Griffith is a major regional city in the northern
Riverina
The Riverina ()
is an agricultural list of regions in Australia, region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, a climate with significant seaso ...
region of western
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, known commonly as the food bowl of Australia. It is also the seat of the
City of Griffith 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 federated state, state, province, division (politica ...
. Like the Australian capital,
Canberra
Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
, 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 designed Canberra, Australia's capital city, the New South Wales towns of Griffith, New South Wales, Griffith and Leeton, New So ...
and
Marion Mahony Griffin. Griffith was named after
Arthur Hill Griffith, the then New South Wales
Secretary for Public Works.
Griffith was proclaimed a city in 1987,
and at the had a population of 20,569.
It can be accessed by road from
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
and
Canberra
Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
via the
Hume Highway and the
Burley Griffin Way and from
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
, via the
Newell Highway and either by using the
Kidman Way or the
Irrigation Way. Griffith can be accessed from other places like
Adelaide
Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
,
Orange, and
Bathurst through the
Mid-Western Highway and the
Rankins Springs road from
Rankins Springs and the
Kidman Way from
Goolgowi.
History
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
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.
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. 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 river 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 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 River
The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray; Ngarrindjeri language, Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta language, Yorta Yorta: ''Dhungala'' or ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is List of rivers of Australia, Aust ...
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 (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...
) and
organised crime, 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 ( ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 87.322 inhabitants (as of December 2024). Some 3,000 live within the Venetian wall ...
in the Veneto Region. Many Italians in Griffith are from the
Veneto
Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...
Region or the
Calabria
Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...
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, Calabria 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.
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.
Heritage listings
Griffith has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
* Scenic Drive:
Hermit's Cave
Climate
Griffith has a
cold semi-arid climate (''BSk'') under the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
with hot summers and contrastingly cool winters; and low, evenly-spread rainfall through the year. Extreme temperatures at Griffith Airport AWS have ranged from on 4 January 2020 to on 17 July 1977.
The city is rather sunny, featuring 123.8 clear days and 2,836 sun hours annually, though its winters are notably cloudier than
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
's at the same latitude.
On 3 February 2005 a maximum of only was registered, being exceptionally cold for this northern latitude and very low elevation.
Commerce
Griffith is the regional service centre for the vast
Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, 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
Griffith has experienced strong commercial growth in recent years. Griffith's
high streets are
Banna Avenue and
Yambil Street 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
Riverina
The Riverina ()
is an agricultural list of regions in Australia, region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, a climate with significant seaso ...
's largest employer, poultry processor, the
Baiada Group. Griffith also has several wineries, including
De Bortoli Wines and
Casella Family Brands (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.
Demographics

In th
2021 Census there were 20,569 people in Griffith.
* Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 5.8% of the population.
* The most common ancestries were Australian 26.7%, English 25.7%, Italian 22.4%, Irish 7.0% and Indian 6.4%
* 66.8% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were India 8.8%, Italy 3.4%, Philippines 1.8%, New Zealand 1.8%, and Malaysia 1.2%.
* 65.8% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Italian 5.2%, Gujarati 4.6%, Punjabi 4.4%, Samoan 1.5% and Mandarin 1.2%.
* The most common responses for religion were Catholic 34.9%, No Religion 18.0% and Anglican 10.4%.
in th
forecast.id.com.auGriffith City population forecast for 2023 is 27,666, and is forecast to grow to 30,494 by 2036
Education

Griffith is the third largest centre for education in the
Riverina
The Riverina ()
is an agricultural list of regions in Australia, region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, a climate with significant seaso ...
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 57,003 as of 2021, it is an important agricultural, m ...
and
Leeton.
Griffith is home to three high schools:
* Murrumbidgee Regional High School – MRHS is a merged high 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.
Transport
Griffith is a major junction for the
Kidman Way,
Burley Griffin Way and
Irrigation Way. Griffith is located south west of
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
via Burley Griffin Way and Irrigation Way and north of
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
via the Kidman Way. Griffith has daily bus services to the major metropolitan areas.
Griffith Airport has daily flights to
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
(operated by
Rex Airlines) and, from 15 July 2019, to
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
(operated by
Sharp Airlines
Sharp Airlines is a regional airline founded in Hamilton, Victoria, Hamilton, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia in 1990. Sharp operates scheduled airline services in the southern states of Australia. Its main bases are Essendon Airport, ...
). There are also regular flights to
Broken Hill
Broken Hill is a city in the Far West (New South Wales), far west region of outback New South Wales, Australia. An inland mining city, it is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Hi ...
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.
Griffith railway station is served by a twice weekly
NSW TrainLink
NSW TrainLink is a regional train and coach operator in Australia, providing services throughout New South Wales and into Australian Capital Territory, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria (state), Victoria, Queensland and South Australia ...
Xplorer service from
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
. NSW TrainLink also operates several coach services connecting to Sydney–Melbourne
XPT trains at either Wagga Wagga or Cootamundra:
* 0538 Ex. Wagga Wagga to Griffith (Saturday & Monday mornings)
* 0920 Griffith to Wagga Wagga (daily)
* 0936 Ex. Mildura to Cootamundra (daily)
* 1653 Ex. Wagga Wagga to Griffith (daily)
* 1731 Ex. Cootamundra to Mildura (daily)
* 2055 Griffith to Wagga Wagga (Friday & Sunday nights)
V/Line
V/Line is a statutory authority that operates Regional rail, regional passenger rail and Intercity bus service, coach services in the Australian state of Victoria (state), Victoria. It provides passenger train services on five Commuter rail, ...
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
*
Riverina
The Riverina ()
is an agricultural list of regions in Australia, region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, a climate with significant seaso ...
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") transmi ...
commercial station
Triple M Riverina MIA,
FM radio
FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting that uses frequency modulation (FM) of the radio broadcast carrier wave. Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to transmit high fidelity, high-f ...
commercial station
Hit FM, both owned by
Southern Cross Austereo
Southern Cross Media Group Limited, Trade name, doing business as Southern Cross Austereo, is an Australian media company which operates broadcast radio and Terrestrial television, television stations. It is the largest radio broadcaster in Au ...
and a rebroadcast from sports station
Sky Sports Radio. Other local stations include
Christian radio station
Vision Radio Network and the community station
2MIAFM95.1. The ABC's national stations
Radio National
ABC Radio National, more commonly known as Radio National or simply RN, is an Australian nationwide public service radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2.
...
,
ABC Classic FM,
ABC NewsRadio and
Triple J
Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...
and the multicultural network
SBS Radio 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
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 57,003 as of 2021, it is an important agricultural, m ...
. Wednesday and Saturday's local morning show is also broadcast to each station on the
ABC Local Radio 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,
Radio National
ABC Radio National, more commonly known as Radio National or simply RN, is an Australian nationwide public service radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2.
...
’s
Conversations,
The World Today,
PM, Nightlife, Overnights,
ABC Radio Grandstand,
Saturday Night Country'' and ''Australia All Over'' along with a mid-afternoon program, an evening show and a weekend morning program, all broadcast from
ABC Radio Sydney, along with a drive program, broadcast from regional NSW. Other national ABC services that are available in Griffith on separate FM frequencies include
Triple J
Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...
,
Radio National
ABC Radio National, more commonly known as Radio National or simply RN, is an Australian nationwide public service radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2.
...
,
ABC Classic FM and
ABC News on Radio.
Triple M Riverina MIA 963 is the Griffith-based commercial FM station owned by
Southern Cross Austereo
Southern Cross Media Group Limited, Trade name, doing business as Southern Cross Austereo, is an Australian media company which operates broadcast radio and Terrestrial television, television stations. It is the largest radio broadcaster in Au ...
broadcasting from Griffith studios during the day, and then taking networked programming sourced from
2GB,
Triple M Gold Coast, Authentic Entertainment Sydney and
Triple M network. 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 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 broadcasting, Australian television network owned and operated by WIN Corporation that is based in Wollongong, New South Wales. WIN commenced transmissions on 18 March 1962 as a single television stat ...
's owner
WIN Corporation. They are
AMN,
MTN and
MDN, which are regional affiliates of the
three Australian commercial television networks (
Ten Network,
Nine Network
Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and 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 the five main free-to-air television ...
and
Seven Network
Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...
) as well as public broadcasters the
ABC 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,
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, anima ...
,
9Gem,
9Life,
10 Bold Drama and
10 Peach Comedy all from WIN Television), as well as
TVSN,
Gold
Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
,
Sky News Regional,
ABC Family
American cable television, cable and satellite television network Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through four different owners and six different name changes dur ...
(formerly ABC TV Plus, ABC Comedy and ABC2)/
ABC Kids,
ABC Entertains (formerly ABC Me and ABC3),
ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to:
* ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
* ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company
ABC News may a ...
(formerly ABC News 24),
SBS Viceland (formerly SBS 2),
SBS Food (formerly Food Network),
SBS WorldWatch and
NITV.
Foxtel
NXE Australia Pty Ltd, trading as the Foxtel Group, is an Australian pay television company that operates cable television, direct-broadcast satellite, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April ...
provides subscription satellite television services.
MTN carries programming from
Seven Network
Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...
, AMN carries programming from
Nine Network
Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and 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 the five main free-to-air television ...
and MDN carries programming from
Ten Network, WIN also broadcasts the Riverina and MIA
WIN News 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. ''
WIN News'' are produced from newsrooms in the city but presented from studios in
Wollongong
Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') 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 water' or 'sound ...
.
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 Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...
'', ''
The Australian
''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet daily newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964. As the only Australian daily newspaper distributed nationally, its readership of b ...
'', ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'', ''
Herald Sun
The ''Herald Sun'' is a Conservatism, 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 American Rupert Murdoch, Murd ...
'', ''
The Weekly Times'' 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 rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
. Griffith is home to two clubs in the
Group 20 Rugby League competition, the Griffith Black & White Panthers, and the
Griffith Waratah 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
Yenda, 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 as the best team in the state in 2009. The city has also produced many
National Rugby League players, with some going on to represent their
state
State most commonly refers to:
* State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory
**Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country
**Nation state, a ...
and
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
.
Griffith & District Rugby League teams:
* Griffith Black & Whites
*
Griffith Waratah Tigers
* Yenda Blueheelers
The Griffith and District Football Association (
Soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
) comprises six participating clubs in the Griffith area – Griffith City FC,
Hanwood FC, West Griffith SC, Yenda Tigers SC (seniors only),
Yoogali FC and Yoogali SC. Yoogali SC also fields teams in the
Capital Football competition, while Hanwood FC fields senior men's and women's teams in the
Wagga competition.
The Griffith District Cricket Association (GDCA) operates a four-grade, six team premiership over the summer months across both the
Twenty20,
One Day and Two Day formats. Five of the six clubs (Coro Cougars, Exies Diggers, Exies Eagles, Leagues Panthers and Hanwood Wanderers) are based in Griffith itself, whilst the Coly Nomads are based in nearby
Coleambally.
Griffith is also home to an
Australian rules football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
team, the Griffith Swans, who compete in the
Riverina Football League. They have won three titles, in 1952, 1968, and 2003. They previously played in the
South West League. Griffith also has a
rugby union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
team, the Griffith Blacks who play in the
Southern Inland Rugby Union. The city also has strong local hockey 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
De Bortoli'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 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, ; zh, , s=哈尔滨, t=哈爾濱, p=Hā'ěrbīn; IPA: . is the capital of Heilongjiang, China. It is the largest city of Heilongjiang, as well as being the city with the second-largest urban area, urban population (after Shenyang, Lia ...
, 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
*
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, Australian rugby league footballer who scored the match winning try in the
2016 NRL Grand Final
*
Geoff Foster, Australian rugby league footballer of the 1970s and 1980s
*
Evonne Goolagong, 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, Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s
*
Gary Higgins, former opposition leader of the
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...
Parliament from 2016-2020
*
Greg Keenan, Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s
*
Mark Larkham, racing driver
*
Donald Mackay, anti-drugs campaigner
*
David Milne, Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s
*
Laurie Moraschi, Australian rugby league footballer of the 1960s and 1970s
*
Phillip Noyce, director of the 2002 film ''
Rabbit-Proof Fence'' and the 2010 American film ''
Salt
In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...
''
*
Luke O'Dwyer, Australian rugby league footballer of the 2000s and 2010s
*
John O'Neill, Australian rugby league footballer of the 1960s and 1970s
*
Esava Ratugolea, Australian rules footballer
*
Harry Rowston, Australian rules footballer
*
Valerio Ricetti, cave-dwelling hermit
*
Robbie Simpson, Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s
*
Shaun Spence, Australian rugby league footballer of the 2010s
*
Robert Trimbole, Australian drug baron, organized crime boss and businessman
*
Gary Warburton, Australian rugby league footballer of the 2000s and 2010s, born in Griffith
*
Jason Wells, Australian rugby league footballer of the 2000s
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
Populated places established in 1916
Towns in the Riverina
Planned communities in Australia
Cities planned by Walter Burley Griffin