Griffith, New South Wales
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Griffith is a city and Local Government Area in south-western New South Wales, Australia at (). Like the Australian capital, Canberra and the nearby town of Leeton, Griffith was designed by Walter Burley Griffin. Griffith was named after Sir Arthur Griffith the first New South Wales minister of Public Works. Griffith was proclaimed a city in 1987.
The entire area of the City of Griffith has an approximate population of 28,000 and a catchment population of approximately 50,000. Griffith's population is estimated to reach 35,000 by 2030. Griffith has officially been declared as "Australia's Fastest Growing Inland City" with an annual growth rate of 2.4%.
It can be accessed by road from Sydney and Canberra via Hume Highway and Burley Griffin Way and from Melbourne via the Newell Highway and either by using the Kidman Way or the Irrigation Way.
History
Griffith was established in 1916 as part of the Australian Federal Government's Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA) project to supply irrigation from the Murrumbidgee river in western New South Wales to be used for farming. Principally fruit especially citrus and rice farming.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 Rivers. 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 after Australia opened its immigration to Europeans other than the English.
In the 1970's, Griffith was often associated with drug distribution (particularly marijuana) and organized crime. However, Griffith is now associated with good wine and food, primarily as a result of the large Italian population. Griffith's multi-cultural population is now absorbing new national groups, including a significant Sikh Indian community and large Tongan community. Only a small proportion (approximately 25%) claims Anglo-Saxon ancestory. The city is sister city with the Italian town of Treviso in the Veneto area. Many Italians in Griffith are from the Veneto region or the Calabria region of Italy.
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.
Climate
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Cities of New South Wales
| Capital: |
Sydney
| Cities: |
Albury |
Armidale |
Bathurst |
Blue Mountains |
Broken Hill |
Cessnock |
Coffs Harbour |
Dubbo |
Gosford |
Goulburn |
Grafton |
Griffith |
Greater Taree |
Hawkesbury |
Lake Macquarie |
Lismore |
Lithgow |
Maitland |
Newcastle |
Orange |
Queanbeyan |
Shellharbour |
Shoalhaven |
Tamworth |
Wagga Wagga |
Wollongong
| |
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