The Flickr Riverina Image Generatr

Albury, NSW
Taken through the mesh and tagging on the Harold Mair Bridge just before dawn on a balmy autumn morning.

Albury, NSW.

Looking along Dean Street towards the Monument Hill War Memorial just before sunrise on an autumn morning.

The Murray River at Albury, NSW

I have had a bit of a break from Flickr but now back again. I was at a conference in Albury last weekend and was assigned to do the photography so was flat out over a couple of days. I did sneak a few early morning shots on my morning walks so will post them gradually. It was beautiful warm autumn weather but it is so very dry though.

Moulamein, NSW

This wire sculpture was created by artist Trevor Flinn from Dunkeld in Victoria on my brother's farm as part of a regional arts project in the NSW southern Riverina and northern Victoria.

Byjantic is the name of a nearby creek and Byjantic Man features in a song of the same name by Australian singer songwriter Neil Murray who has performed at the nearby Nyang Woolshed. The sculpture features on the album cover too.

Murray sees Byjantic Man as the sole human survivor in a post catastrophe world, a quite dark interpretation The song can be heard here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsmSVqn7dpI

Moulamein Lake, Moulamein, NSW

Moulamein, NSW

Moulamein, NSW

Yarrein Creek, Moulamein, NSW

A mural taking shape on the water tower in Moulamein, NSW.

The artist is Heesco, a Mongolian Australian street artist from Melbourne, who has done a number of superb silo murals in regional Australia.

Moulamein, NSW

Coolamon. Population 1,700.
The Aboriginal word for a hollowed out or curved wooden vessel carried mainly by women is Coolamon. It is a generic Aboriginal word used across Australia. The clay landscape around the town of Coolamon is pitted with small indentations that can fill with water after rain hence the name. The first white pastoralist took up leasehold land here in 1850 as the Keandra Creek run of almost 20,000 acres. The other run nearby was Ganmain run. When the Junee to Narrandera railway was being planned the government resumed land to create a township in 1880. Modern Coolamon calls itself the “hay and chaff capital” of the Riverina. After the railway from Junee to Narrandera and Hay reached the town in 1881 the town was declared just before its arrival. A Post Office opened in 1881 and town lots were sold to the public in 1882. Any town this far west needed a railway to Sydney to make farming viable which it then had so the district became a grain growing district. But the government was slow to release land for selection. However by 1884/85 Coolamon had stores, two hotels, a school and an Anglican Church and around 200 residents and in 1887 a flour mill opened in the town. As the town progressed the Shire of Coolamon was established in 1907. One old general store which was established in 1907 was rebuilt in 1909 and is now the combined Information Centre, museum, library, café and shop. The museum has great contrast in its collections from farm machinery to 250 crochet items! Nicholas Mutton, an aptly named butcher, purchased the weatherboard general store in 1908 but he wanted a new impressive general store. He had the Up to Date Store built in red brick in 1909. The architect was William Monks of Wagga Wagga who also designed the Wagga Wagga Catholic Cathedral. Was this department store name a good marketing name and logo? The store closed in 1932 but the Mutton family owned the shop which was used for other commercial purposes until 1987. The local Council then bought it in 1996 for community uses. The store still has its ball cash delivery system when one cashier handled all cash but this was is not a pneumatic tube system, or even a wire carrier system but a ball gravitation system. That American system was patented in 1881 and works with a simple ball placed on sloping rails to roll down by gravity to the cashier, and for a rail sloping in the opposite direction to return the receipt, and any change to the customer. There are only two known – one in Stanley in Durham England and the other one in Coolamon. With luck you might be able to buy some local Coolamon cheese in one of the town shops.

The town has many interesting and some Art Deco buildings. The wooden railway station was built about 1885 and the impressive Coolamon Hotel across the road from it began around 1885 when it was only a bush shanty which was replaced by a grand building around 1900 which was renovated after a fire in 1990. The School of Arts was built in 1901 and the outstanding Commercial Banking Company of Sydney building was constructed in 1907 when designed by architect Ernest Laver of Cootamundra. In the same year Laver was the architect of the CBC Bank in nearby Temora. The old Fire Station, which is now the Information Centre, was built in 1933. The former Coolamon Cooperative Society store built in the Main Street in 1924 is now the Coolamon Cheese Company. It has a fine shop, huge café and produces in the building blue cheese, brie, cheddar, pepper cheese etc. Another building of merit is another former bank in the main street built in 1907 with classical and Art Deco features. It was probably the Bank of NSW. The old building marked as the RSL Club rooms has an interesting history. It was built, as the sign says, in 1907 as a coffee palace. The RSL was formed in 1919 and used the Coolamon Shire Hall for many years until 1947 for its meetings. It then purchased the old coffee palace as its club rooms. The Coolamon Shire Council was formed in 1906 and the foundation stone of the architect designed Shire Hall and Council Chambers was Ernest Laver of Cootamundra. The Council Chambers on Wagga Wagga Road were completed in 1914.

Coolamon. Population 1,700.
The Aboriginal word for a hollowed out or curved wooden vessel carried mainly by women is Coolamon. It is a generic Aboriginal word used across Australia. The clay landscape around the town of Coolamon is pitted with small indentations that can fill with water after rain hence the name. The first white pastoralist took up leasehold land here in 1850 as the Keandra Creek run of almost 20,000 acres. The other run nearby was Ganmain run. When the Junee to Narrandera railway was being planned the government resumed land to create a township in 1880. Modern Coolamon calls itself the “hay and chaff capital” of the Riverina. After the railway from Junee to Narrandera and Hay reached the town in 1881 the town was declared just before its arrival. A Post Office opened in 1881 and town lots were sold to the public in 1882. Any town this far west needed a railway to Sydney to make farming viable which it then had so the district became a grain growing district. But the government was slow to release land for selection. However by 1884/85 Coolamon had stores, two hotels, a school and an Anglican Church and around 200 residents and in 1887 a flour mill opened in the town. As the town progressed the Shire of Coolamon was established in 1907. One old general store which was established in 1907 was rebuilt in 1909 and is now the combined Information Centre, museum, library, café and shop. The museum has great contrast in its collections from farm machinery to 250 crochet items! Nicholas Mutton, an aptly named butcher, purchased the weatherboard general store in 1908 but he wanted a new impressive general store. He had the Up to Date Store built in red brick in 1909. The architect was William Monks of Wagga Wagga who also designed the Wagga Wagga Catholic Cathedral. Was this department store name a good marketing name and logo? The store closed in 1932 but the Mutton family owned the shop which was used for other commercial purposes until 1987. The local Council then bought it in 1996 for community uses. The store still has its ball cash delivery system when one cashier handled all cash but this was is not a pneumatic tube system, or even a wire carrier system but a ball gravitation system. That American system was patented in 1881 and works with a simple ball placed on sloping rails to roll down by gravity to the cashier, and for a rail sloping in the opposite direction to return the receipt, and any change to the customer. There are only two known – one in Stanley in Durham England and the other one in Coolamon. With luck you might be able to buy some local Coolamon cheese in one of the town shops.

The town has many interesting and some Art Deco buildings. The wooden railway station was built about 1885 and the impressive Coolamon Hotel across the road from it began around 1885 when it was only a bush shanty which was replaced by a grand building around 1900 which was renovated after a fire in 1990. The School of Arts was built in 1901 and the outstanding Commercial Banking Company of Sydney building was constructed in 1907 when designed by architect Ernest Laver of Cootamundra. In the same year Laver was the architect of the CBC Bank in nearby Temora. The old Fire Station, which is now the Information Centre, was built in 1933. The former Coolamon Cooperative Society store built in the Main Street in 1924 is now the Coolamon Cheese Company. It has a fine shop, huge café and produces in the building blue cheese, brie, cheddar, pepper cheese etc. Another building of merit is another former bank in the main street built in 1907 with classical and Art Deco features. It was probably the Bank of NSW. The old building marked as the RSL Club rooms has an interesting history. It was built, as the sign says, in 1907 as a coffee palace. The RSL was formed in 1919 and used the Coolamon Shire Hall for many years until 1947 for its meetings. It then purchased the old coffee palace as its club rooms. The Coolamon Shire Council was formed in 1906 and the foundation stone of the architect designed Shire Hall and Council Chambers was Ernest Laver of Cootamundra. The Council Chambers on Wagga Wagga Road were completed in 1914.

Coolamon. Population 1,700.
The Aboriginal word for a hollowed out or curved wooden vessel carried mainly by women is Coolamon. It is a generic Aboriginal word used across Australia. The clay landscape around the town of Coolamon is pitted with small indentations that can fill with water after rain hence the name. The first white pastoralist took up leasehold land here in 1850 as the Keandra Creek run of almost 20,000 acres. The other run nearby was Ganmain run. When the Junee to Narrandera railway was being planned the government resumed land to create a township in 1880. Modern Coolamon calls itself the “hay and chaff capital” of the Riverina. After the railway from Junee to Narrandera and Hay reached the town in 1881 the town was declared just before its arrival. A Post Office opened in 1881 and town lots were sold to the public in 1882. Any town this far west needed a railway to Sydney to make farming viable which it then had so the district became a grain growing district. But the government was slow to release land for selection. However by 1884/85 Coolamon had stores, two hotels, a school and an Anglican Church and around 200 residents and in 1887 a flour mill opened in the town. As the town progressed the Shire of Coolamon was established in 1907. One old general store which was established in 1907 was rebuilt in 1909 and is now the combined Information Centre, museum, library, café and shop. The museum has great contrast in its collections from farm machinery to 250 crochet items! Nicholas Mutton, an aptly named butcher, purchased the weatherboard general store in 1908 but he wanted a new impressive general store. He had the Up to Date Store built in red brick in 1909. The architect was William Monks of Wagga Wagga who also designed the Wagga Wagga Catholic Cathedral. Was this department store name a good marketing name and logo? The store closed in 1932 but the Mutton family owned the shop which was used for other commercial purposes until 1987. The local Council then bought it in 1996 for community uses. The store still has its ball cash delivery system when one cashier handled all cash but this was is not a pneumatic tube system, or even a wire carrier system but a ball gravitation system. That American system was patented in 1881 and works with a simple ball placed on sloping rails to roll down by gravity to the cashier, and for a rail sloping in the opposite direction to return the receipt, and any change to the customer. There are only two known – one in Stanley in Durham England and the other one in Coolamon. With luck you might be able to buy some local Coolamon cheese in one of the town shops.

The town has many interesting and some Art Deco buildings. The wooden railway station was built about 1885 and the impressive Coolamon Hotel across the road from it began around 1885 when it was only a bush shanty which was replaced by a grand building around 1900 which was renovated after a fire in 1990. The School of Arts was built in 1901 and the outstanding Commercial Banking Company of Sydney building was constructed in 1907 when designed by architect Ernest Laver of Cootamundra. In the same year Laver was the architect of the CBC Bank in nearby Temora. The old Fire Station, which is now the Information Centre, was built in 1933. The former Coolamon Cooperative Society store built in the Main Street in 1924 is now the Coolamon Cheese Company. It has a fine shop, huge café and produces in the building blue cheese, brie, cheddar, pepper cheese etc. Another building of merit is another former bank in the main street built in 1907 with classical and Art Deco features. It was probably the Bank of NSW. The old building marked as the RSL Club rooms has an interesting history. It was built, as the sign says, in 1907 as a coffee palace. The RSL was formed in 1919 and used the Coolamon Shire Hall for many years until 1947 for its meetings. It then purchased the old coffee palace as its club rooms. The Coolamon Shire Council was formed in 1906 and the foundation stone of the architect designed Shire Hall and Council Chambers was Ernest Laver of Cootamundra. The Council Chambers on Wagga Wagga Road were completed in 1914.

Coolamon. Population 1,700.
The Aboriginal word for a hollowed out or curved wooden vessel carried mainly by women is Coolamon. It is a generic Aboriginal word used across Australia. The clay landscape around the town of Coolamon is pitted with small indentations that can fill with water after rain hence the name. The first white pastoralist took up leasehold land here in 1850 as the Keandra Creek run of almost 20,000 acres. The other run nearby was Ganmain run. When the Junee to Narrandera railway was being planned the government resumed land to create a township in 1880. Modern Coolamon calls itself the “hay and chaff capital” of the Riverina. After the railway from Junee to Narrandera and Hay reached the town in 1881 the town was declared just before its arrival. A Post Office opened in 1881 and town lots were sold to the public in 1882. Any town this far west needed a railway to Sydney to make farming viable which it then had so the district became a grain growing district. But the government was slow to release land for selection. However by 1884/85 Coolamon had stores, two hotels, a school and an Anglican Church and around 200 residents and in 1887 a flour mill opened in the town. As the town progressed the Shire of Coolamon was established in 1907. One old general store which was established in 1907 was rebuilt in 1909 and is now the combined Information Centre, museum, library, café and shop. The museum has great contrast in its collections from farm machinery to 250 crochet items! Nicholas Mutton, an aptly named butcher, purchased the weatherboard general store in 1908 but he wanted a new impressive general store. He had the Up to Date Store built in red brick in 1909. The architect was William Monks of Wagga Wagga who also designed the Wagga Wagga Catholic Cathedral. Was this department store name a good marketing name and logo? The store closed in 1932 but the Mutton family owned the shop which was used for other commercial purposes until 1987. The local Council then bought it in 1996 for community uses. The store still has its ball cash delivery system when one cashier handled all cash but this was is not a pneumatic tube system, or even a wire carrier system but a ball gravitation system. That American system was patented in 1881 and works with a simple ball placed on sloping rails to roll down by gravity to the cashier, and for a rail sloping in the opposite direction to return the receipt, and any change to the customer. There are only two known – one in Stanley in Durham England and the other one in Coolamon. With luck you might be able to buy some local Coolamon cheese in one of the town shops.

The town has many interesting and some Art Deco buildings. The wooden railway station was built about 1885 and the impressive Coolamon Hotel across the road from it began around 1885 when it was only a bush shanty which was replaced by a grand building around 1900 which was renovated after a fire in 1990. The School of Arts was built in 1901 and the outstanding Commercial Banking Company of Sydney building was constructed in 1907 when designed by architect Ernest Laver of Cootamundra. In the same year Laver was the architect of the CBC Bank in nearby Temora. The old Fire Station, which is now the Information Centre, was built in 1933. The former Coolamon Cooperative Society store built in the Main Street in 1924 is now the Coolamon Cheese Company. It has a fine shop, huge café and produces in the building blue cheese, brie, cheddar, pepper cheese etc. Another building of merit is another former bank in the main street built in 1907 with classical and Art Deco features. It was probably the Bank of NSW. The old building marked as the RSL Club rooms has an interesting history. It was built, as the sign says, in 1907 as a coffee palace. The RSL was formed in 1919 and used the Coolamon Shire Hall for many years until 1947 for its meetings. It then purchased the old coffee palace as its club rooms. The Coolamon Shire Council was formed in 1906 and the foundation stone of the architect designed Shire Hall and Council Chambers was Ernest Laver of Cootamundra. The Council Chambers on Wagga Wagga Road were completed in 1914.

Coolamon. Population 1,700.
The Aboriginal word for a hollowed out or curved wooden vessel carried mainly by women is Coolamon. It is a generic Aboriginal word used across Australia. The clay landscape around the town of Coolamon is pitted with small indentations that can fill with water after rain hence the name. The first white pastoralist took up leasehold land here in 1850 as the Keandra Creek run of almost 20,000 acres. The other run nearby was Ganmain run. When the Junee to Narrandera railway was being planned the government resumed land to create a township in 1880. Modern Coolamon calls itself the “hay and chaff capital” of the Riverina. After the railway from Junee to Narrandera and Hay reached the town in 1881 the town was declared just before its arrival. A Post Office opened in 1881 and town lots were sold to the public in 1882. Any town this far west needed a railway to Sydney to make farming viable which it then had so the district became a grain growing district. But the government was slow to release land for selection. However by 1884/85 Coolamon had stores, two hotels, a school and an Anglican Church and around 200 residents and in 1887 a flour mill opened in the town. As the town progressed the Shire of Coolamon was established in 1907. One old general store which was established in 1907 was rebuilt in 1909 and is now the combined Information Centre, museum, library, café and shop. The museum has great contrast in its collections from farm machinery to 250 crochet items! Nicholas Mutton, an aptly named butcher, purchased the weatherboard general store in 1908 but he wanted a new impressive general store. He had the Up to Date Store built in red brick in 1909. The architect was William Monks of Wagga Wagga who also designed the Wagga Wagga Catholic Cathedral. Was this department store name a good marketing name and logo? The store closed in 1932 but the Mutton family owned the shop which was used for other commercial purposes until 1987. The local Council then bought it in 1996 for community uses. The store still has its ball cash delivery system when one cashier handled all cash but this was is not a pneumatic tube system, or even a wire carrier system but a ball gravitation system. That American system was patented in 1881 and works with a simple ball placed on sloping rails to roll down by gravity to the cashier, and for a rail sloping in the opposite direction to return the receipt, and any change to the customer. There are only two known – one in Stanley in Durham England and the other one in Coolamon. With luck you might be able to buy some local Coolamon cheese in one of the town shops.

The town has many interesting and some Art Deco buildings. The wooden railway station was built about 1885 and the impressive Coolamon Hotel across the road from it began around 1885 when it was only a bush shanty which was replaced by a grand building around 1900 which was renovated after a fire in 1990. The School of Arts was built in 1901 and the outstanding Commercial Banking Company of Sydney building was constructed in 1907 when designed by architect Ernest Laver of Cootamundra. In the same year Laver was the architect of the CBC Bank in nearby Temora. The old Fire Station, which is now the Information Centre, was built in 1933. The former Coolamon Cooperative Society store built in the Main Street in 1924 is now the Coolamon Cheese Company. It has a fine shop, huge café and produces in the building blue cheese, brie, cheddar, pepper cheese etc. Another building of merit is another former bank in the main street built in 1907 with classical and Art Deco features. It was probably the Bank of NSW. The old building marked as the RSL Club rooms has an interesting history. It was built, as the sign says, in 1907 as a coffee palace. The RSL was formed in 1919 and used the Coolamon Shire Hall for many years until 1947 for its meetings. It then purchased the old coffee palace as its club rooms. The Coolamon Shire Council was formed in 1906 and the foundation stone of the architect designed Shire Hall and Council Chambers was Ernest Laver of Cootamundra. The Council Chambers on Wagga Wagga Road were completed in 1914.

Leeton. Population 7,500.
Like Griffith, Leeton was a child of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area and also a town designed by the architect who laid out Canberra, Walter Burley Griffin. One of the three men behind the establishment of the MIA was Sir Samuel McCaughey who had a grand house built just outside of Leeton in Euroley Road Yanco. It is now the Yanco Agricultural High School. McCaughey had started his own private irrigation system with channel at Yanco in the early 20th century for pastoralism. He bought Yanco pastoral station (he already had several others) and at great cost built over 300 kms of water channels so that he could not irrigate but supply water to 40,000 acres. In 1906, as a Member of the Legislative Council he envisaged a big government scheme that would support of population of over 50,000 people. In 1906 the NSW government passed a bill to construct the Burrinjuck Dam. Water from that dam first became available in 1912. A narrow gauge railway was built from Narrandera to Yanco in 1907 to transport materials for the development of the MIA. The station at Yanco railway was the nearest for Leeton until 1922. By 1960 there were over 1,900 kms of water supply channel, over 1,200 kms of drainage channels. The town was named Leeton after the Minister of Public Works at that time Charles Lee. The MIA water supply is now for horticulture more than pastoralism except in the outer areas. Leeton is now the rice capital of Australia but extensive areas of citrus trees and vines are grown. McCaughey’s dream ended for him in 1919 when he died at his home in Yanco. His estate was valued at £1,600 million of which he left to charities, the Presbyterian Church, hospitals etc. and a quarter of his estate went to the University of Sydney. At one time before his death he owned around 3.25 million acres! His sandstone and brick mansion at Yanco was left to the area as a school.

The central park in Leeton is McCaughey Park. Walter Burley Griffin was a follower of the Garden City Movement, like Charles Reade the designer of Colonel Light Gardens hence the curved and circular roads, and the avoidance of rectangles and squared corners. Streets were designed to follow contours and the highest point of Leeton, opposite the Hydro Hotel has three decorative water towers named after Walter Burley Griffin. The oldest was erected in 1913, the second in 1937 and the last in 1974 to feed water by gravity to the town. The first solid building built in Leeton was the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Trust offices in 1912 which later became the Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission building in 1937 when a new Art Deco building was opened. . It is now the town museum and art gallery. This Trust employed the men who built the town and in the early years 250 homes were built each year, and the Trust workshops employed about 100 men. Because so much of the town was built during the Art Deco period with 21 buildings registered by the NSW Art Deco society which is impressive as they only list about 80 in the Sydney region. Most of the best examples of Art Deco in Leeton are mainly in: Pine and Kurrajong Avenues. Leeton has an annual Art Deco festival during July each year. Most of the earliest building in Leeton were timber framed and the beautiful Art Deco ones came along in the 1920s to 1940s.

In terms of development of the region at lot happened in 1914 as farmers were on their lands and residents were accommodated in Leeton and workers accommodated in barracks. The Leeton Progress Association was formed in 1914 as were the Yanco Agricultural and Horticultural Society, the Murrumbidgee Dairy Farmers Association (the butter rectory opened in 1913), the Murrumbidgee Farmers Union and the local newspaper, The Murrumbidgee Irrigator began publishing. Clarkes brothers General Store was in a solid shop as opposed to the 1911 tin shed. The one teacher school built in 1911 had five teachers and around 300 children by 1914. A Catholic School began in 1917 using the church as its school room until 1936. By 1914 Leeton had Methodist (replaced 1937), Baptist (replaced 1937), Anglican (the parish hall added in 1929) and Catholic churches (replaced in 1955). The current Presbyterian Church was built in 1957, replacing the 1916 timber framed one. By 1914 Leeton had only one Bank that of NSW (replaced in 1938). A second bank did not open until 1920 – the Commercial Bank of Sydney (replaced in 1957.) Leeton is a prosperous still growing town. One of the important employers in town is the Sunrise rice mill. It is the headquarters of Sunrise Australia which exports much of the rice not destined for the domestic market in Australia. In recent years Leeton has made a positive attempt to attract and befriend immigrant workers and families. Many are needed for the local abattoirs and agricultural work. There is now a sizeable Afghan community in Leeton with the highest proportion outside of Sydney. Leeton has small communities of Fijians, Pacific Islanders and East African workers. Cotton is also grown near Leeton. In terms of industry the town cannery was crucial and the major employed.

The NSW government cannery opened in Leeton in 1914 with government contracts for tinned fruit, vegetables and orange juice. The State Cannery eventually became Leeton Cooperative Cannery. It employed around 750 people throughout the year with a peak work force double that during the harvest season. In its last decades is marketed fruit etc as Letona brand. Sadly the cannery closed in 1994. Letona also sold locally grown rice as Letona Rice. The rice growing industry in Leeton began in 1924 and two sisters. Lois and Margaret Grant were among the first six pioneers of rice growing when it started. Lois Grant succeeded so well in this male industry and she was a founding member of the MIA Rice growing Cooperative Society. The cooperative marketed its rice as SunRice. It is now marketed as SunWhite Rice. Leeton is still a major rice producing region of Australia and most is produced for export. Australia including Leeton and the Riverina region leads the world in water efficient and sustainable and highly mechanised rice growing. The MIA grows much of Australia’s rice with more grown in other regions of the Riverina. About 25,000 to 65,000 hectares are used for rice growing in the MIA depending on the season and water allocations. There are between two rice mills in the Riverina with a major one near Leeton. The other major mill for SunWhite is at Deniliquin. One hectare sown in rice can produce about 12 tons of rice grain.

Some Art Deco structures to look for in Chelmsford Place and in the Main St which is Pine Ave. Starting at the top of Chelmsford Place by the Art Deco Walter Burley Griffin designed water tanks.
•The Walter Burley Griffin water towers. Oldest is 1913.
•The Hydro Hotel. Built as a coffee palace as Leeton originally teetotal site. Built in 1919 and burnt down in 1924. Rebuilt in Art Deco style 1924-26 and re-opened in 1927.The interior has many deco features.
•Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission headquarters. Erected 1937. It has many heritage items in the excellent little museum. It is also the Leeton Art Gallery. Worth a visit. It closes 3 pm.
•Leeton Town Council and Shire Offices. No Art Deco features. Built in 1962. Modernist style.
•The Art Deco Fire station with rounded corners, inset brick work etc. Includes stepped features over doorway. Built in 1938.
•At the roundabout turn left near the modern Art Deco style bus shelter. In front is the Roxy Theatre and the Art Deco memorial clock in the roundabout. The Roxy is to re-open in 2025 after renovations. Built in 1929-30. Check foyer if you can. The memorial clock was unveiled in 1926 in Art Deco style and the clock added in 1965.
•In Pine Ave. First on left is the Commonwealth Bank. This structure built in 1935.
•On the next corner intersection is Leeton Mall in brick with some Art deco features. This was the former Richards Store. A cream and red brick structure with stepped shapes on chamfered corner entrance. Building has vertical and horizontal banding. Built in 1936.
•Next left is the Hotel Leeton a much earlier structure but some Art Deco features. It was built in 1926.
•Nearly opposite is the Seton and Beyond Bank building with some great Art Deco detail with stylistic Rose and radiating rays.
•Just before the next side street adjacent to the Leeton Hotel is the Murrumbidgee Irrigator newspaper offices. Established 1915 but this Pine Ave building is marked as 1928.
•Over the next side street on opposite is the former Kinlock’s store. Built in 1938. Turn around here/
•Almost opposite it is the current Leeton Steel building. It was built in 1930s as the Leeton Fruit Growers Cooperative.
•On the way back take Church Street through to the Park. The Wade Hotel is on the corner with excellent Art Deco motifs. Architect designed and built in 1937. Named after the first head of irrigation for the MIA. As you cross Mountford Park on your left will be the modern St Peters Anglican Church. The first church was built in 1913 of locally made adobe bricks. The newer Church Hall was built in 1929. This Church was built in 1973.
•The next building on your right is the Leeton Courthouse. It was built in 1922 and opened in August 1924.
•On your left is the impressively large red brick Catholic Church. Wagga architect S J O’Halloran designed it in 1951. To facilitate the building, the Wagga Wagga diocese purchased the Yanco Brickworks in 1951 to produced 440,000 bricks for the church. The Romanesque style church is asymmetrical with a round stained glass window over the entry. It was completed in 1955 and at that time was the largest Catholic Church in country NSW. Return to the roundabout and the Roxy Theatre going past some good Art Deco buildings including the Morris Chambers.

the Anglican Church the oldest church in Narrandera built in 1879.The chancel and porch with tower were added in 1891.

Leeton. Population 7,500.
Like Griffith, Leeton was a child of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area and also a town designed by the architect who laid out Canberra, Walter Burley Griffin. One of the three men behind the establishment of the MIA was Sir Samuel McCaughey who had a grand house built just outside of Leeton in Euroley Road Yanco. It is now the Yanco Agricultural High School. McCaughey had started his own private irrigation system with channel at Yanco in the early 20th century for pastoralism. He bought Yanco pastoral station (he already had several others) and at great cost built over 300 kms of water channels so that he could not irrigate but supply water to 40,000 acres. In 1906, as a Member of the Legislative Council he envisaged a big government scheme that would support of population of over 50,000 people. In 1906 the NSW government passed a bill to construct the Burrinjuck Dam. Water from that dam first became available in 1912. A narrow gauge railway was built from Narrandera to Yanco in 1907 to transport materials for the development of the MIA. The station at Yanco railway was the nearest for Leeton until 1922. By 1960 there were over 1,900 kms of water supply channel, over 1,200 kms of drainage channels. The town was named Leeton after the Minister of Public Works at that time Charles Lee. The MIA water supply is now for horticulture more than pastoralism except in the outer areas. Leeton is now the rice capital of Australia but extensive areas of citrus trees and vines are grown. McCaughey’s dream ended for him in 1919 when he died at his home in Yanco. His estate was valued at £1,600 million of which he left to charities, the Presbyterian Church, hospitals etc. and a quarter of his estate went to the University of Sydney. At one time before his death he owned around 3.25 million acres! His sandstone and brick mansion at Yanco was left to the area as a school.

The central park in Leeton is McCaughey Park. Walter Burley Griffin was a follower of the Garden City Movement, like Charles Reade the designer of Colonel Light Gardens hence the curved and circular roads, and the avoidance of rectangles and squared corners. Streets were designed to follow contours and the highest point of Leeton, opposite the Hydro Hotel has three decorative water towers named after Walter Burley Griffin. The oldest was erected in 1913, the second in 1937 and the last in 1974 to feed water by gravity to the town. The first solid building built in Leeton was the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Trust offices in 1912 which later became the Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission building in 1937 when a new Art Deco building was opened. . It is now the town museum and art gallery. This Trust employed the men who built the town and in the early years 250 homes were built each year, and the Trust workshops employed about 100 men. Because so much of the town was built during the Art Deco period with 21 buildings registered by the NSW Art Deco society which is impressive as they only list about 80 in the Sydney region. Most of the best examples of Art Deco in Leeton are mainly in: Pine and Kurrajong Avenues. Leeton has an annual Art Deco festival during July each year. Most of the earliest building in Leeton were timber framed and the beautiful Art Deco ones came along in the 1920s to 1940s.

In terms of development of the region at lot happened in 1914 as farmers were on their lands and residents were accommodated in Leeton and workers accommodated in barracks. The Leeton Progress Association was formed in 1914 as were the Yanco Agricultural and Horticultural Society, the Murrumbidgee Dairy Farmers Association (the butter rectory opened in 1913), the Murrumbidgee Farmers Union and the local newspaper, The Murrumbidgee Irrigator began publishing. Clarkes brothers General Store was in a solid shop as opposed to the 1911 tin shed. The one teacher school built in 1911 had five teachers and around 300 children by 1914. A Catholic School began in 1917 using the church as its school room until 1936. By 1914 Leeton had Methodist (replaced 1937), Baptist (replaced 1937), Anglican (the parish hall added in 1929) and Catholic churches (replaced in 1955). The current Presbyterian Church was built in 1957, replacing the 1916 timber framed one. By 1914 Leeton had only one Bank that of NSW (replaced in 1938). A second bank did not open until 1920 – the Commercial Bank of Sydney (replaced in 1957.) Leeton is a prosperous still growing town. One of the important employers in town is the Sunrise rice mill. It is the headquarters of Sunrise Australia which exports much of the rice not destined for the domestic market in Australia. In recent years Leeton has made a positive attempt to attract and befriend immigrant workers and families. Many are needed for the local abattoirs and agricultural work. There is now a sizeable Afghan community in Leeton with the highest proportion outside of Sydney. Leeton has small communities of Fijians, Pacific Islanders and East African workers. Cotton is also grown near Leeton. In terms of industry the town cannery was crucial and the major employed.

The NSW government cannery opened in Leeton in 1914 with government contracts for tinned fruit, vegetables and orange juice. The State Cannery eventually became Leeton Cooperative Cannery. It employed around 750 people throughout the year with a peak work force double that during the harvest season. In its last decades is marketed fruit etc as Letona brand. Sadly the cannery closed in 1994. Letona also sold locally grown rice as Letona Rice. The rice growing industry in Leeton began in 1924 and two sisters. Lois and Margaret Grant were among the first six pioneers of rice growing when it started. Lois Grant succeeded so well in this male industry and she was a founding member of the MIA Rice growing Cooperative Society. The cooperative marketed its rice as SunRice. It is now marketed as SunWhite Rice. Leeton is still a major rice producing region of Australia and most is produced for export. Australia including Leeton and the Riverina region leads the world in water efficient and sustainable and highly mechanised rice growing. The MIA grows much of Australia’s rice with more grown in other regions of the Riverina. About 25,000 to 65,000 hectares are used for rice growing in the MIA depending on the season and water allocations. There are between two rice mills in the Riverina with a major one near Leeton. The other major mill for SunWhite is at Deniliquin. One hectare sown in rice can produce about 12 tons of rice grain.

Some Art Deco structures to look for in Chelmsford Place and in the Main St which is Pine Ave. Starting at the top of Chelmsford Place by the Art Deco Walter Burley Griffin designed water tanks.
•The Walter Burley Griffin water towers. Oldest is 1913.
•The Hydro Hotel. Built as a coffee palace as Leeton originally teetotal site. Built in 1919 and burnt down in 1924. Rebuilt in Art Deco style 1924-26 and re-opened in 1927.The interior has many deco features.
•Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission headquarters. Erected 1937. It has many heritage items in the excellent little museum. It is also the Leeton Art Gallery. Worth a visit. It closes 3 pm.
•Leeton Town Council and Shire Offices. No Art Deco features. Built in 1962. Modernist style.
•The Art Deco Fire station with rounded corners, inset brick work etc. Includes stepped features over doorway. Built in 1938.
•At the roundabout turn left near the modern Art Deco style bus shelter. In front is the Roxy Theatre and the Art Deco memorial clock in the roundabout. The Roxy is to re-open in 2025 after renovations. Built in 1929-30. Check foyer if you can. The memorial clock was unveiled in 1926 in Art Deco style and the clock added in 1965.
•In Pine Ave. First on left is the Commonwealth Bank. This structure built in 1935.
•On the next corner intersection is Leeton Mall in brick with some Art deco features. This was the former Richards Store. A cream and red brick structure with stepped shapes on chamfered corner entrance. Building has vertical and horizontal banding. Built in 1936.
•Next left is the Hotel Leeton a much earlier structure but some Art Deco features. It was built in 1926.
•Nearly opposite is the Seton and Beyond Bank building with some great Art Deco detail with stylistic Rose and radiating rays.
•Just before the next side street adjacent to the Leeton Hotel is the Murrumbidgee Irrigator newspaper offices. Established 1915 but this Pine Ave building is marked as 1928.
•Over the next side street on opposite is the former Kinlock’s store. Built in 1938. Turn around here/
•Almost opposite it is the current Leeton Steel building. It was built in 1930s as the Leeton Fruit Growers Cooperative.
•On the way back take Church Street through to the Park. The Wade Hotel is on the corner with excellent Art Deco motifs. Architect designed and built in 1937. Named after the first head of irrigation for the MIA. As you cross Mountford Park on your left will be the modern St Peters Anglican Church. The first church was built in 1913 of locally made adobe bricks. The newer Church Hall was built in 1929. This Church was built in 1973.
•The next building on your right is the Leeton Courthouse. It was built in 1922 and opened in August 1924.
•On your left is the impressively large red brick Catholic Church. Wagga architect S J O’Halloran designed it in 1951. To facilitate the building, the Wagga Wagga diocese purchased the Yanco Brickworks in 1951 to produced 440,000 bricks for the church. The Romanesque style church is asymmetrical with a round stained glass window over the entry. It was completed in 1955 and at that time was the largest Catholic Church in country NSW. Return to the roundabout and the Roxy Theatre going past some good Art Deco buildings including the Morris Chambers.

Leeton. Population 7,500.
Like Griffith, Leeton was a child of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area and also a town designed by the architect who laid out Canberra, Walter Burley Griffin. One of the three men behind the establishment of the MIA was Sir Samuel McCaughey who had a grand house built just outside of Leeton in Euroley Road Yanco. It is now the Yanco Agricultural High School. McCaughey had started his own private irrigation system with channel at Yanco in the early 20th century for pastoralism. He bought Yanco pastoral station (he already had several others) and at great cost built over 300 kms of water channels so that he could not irrigate but supply water to 40,000 acres. In 1906, as a Member of the Legislative Council he envisaged a big government scheme that would support of population of over 50,000 people. In 1906 the NSW government passed a bill to construct the Burrinjuck Dam. Water from that dam first became available in 1912. A narrow gauge railway was built from Narrandera to Yanco in 1907 to transport materials for the development of the MIA. The station at Yanco railway was the nearest for Leeton until 1922. By 1960 there were over 1,900 kms of water supply channel, over 1,200 kms of drainage channels. The town was named Leeton after the Minister of Public Works at that time Charles Lee. The MIA water supply is now for horticulture more than pastoralism except in the outer areas. Leeton is now the rice capital of Australia but extensive areas of citrus trees and vines are grown. McCaughey’s dream ended for him in 1919 when he died at his home in Yanco. His estate was valued at £1,600 million of which he left to charities, the Presbyterian Church, hospitals etc. and a quarter of his estate went to the University of Sydney. At one time before his death he owned around 3.25 million acres! His sandstone and brick mansion at Yanco was left to the area as a school.

The central park in Leeton is McCaughey Park. Walter Burley Griffin was a follower of the Garden City Movement, like Charles Reade the designer of Colonel Light Gardens hence the curved and circular roads, and the avoidance of rectangles and squared corners. Streets were designed to follow contours and the highest point of Leeton, opposite the Hydro Hotel has three decorative water towers named after Walter Burley Griffin. The oldest was erected in 1913, the second in 1937 and the last in 1974 to feed water by gravity to the town. The first solid building built in Leeton was the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Trust offices in 1912 which later became the Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission building in 1937 when a new Art Deco building was opened. . It is now the town museum and art gallery. This Trust employed the men who built the town and in the early years 250 homes were built each year, and the Trust workshops employed about 100 men. Because so much of the town was built during the Art Deco period with 21 buildings registered by the NSW Art Deco society which is impressive as they only list about 80 in the Sydney region. Most of the best examples of Art Deco in Leeton are mainly in: Pine and Kurrajong Avenues. Leeton has an annual Art Deco festival during July each year. Most of the earliest building in Leeton were timber framed and the beautiful Art Deco ones came along in the 1920s to 1940s.

In terms of development of the region at lot happened in 1914 as farmers were on their lands and residents were accommodated in Leeton and workers accommodated in barracks. The Leeton Progress Association was formed in 1914 as were the Yanco Agricultural and Horticultural Society, the Murrumbidgee Dairy Farmers Association (the butter rectory opened in 1913), the Murrumbidgee Farmers Union and the local newspaper, The Murrumbidgee Irrigator began publishing. Clarkes brothers General Store was in a solid shop as opposed to the 1911 tin shed. The one teacher school built in 1911 had five teachers and around 300 children by 1914. A Catholic School began in 1917 using the church as its school room until 1936. By 1914 Leeton had Methodist (replaced 1937), Baptist (replaced 1937), Anglican (the parish hall added in 1929) and Catholic churches (replaced in 1955). The current Presbyterian Church was built in 1957, replacing the 1916 timber framed one. By 1914 Leeton had only one Bank that of NSW (replaced in 1938). A second bank did not open until 1920 – the Commercial Bank of Sydney (replaced in 1957.) Leeton is a prosperous still growing town. One of the important employers in town is the Sunrise rice mill. It is the headquarters of Sunrise Australia which exports much of the rice not destined for the domestic market in Australia. In recent years Leeton has made a positive attempt to attract and befriend immigrant workers and families. Many are needed for the local abattoirs and agricultural work. There is now a sizeable Afghan community in Leeton with the highest proportion outside of Sydney. Leeton has small communities of Fijians, Pacific Islanders and East African workers. Cotton is also grown near Leeton. In terms of industry the town cannery was crucial and the major employed.

The NSW government cannery opened in Leeton in 1914 with government contracts for tinned fruit, vegetables and orange juice. The State Cannery eventually became Leeton Cooperative Cannery. It employed around 750 people throughout the year with a peak work force double that during the harvest season. In its last decades is marketed fruit etc as Letona brand. Sadly the cannery closed in 1994. Letona also sold locally grown rice as Letona Rice. The rice growing industry in Leeton began in 1924 and two sisters. Lois and Margaret Grant were among the first six pioneers of rice growing when it started. Lois Grant succeeded so well in this male industry and she was a founding member of the MIA Rice growing Cooperative Society. The cooperative marketed its rice as SunRice. It is now marketed as SunWhite Rice. Leeton is still a major rice producing region of Australia and most is produced for export. Australia including Leeton and the Riverina region leads the world in water efficient and sustainable and highly mechanised rice growing. The MIA grows much of Australia’s rice with more grown in other regions of the Riverina. About 25,000 to 65,000 hectares are used for rice growing in the MIA depending on the season and water allocations. There are between two rice mills in the Riverina with a major one near Leeton. The other major mill for SunWhite is at Deniliquin. One hectare sown in rice can produce about 12 tons of rice grain.

Some Art Deco structures to look for in Chelmsford Place and in the Main St which is Pine Ave. Starting at the top of Chelmsford Place by the Art Deco Walter Burley Griffin designed water tanks.
•The Walter Burley Griffin water towers. Oldest is 1913.
•The Hydro Hotel. Built as a coffee palace as Leeton originally teetotal site. Built in 1919 and burnt down in 1924. Rebuilt in Art Deco style 1924-26 and re-opened in 1927.The interior has many deco features.
•Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission headquarters. Erected 1937. It has many heritage items in the excellent little museum. It is also the Leeton Art Gallery. Worth a visit. It closes 3 pm.
•Leeton Town Council and Shire Offices. No Art Deco features. Built in 1962. Modernist style.
•The Art Deco Fire station with rounded corners, inset brick work etc. Includes stepped features over doorway. Built in 1938.
•At the roundabout turn left near the modern Art Deco style bus shelter. In front is the Roxy Theatre and the Art Deco memorial clock in the roundabout. The Roxy is to re-open in 2025 after renovations. Built in 1929-30. Check foyer if you can. The memorial clock was unveiled in 1926 in Art Deco style and the clock added in 1965.
•In Pine Ave. First on left is the Commonwealth Bank. This structure built in 1935.
•On the next corner intersection is Leeton Mall in brick with some Art deco features. This was the former Richards Store. A cream and red brick structure with stepped shapes on chamfered corner entrance. Building has vertical and horizontal banding. Built in 1936.
•Next left is the Hotel Leeton a much earlier structure but some Art Deco features. It was built in 1926.
•Nearly opposite is the Seton and Beyond Bank building with some great Art Deco detail with stylistic Rose and radiating rays.
•Just before the next side street adjacent to the Leeton Hotel is the Murrumbidgee Irrigator newspaper offices. Established 1915 but this Pine Ave building is marked as 1928.
•Over the next side street on opposite is the former Kinlock’s store. Built in 1938. Turn around here/
•Almost opposite it is the current Leeton Steel building. It was built in 1930s as the Leeton Fruit Growers Cooperative.
•On the way back take Church Street through to the Park. The Wade Hotel is on the corner with excellent Art Deco motifs. Architect designed and built in 1937. Named after the first head of irrigation for the MIA. As you cross Mountford Park on your left will be the modern St Peters Anglican Church. The first church was built in 1913 of locally made adobe bricks. The newer Church Hall was built in 1929. This Church was built in 1973.
•The next building on your right is the Leeton Courthouse. It was built in 1922 and opened in August 1924.
•On your left is the impressively large red brick Catholic Church. Wagga architect S J O’Halloran designed it in 1951. To facilitate the building, the Wagga Wagga diocese purchased the Yanco Brickworks in 1951 to produced 440,000 bricks for the church. The Romanesque style church is asymmetrical with a round stained glass window over the entry. It was completed in 1955 and at that time was the largest Catholic Church in country NSW. Return to the roundabout and the Roxy Theatre going past some good Art Deco buildings including the Morris Chambers.

Leeton. Population 7,500.
Like Griffith, Leeton was a child of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area and also a town designed by the architect who laid out Canberra, Walter Burley Griffin. One of the three men behind the establishment of the MIA was Sir Samuel McCaughey who had a grand house built just outside of Leeton in Euroley Road Yanco. It is now the Yanco Agricultural High School. McCaughey had started his own private irrigation system with channel at Yanco in the early 20th century for pastoralism. He bought Yanco pastoral station (he already had several others) and at great cost built over 300 kms of water channels so that he could not irrigate but supply water to 40,000 acres. In 1906, as a Member of the Legislative Council he envisaged a big government scheme that would support of population of over 50,000 people. In 1906 the NSW government passed a bill to construct the Burrinjuck Dam. Water from that dam first became available in 1912. A narrow gauge railway was built from Narrandera to Yanco in 1907 to transport materials for the development of the MIA. The station at Yanco railway was the nearest for Leeton until 1922. By 1960 there were over 1,900 kms of water supply channel, over 1,200 kms of drainage channels. The town was named Leeton after the Minister of Public Works at that time Charles Lee. The MIA water supply is now for horticulture more than pastoralism except in the outer areas. Leeton is now the rice capital of Australia but extensive areas of citrus trees and vines are grown. McCaughey’s dream ended for him in 1919 when he died at his home in Yanco. His estate was valued at £1,600 million of which he left to charities, the Presbyterian Church, hospitals etc. and a quarter of his estate went to the University of Sydney. At one time before his death he owned around 3.25 million acres! His sandstone and brick mansion at Yanco was left to the area as a school.

The central park in Leeton is McCaughey Park. Walter Burley Griffin was a follower of the Garden City Movement, like Charles Reade the designer of Colonel Light Gardens hence the curved and circular roads, and the avoidance of rectangles and squared corners. Streets were designed to follow contours and the highest point of Leeton, opposite the Hydro Hotel has three decorative water towers named after Walter Burley Griffin. The oldest was erected in 1913, the second in 1937 and the last in 1974 to feed water by gravity to the town. The first solid building built in Leeton was the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Trust offices in 1912 which later became the Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission building in 1937 when a new Art Deco building was opened. . It is now the town museum and art gallery. This Trust employed the men who built the town and in the early years 250 homes were built each year, and the Trust workshops employed about 100 men. Because so much of the town was built during the Art Deco period with 21 buildings registered by the NSW Art Deco society which is impressive as they only list about 80 in the Sydney region. Most of the best examples of Art Deco in Leeton are mainly in: Pine and Kurrajong Avenues. Leeton has an annual Art Deco festival during July each year. Most of the earliest building in Leeton were timber framed and the beautiful Art Deco ones came along in the 1920s to 1940s.

In terms of development of the region at lot happened in 1914 as farmers were on their lands and residents were accommodated in Leeton and workers accommodated in barracks. The Leeton Progress Association was formed in 1914 as were the Yanco Agricultural and Horticultural Society, the Murrumbidgee Dairy Farmers Association (the butter rectory opened in 1913), the Murrumbidgee Farmers Union and the local newspaper, The Murrumbidgee Irrigator began publishing. Clarkes brothers General Store was in a solid shop as opposed to the 1911 tin shed. The one teacher school built in 1911 had five teachers and around 300 children by 1914. A Catholic School began in 1917 using the church as its school room until 1936. By 1914 Leeton had Methodist (replaced 1937), Baptist (replaced 1937), Anglican (the parish hall added in 1929) and Catholic churches (replaced in 1955). The current Presbyterian Church was built in 1957, replacing the 1916 timber framed one. By 1914 Leeton had only one Bank that of NSW (replaced in 1938). A second bank did not open until 1920 – the Commercial Bank of Sydney (replaced in 1957.) Leeton is a prosperous still growing town. One of the important employers in town is the Sunrise rice mill. It is the headquarters of Sunrise Australia which exports much of the rice not destined for the domestic market in Australia. In recent years Leeton has made a positive attempt to attract and befriend immigrant workers and families. Many are needed for the local abattoirs and agricultural work. There is now a sizeable Afghan community in Leeton with the highest proportion outside of Sydney. Leeton has small communities of Fijians, Pacific Islanders and East African workers. Cotton is also grown near Leeton. In terms of industry the town cannery was crucial and the major employed.

The NSW government cannery opened in Leeton in 1914 with government contracts for tinned fruit, vegetables and orange juice. The State Cannery eventually became Leeton Cooperative Cannery. It employed around 750 people throughout the year with a peak work force double that during the harvest season. In its last decades is marketed fruit etc as Letona brand. Sadly the cannery closed in 1994. Letona also sold locally grown rice as Letona Rice. The rice growing industry in Leeton began in 1924 and two sisters. Lois and Margaret Grant were among the first six pioneers of rice growing when it started. Lois Grant succeeded so well in this male industry and she was a founding member of the MIA Rice growing Cooperative Society. The cooperative marketed its rice as SunRice. It is now marketed as SunWhite Rice. Leeton is still a major rice producing region of Australia and most is produced for export. Australia including Leeton and the Riverina region leads the world in water efficient and sustainable and highly mechanised rice growing. The MIA grows much of Australia’s rice with more grown in other regions of the Riverina. About 25,000 to 65,000 hectares are used for rice growing in the MIA depending on the season and water allocations. There are between two rice mills in the Riverina with a major one near Leeton. The other major mill for SunWhite is at Deniliquin. One hectare sown in rice can produce about 12 tons of rice grain.

Some Art Deco structures to look for in Chelmsford Place and in the Main St which is Pine Ave. Starting at the top of Chelmsford Place by the Art Deco Walter Burley Griffin designed water tanks.
•The Walter Burley Griffin water towers. Oldest is 1913.
•The Hydro Hotel. Built as a coffee palace as Leeton originally teetotal site. Built in 1919 and burnt down in 1924. Rebuilt in Art Deco style 1924-26 and re-opened in 1927.The interior has many deco features.
•Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission headquarters. Erected 1937. It has many heritage items in the excellent little museum. It is also the Leeton Art Gallery. Worth a visit. It closes 3 pm.
•Leeton Town Council and Shire Offices. No Art Deco features. Built in 1962. Modernist style.
•The Art Deco Fire station with rounded corners, inset brick work etc. Includes stepped features over doorway. Built in 1938.
•At the roundabout turn left near the modern Art Deco style bus shelter. In front is the Roxy Theatre and the Art Deco memorial clock in the roundabout. The Roxy is to re-open in 2025 after renovations. Built in 1929-30. Check foyer if you can. The memorial clock was unveiled in 1926 in Art Deco style and the clock added in 1965.
•In Pine Ave. First on left is the Commonwealth Bank. This structure built in 1935.
•On the next corner intersection is Leeton Mall in brick with some Art deco features. This was the former Richards Store. A cream and red brick structure with stepped shapes on chamfered corner entrance. Building has vertical and horizontal banding. Built in 1936.
•Next left is the Hotel Leeton a much earlier structure but some Art Deco features. It was built in 1926.
•Nearly opposite is the Seton and Beyond Bank building with some great Art Deco detail with stylistic Rose and radiating rays.
•Just before the next side street adjacent to the Leeton Hotel is the Murrumbidgee Irrigator newspaper offices. Established 1915 but this Pine Ave building is marked as 1928.
•Over the next side street on opposite is the former Kinlock’s store. Built in 1938. Turn around here/
•Almost opposite it is the current Leeton Steel building. It was built in 1930s as the Leeton Fruit Growers Cooperative.
•On the way back take Church Street through to the Park. The Wade Hotel is on the corner with excellent Art Deco motifs. Architect designed and built in 1937. Named after the first head of irrigation for the MIA. As you cross Mountford Park on your left will be the modern St Peters Anglican Church. The first church was built in 1913 of locally made adobe bricks. The newer Church Hall was built in 1929. This Church was built in 1973.
•The next building on your right is the Leeton Courthouse. It was built in 1922 and opened in August 1924.
•On your left is the impressively large red brick Catholic Church. Wagga architect S J O’Halloran designed it in 1951. To facilitate the building, the Wagga Wagga diocese purchased the Yanco Brickworks in 1951 to produced 440,000 bricks for the church. The Romanesque style church is asymmetrical with a round stained glass window over the entry. It was completed in 1955 and at that time was the largest Catholic Church in country NSW. Return to the roundabout and the Roxy Theatre going past some good Art Deco buildings including the Morris Chambers.