proclaimed as a cathedral in 1984.

Heritage listings

Griffith has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Scenic Drive: Hermit's Cave

Climate

Griffith has a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

(''BSk'') under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

with hot summers and cool winters, and rather uniform rainfall spread through the months. Extreme temperatures at Griffith Airport AWS have ranged from on 16 January 2019 to on 17 July 1977. During a heatwave on 10 February 2017, temperatures reached , a new record high for February. On 16 January 2019, during a long heatwave, Griffith Airport recorded , the highest maximum temperature for any month on record. The city features 123.8 clear days annually.

Commerce

Griffith is the regional service centre for the vast

, one of the most productive agricultural regions in Australia. Thanks to irrigation, Griffith is rich in agriculture and the city is also known as Australia's "Wine and Food Country".

Commercial

Banna Avenue, main street of Griffith, NSW, 2022

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

Industrial

Griffith is home to the

's largest employer, poultry processor, the Baiada Group. Griffith also has several wineries, including De Bortoli Wines and

(makers of Yellow Tail wine).

Residential

In addition to Griffith, the area includes the towns and villages of Willbriggie, Hanwood, Beelbangera, Bilbul, Yoogali, Widgelli, Yenda, Lake Wyangan, Tharbogang and Warburn. The city contains the main suburbs of Collina, Driver, North Griffith, East Griffith, West Griffith, South Griffith, Murrumbidgee, Mayfair, Pioneer Mooreville and Wickhams Hill. The newest development of the suburb Collina has been constructed to the north east of the city's centre.

Demography

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%. CC-BY icon

Material was copied from this source, which is available under
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Education

Griffith is the third largest centre for education in the

after

Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 56,000 as of June 2018, Wagga Wagga is the state's la ...

and Leeton. Griffith is home to three 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) * Verity Christian College - established in 2021 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 The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation ...

Transport

Griffith is a major junction for the

and

. Griffith is located west of

via Burley Griffin Way and Irrigation Way and north of

via the Kidman Way. Griffith has daily bus services to the major metropolitan areas.

Griffith Airport Griffith Airport is an airport serving Griffith, New South Wales, Australia. It is located north of Griffith and operated by the Griffith City Council. Facilities The airport is at an elevation of above sea level. It has two runways: 06 ...

has daily flights to Sydney (operated by Regional Express) and, from 15 July 2019, to Melbourne (operated by

Sharp Airlines Sharp Airlines is a regional airline founded in Hamilton, Victoria, Australia in 1990. Sharp operates scheduled airline services in the southern states of Australia. Its main bases are Essendon Airport, Adelaide Airport and Launceston Airport. ...

). 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 route

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.

Griffith railway station Griffith railway station is located on the Yanco-Griffith line in New South Wales, Australia. It serves the city of Griffith. History Griffith station opened on 3 July 1916 when the Temora-Roto line was extended from Barellan. It served as ...

is served by a twice weekly

NSW TrainLink NSW TrainLink is a train and coach operator in Australia, providing services throughout New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, along with limited interstate services into Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. Its primary interc ...

Xplorer service from

. NSW TrainLink also operates a daily road coach service from

Mildura Mildura is a regional city in north-west Victoria, Australia. Located on the Victorian side of the Murray River, Mildura had a population of 34,565 in 2021. When nearby Wentworth, Irymple, Nichols Point and Merbein are included, the area h ...

stopping at Griffith. This service connects at Wagga Wagga with NSW Trainlink rail services to Sydney and Melbourne.

V/Line V/Line is a statutory authority that operates regional passenger train and coach services in Victoria, Australia. It provides passenger train services on five commuter lines and eight long-distance routes from its major hub at Southern Cros ...

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 Saturday and afternoon on Sunday. Travel time is approximately six and a half to seven hours. In February 2010, the city’s first set of traffic lights was installed at the intersection of Burrell Place and Wakaden Street to reduce traffic congestion in the Griffith CBD.

Events

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

Media

Radio

Griffith is serviced by a number of commercial, community, narrowcast SBS, and ABC stations Local radio stations broadcasting from Griffith include ABC Riverina,

AM radio AM broadcasting is radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (AM) transmissions. It was the first method developed for making audio radio transmissions, and is still used worldwide, primarily for medium wave (also known as "AM band") transm ...

commercial station Triple M 963,

FM radio FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting using frequency modulation (FM). Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to provide high fidelity sound over broadcast radio. FM broadcasting is cap ...

commercial station Hit 99.7, both owned by

Southern Cross Austereo Southern Cross Media Group Limited, doing business as Southern Cross Austereo, is an Australian media company which operates broadcast radio and television stations. It is the largest radio broadcaster in Australia, operating 86 radio stati ...

and a rebroadcast from sports station

Sky Sports Radio Sky Sports Radio (formerly 2KY) is a commercial radio station based in Sydney, broadcasting throughout New South Wales and Canberra on a network of over 140 narrowcast transmitters as well as the main 1017 AM frequency in Sydney. It broadcasts ...

. Other local stations include

Christian radio Christian radio is a Christian media radio format that focus on programming with a Christian message. Many such broadcasters play contemporary Christian music, though many programs include sermons, radio dramas, as well as news and talk progra ...

station

Vision Radio Network Vision Christian Radio is an Australian narrowcast radio station owned and operated by Vision Christian Media, an affiliate of United Christian Broadcasters. It broadcasts a Christian radio format of music and talk from studios in the Brisban ...

and the community station 2MIAFM95.1. The ABC's national stations

ABC Radio National Radio National, known on-air as RN, is an Australia-wide public service broadcasting radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2. History 1937: Predecessors an ...

, ABC Classic FM,

ABC NewsRadio ABC NewsRadio, since 2017 broadcast under the ABC News brand and for a short time known as ABC News on Radio, is a 24-hour news radio service broadcast by the Australian public broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). ABC ...

and

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...

and the multicultural network

SBS Radio SBS Radio is an Australian radio network owned by the Special Broadcasting Service directed towards newly arrived immigrants in Australia. SBS Radio originally began as two stations based in Melbourne and Sydney, set up to provide pre-recorded ...

are broadcast into Griffith. ABC Riverina, is the local ABC station in Griffith, servicing the entire MIA region. It broadcasts a local breakfast show and a local morning show each weekday broadcast from the ABC studios in

. Wednesday and Saturday's local morning show is also broadcast to each station on the

ABC Local Radio ABC Local Radio is a network of publicly owned radio stations in Australia, operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ABC Local Radio stations broadcast across the continent using terrestrial transmitters and satellites. Its programm ...

network enabling listeners from outside of the local listening area to call into the popular gardening talk back program. ABC Riverina also has a local news service, produced by local journalists. As well as rural reports, The station also airs a local Saturday breakfast show, which is followed by a local Saturday morning sports program. Apart from local programming, ABC Riverina takes national programs like ''AM'', ''Conversations'', ''The World Today'', ''PM'', ''Nightlife'', ''Overnights'', ''Grandstand'', ''

Saturday Night Country ''Saturday Night Country'' is a weekly Australian country music radio program. It is produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principal ...

'' and ''Australia All Over'' along with a mid-afternoon program, an evening show and a weekend morning program, all broadcast from Sydney, along with a drive program, broadcast from regional NSW. Other national ABC services that are available in Griffith on separate FM frequencies include

, RN, ABC Classic FM and ABC News on Radio. 2RG is the Griffith-based commercial FM station owned by

broadcasting from Griffith studios during the day, and then taking networked programming sourced from

2GB 2GB is a commercial radio station in Sydney, Australia owned by parent company Nine Radio, a division of Nine Entertainment Co., who also own sister station 2UE. 2GB broadcasts on 873 kHz, AM. In 2010, 2GB held 14.7% of the total rad ...

, owned by Macquarie Media, Gold FM on the Gold Coast, Authentic Entertainment Sydney and

Triple M Triple M is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 40 radio stations broadcasting a mainstream rock music format and 5 digital radio stations. The network dates back to th ...

. 2RG in Griffith also produces a local news service with a journalist based at the station, compiling and recording local news bulletins for 2RG and sister station 99.7 Star FM. Hit FM, also owned by Southern Cross Austereo, is a commercial FM station servicing Griffith on a local FM frequency, although its local breakfast show is broadcast from a studio in Griffith. Hit FM is skewed towards the younger listeners with a Top 40/pop music format. Following the local breakfast show, the station takes Hit Music Network programming sourced from Southern Cross Austereo's hub at

Sea FM Sea FM was an Australia, Australian radio network, consisting of stations in Queensland and NSW owned by Southern Cross Austereo. Some Sea FM stations were later sold to meet media ownership requirements. Prime Media Group Limited, Prime Televis ...

on the Gold Coast or from metropoliton stations such as 2Day FM

and Fox FM

. 2MIA is the local community station, broadcasting local programs, presented by radio announcers. The station is skewed towards the older demographic and plays a lot of music. All programs are locally produced apart from the regular programming the station takes from the national community radio network.

Television

Griffith is served by five television stations, three commercial television stations which are all owned by

WIN Television WIN Television is an Australian television network owned by WIN Corporation that is based in Wollongong, New South Wales. WIN commenced transmissions on 18 March 1962 as a single television station covering the Wollongong region. The WIN Netwo ...

’s owner

WIN Corporation WIN Corporation is a private Australian media company, that owns assets including the WIN Television network, Crawford Productions and several local radio stations. The company is based in Wollongong, New South Wales. History Founding The WIN b ...

. They are AMN, MTN and MDN, which are regional affiliates of the three Australian commercial television networks (

Ten Network Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of fi ...

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

and

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

) as well as public broadcasters the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

and SBS. Until the 1990s, Griffith received only the ABC and MTN, an independent television station showing programmes from all three commercial networks. The town receives the commercial networks' digital channels which are ( 7Two,

7mate 7mate is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Seven Network on 25 September 2010. The channel contains sport and regular programs aimed primarily to a male audience, with programming drawn from a c ...

9Go! 9Go! is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Nine Network on 9 August 2009, replacing Nine Guide. It is a youthful channel that offers a mix of comedy, reality, general entertainment, movies, anim ...

9Gem 9Gem is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, launched by the Nine Network in September 2010. The channel provides general entertainment and movie programming, from which the original name "GEM" is derived. History Nine N ...

9Life 9Life is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel owned by Nine Entertainment. The channel airs mostly foreign lifestyle and reality programs, with the channel having a licensing agreement with Discovery Inc. (previously Scripp ...

, 10 Bold and 10 Peach all from WIN Television), as well as

TVSN TVSN (an acronym for "Television Shopping Network") is an Australian and New Zealand broadcast, cable television and satellite television network specializing in home shopping. It is owned by parent company Direct Group Pty Ltd, a home marketi ...

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

Sky News Regional Sky News Australia is an Australian news channel owned by News Corp Australia. Originally launched on 19 February 1996, it broadcasts rolling news coverage throughout the day, while its prime time lineup is dedicated to opinion-based programs f ...

ABC TV Plus ABC TV Plus (formerly ABC2 and ABC Comedy) is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and part of its ABC Television network. The channel broadcasts a range of general entertainment pr ...

(formerly ABC Comedy and ABC2)/ ABC Kids,

ABC Me ABC Me (stylised as ABC ME) is an Australian English language children's free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was officially launched by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on 4 December 2009 as ABC3. Hist ...

(formerly ABC3),

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

(formerly ABC News 24),

SBS Viceland SBS Viceland (stylised as SBS VICELAND) is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). It began as SBS TWO on 1 June 2009, and was branded as SBS 2 between 2013 and 2016. On 8 April 2017, SBS ...

(formerly SBS 2),

SBS Food SBS Food is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). The channel airs programs about food and cooking, from cultures around the world. History SBS first revealed it would laun ...

(formerly Food Network) and

NITV National Indigenous Television (NITV) is an Australian free-to-air television channel that broadcasts programming produced and presented largely by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It includes the half-hourly nightly ''NITV News'' ...

Foxtel Foxtel is an Australian pay television company—operating in cable television, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April 2018, superseding an earlier company from 1995. The service was establi ...

provides subscription satellite television services. MTN carries programming from

, AMN carries programming from

and MDN carries programming from

, WIN also broadcasts the Riverina and MIA

WIN News ''WIN News'' is a local television news service in parts of regional Australia, produced by WIN Television. 12 regional bulletins and news update services are presented from WIN's headquarters in Wollongong, and until 2021 included production ...

bulletin each weeknight. Regional news coverage of the Griffith and MIA area is provided on all three commercial networks with WIN Griffith airing 90-second local news updates during the day. ''

'' are produced from newsrooms in the city but presented from studios in

Wollongong Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wate ...

Newspapers

''The Area News'' is a daily newspaper published in the city each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, as well as national newspapers such as

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

Herald Sun The ''Herald Sun'' is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the Murdoch owned News Corp. The ''Herald S ...

The Weekly Times The Herald and Weekly Times Pty Ltd (HWT) is a newspaper publishing company based in Melbourne, Australia. It is owned and operated by News Pty Ltd, which as News Ltd, purchased the HWT in 1987. Newspapers The HWT's newspaper interests date b ...

and

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

Sports

The most popular sport in Griffith is

Rugby League Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

. Griffith is home to two clubs in the

Group 20 Rugby League Group 20 is a rugby league competition in the region of Griffith, New South Wales, Australia. The competition is played in five grades, with these being Under 16s, Under 18s, Women's League-Tag, Reserve Grade and First Grade. Currently, a hom ...

competition, the Griffith Black & White Panthers, and the Griffith Waratahs Tigers. The two clubs are among the most successful in the league with 6 and 13 titles respectively, with a cross-town derby in the 2017 Grand Final attracting a crowd of over 2,000 people to EW Moore Oval. A third club, the Yenda Blueheelers, based in the small town of

, 15 kilometres from the city centre in the Griffith City Council area, also compete in this competition and have won 7 titles and a

Clayton Cup The Clayton Cup is a trophy that was awarded by the Country Rugby League to the NSW country rugby league team with the best overall record for that season. To be eligible, the team must win the highest level of competition in its region. Usually t ...

as the best team in the state in 2009. The city has also produced many

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

players, with some going on to represent their

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

and

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

. Griffith is also home to the Griffith Swans who compete in the

Riverina Football League The Riverina Football Netball League (RFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball competition containing nine clubs based in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The league features three grades in the Australian rules footbal ...

. They have won one title, in 2003, and have been runners-up many times. The Griffith and District Football Association (Soccer) comprises six participating clubs in the Griffith area - Griffith City FC (juniors only),

FC, West Griffith SC, Yenda Tigers SC (juniors only),

Yoogali Yoogali is a small town in the local government area of the City of Griffith in the Australian state of New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in Australi ...

FC and Yoogali SC - as well as a seventh team, the

Deniliquin Deniliquin () is a town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, close to the border with Victoria. It is the largest town in the Edward River Council local government area. Deniliquin is located at the intersection of the Riverina ...

Wanderers. Yoogali SC also fields a team in the NPL Capital Football competition while Hanwood FC fields a team in the Wagga competition. Griffith also has a

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

team, the Griffith Blacks who play in the Southern Inland Rugby Union. The city also has strong local cricket and basketball competitions.

Attractions

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, 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. Campbells and Nericon Swamps, part of the Griffith Wetlands Important Bird Area, are important sites for migratory birds. Nearby

Cocoparra National Park The Cocoparra National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Riverina region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The national park is situated southwest of Sydney and northeast of . The name of the park comes from the ...

offers walking trails and there are opportunities to explore along the

Murrumbidgee River The Murrumbidgee River () is a major tributary of the Murray River within the Murray–Darling basin and the second longest river in Australia. It flows through the Australian state of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, desce ...

and Lake Wyangan.

Twin towns and sister cities

Griffith is twinned with: *

Harbin Harbin (; mnc, , v=Halbin; ) is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital and the largest city of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, as well as the second largest city by urban population after Shenyang and largest ...

, China * Comunita Montana del Grappa, Italy * Fairfield, New South Wales, Australia

Notable people

* Simon Bonetti, Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s, winning a premiership in

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

* Ray Brown, Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s * Joseph Colpitts, Sgt, Australian Infantry. Fought in nine countries during WWII. 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."Area Herald" Newspaper 10 November 1942 *

Andrew Fifita Andrew Fifita ( to, ʻAnitelū Fifita) (born 28 June 1989) is a retired professional rugby league footballer who played as a . He has played for Tonga and Australia at international level. Fifita previously played for the Cronulla-Sutherland ...

, Australian rugby league footballer who scored the match winning try in the

2016 NRL Grand Final The 2016 NRL Grand Final was a rugby league match between the Melbourne Storm and the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks to determine the premiers of the National Rugby League for the 2016 season. The match was held at Sydney's ANZ Stadium on Sunday 2 ...

* Geoff Foster, Australian rugby league footballer of the 1970s and 1980s *

Evonne Goolagong Evonne Fay Goolagong Cawley (née Goolagong; born 31 July 1951) is an Australian former world No. 1 tennis player. Goolagong was one of the world's leading players in the 1970s and early 1980s. At the age of 19, she won the French Open sing ...

, World No. 1 Australian female tennis player * Stan Grant, TV and radio presenter, journalist, writer and lecturer * Fred Griffiths, Rhodesian-born South African international rugby league player of the 1950s and 1960s, captain-coached Griffith Black & Whites *

Michael Henderson Michael Earl Henderson (July 7, 1951 – July 19, 2022) was an American bass guitarist and vocalist. He was known for his work with Miles Davis in the early 1970s and on early fusion albums such as '' Jack Johnson'', '' Live-Evil'', and '' Ag ...

, Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s * Greg Keenan, Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s *

Mark Larkham Mark "Larko" Larkham (born 29 December 1963 in Griffith) is a retired Australian racing driver, former racing team owner and television commentator. Open wheelers Mark Larkham's first impressions on the national racing spotlight was finishing ...

, racing driver * Trevor Long, Technology Commentator and ''

Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It w ...

'' Tech Expert was born in Griffith, attended Griffith High School year 7-10. * Donald Mackay, anti-drugs campaigner * David Milne, Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s *

Phillip Noyce Phillip Noyce (born 29 April 1950) is an Australian filmmaker. Since 1977, he has directed over 19 feature films in various genres, including historical drama ('' Newsfront'', '' Rabbit-Proof Fence'', '' The Quiet American''); thrillers (''Dead ...

, director of the 2002 film ''

Rabbit-Proof Fence The State Barrier Fence of Western Australia, formerly known as the Rabbit-Proof Fence, the State Vermin Fence, and the Emu Fence, is a pest-exclusion fence constructed between 1901 and 1907 to keep rabbits, and other agricultural pests from th ...

'' and the 2010 American film ''

Salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

'' *

Luke O'Dwyer Luke O'Dwyer (born 30 January 1983) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played for the Gold Coast Titans and Parramatta Eels in the National Rugby League competition. A utility player, O'Dwyer played at centre, five-eighth, s ...

, Australian rugby league footballer of the 2000s and 2010s * John O'Neill, Australian rugby league footballer of the 1960s and 1970s *

Esava Ratugolea Esava Ratugolea (born 24 July 1998) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Ratugolea was drafted by Geelong with their third pick and forty-third overall i ...

, Current AFL player for Geelong * Valerio Ricetti, cave-dwelling hermit *

Robbie Simpson Robbie Simpson (born 15 March 1985 in Poole, Dorset) is an English semi-professional association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward. Simpson is currently manager at National League South club Chelmsford ...

, Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s *

Shaun Spence Shaun Spence (born 11 October 1991) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. He played for the Wests Tigers in the National Rugby League, playing in the positions of and . Playing career Born in Griffith, New South Wales ...

, Australian rugby league footballer of the 2010s *

Robert Trimbole Bruno Robert Trimbole (19 March 1931 – 12 May 1987) was an Australian businessman, drug baron and organised crime boss whose alleged involvement in drug trafficking in the Griffith, New South Wales, area, which according to popular loose fic ...

, Australian drug baron, organized crime boss and businessman *

Gary Warburton Gary Warburton (born 15 November 1987) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby le ...

, Australian rugby league footballer of the 2000s and 2010s, born in Griffith * Jason Wells, Australian rugby league footballer of the 2000s

Notes and references

External links

* * {{Authority control Populated places established in 1916 Towns in the Riverina Planned cities in Australia Cities planned by Walter Burley Griffin