The Leeton District Office artefacts is a heritage-listed collection of artefacts at a

waterworks Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...

at Chelmsford Place, Leeton in the

Leeton Shire Leeton Shire is a local government area in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is located adjacent to the Murrumbidgee River and falls within the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area. The Shire includes the town of Leeton a ...

local government area 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 ...

, Australia. It is also known as Leeton District Office - Artefacts in Reception Lobby Showcase 1. The property is owned by Department of Planning and Infrastructure, an

agency Agency may refer to: Organizations * Institution, governmental or others ** Advertising agency or marketing agency, a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients ** Employment agency, a business that ...

of the

Government of New South Wales The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governmen ...

. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

History

The artefacts in Showcase No. 1 consist of objects which are associated with the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Scheme, the Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission (WC&IC), and history of the local community. The artefacts include working model used in the planning and construction of the Berembed Weir, and examples of items produced or manufactured locally under Water Conservation & Irrigation Commission, such as bottle fruit can and fruit can labels. The WC & IC Cannery at Leeton and

Yanco Yanco is a village with a population of 505 in Leeton Shire in south western New South Wales, Australia. Yanco is a Wiradjuri aboriginal language word meaning ''the sound of running water''. Yanco is located from Leeton along Irrigation Way. ...

started production in 1914 and the produce was marketed until 1935 when the

cannery Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container (jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although un ...

was transferred to Leeton Co-operative Cannery Ltd.

Description

The items in Showcase 1 fall into two groups: objects and documents. They include: * Collapsible Wickets Model: a cast brass model on a timber base demonstrating how the wickets at Berembed Weir functioned. * Bottle: a clear glass bottle with inscription "THIS BOTTLE ALWAYS REMAINS THE PROPERTY OF THE WATER CONSERVATION AND IRRIGATION COMMISSION N.S.WALES". * Dethbridge Wheelcounter, x 2: meters used for measuring the quantity of water entering a property. * Cigarettes Tin: an old tin box with label "CAPSTAN" Navy Cut Cigarettes, W.D. & H.O. Wills (Australia) Ltd. Sydney. * Fruit Can: A tin used for canned fruit from the WC & IC Cannery at Leeton and Yanco. It is not known where this can was produced or used but it comes from the site of Leeton Cannery which is now closed (1996). * Fruit Can Labels: Printed paper labels with identifiable brand names used to market canned fruit from the WC & IC Cannery at Leeton and Yanco. The labels displayed included "MELBA" Canned Plums, "OCNAY" Bartlett Pears, "HYDRO" Apricots, "IBIS" Canned Plums.

Further information

The provenance and ownership of the collection needs to be ascertained. Paper elements should be encapsulated in Mylar sleeves. The corroded fruit can requires urgent conservation.

Heritage listing

As at 11 December 2000, the artefacts are relics of the period during the planning and construction of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Scheme. The locally produced items are representatives of the period under the control of the Water Conservation & Irrigation Commission. (DLWC S170 Register) Leeton District Office artefacts was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

References

Bibliography

Attribution

{{NSW-SHR-CC, name=Leeton District Office - Artefacts in Reception Lobby Showcase 1, dno=5012089, id=966, year=2018, accessdate=11 October 2018 New South Wales State Heritage Register Leeton, New South Wales Water management in New South Wales Articles incorporating text from the New South Wales State Heritage Register