Griffith Airport is just 5km from the centre of this cathedral city of 20,000 people. A booming commercial hub, Griffith is one of three cities in the beautiful and highly productive Riverina region of New South Wales. Famed for its food and wines, the town celebrates both with festivals throughout the year.
Griffith itself was built as part of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area in the early 20th century. This epic engineering project was designed to capture water from the Murrumbidgee and Tumut rivers for agriculture. As you fly into Griffith Airport, you can see the network of canals and holding ponds that provide water to the region’s many farms to this day.
Griffith was designed by the American architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahoney Griffin, who had earlier built Canberra. It soon attracted migrants who came to work on the riverboats and farms which were developing fast thanks to the irrigation project. Many of these migrants were Italians who brought with them knowledge of food and wine cultivation from the old country.
Today, this influence can be seen in the many fine Italian eateries as you drive along Banna Avenue and the profusion of Italian names on the labels of wines grown in the area, for example De Bortoli and Casella (producer of Yellow Tail wines).
Griffith produces 90% of the country’s rice, 95% of prunes and 15% of grapes. Other major crops include olive oil, almonds and tomatoes.
Hire a Hertz car at Griffith Airport and explore the many wineries and restaurants of Griffith, or pick up tasty produce from providers such as Bertoldo’s Bakery and Riverina Grove.
