Click on map to enlarge.  Each town has a hyperlink to a relevant Internet site.

Location

Leeton is a town in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area of the Riverina region of south western New South Wales. Leeton is located 12 kilometres north of the Murrumbidgee River, 100 kilometres north west of Wagga Wagga, 560 kilometres south west of Sydney, 450 kilometres north east of Melbourne and 350 kilometres west of Canberra. Leeton's latitude is 34 34' South, longitude 146 24'East and has an altitude of 140 metres above sea level. Leeton's total area comprises 1131.65 kilometres²

History of the Riverina region

The Riverina area's traditional owners are the Wiradjuri, Nari-Nari, Mudi-Mudi, Gurendji and the Yida-Yida, while the Bangerang, Yorta-Yorta, Baraba-Baraba, Wamba-Wamba, Wadi-Wadi and Dadi-Dadi communities are found along the Murray River

To learn more about the Aboriginal History of the Riverina area visit:

NSW National Parks and Wildlife
Adelaide Botanic gardens

The Riverina area's European history dates back to the early 1817, when John Oxley followed the Lachlan river. Charles Sturt followed the Murrumbidgee and lower Murray Rivers between 1828 and 1831 but i t was not until 1836 that the area was surveyed by Major Thomas Mitchell.

Soon after the completion of this survey, pastoralists moved into the region and established cattle and sheep stations. This farming required little in the form of irrigation. In 1858 the Murray river boat trade began linking towns and settlers along its path.

Sir Samuel McCaughey's irrigation experiment at North Yanco

An Irish immigrant, Sir Samuel McCaughey, demonstrated on his “North Yanko Estate” , near where Leeton now is, that irrigation was possible in this relatively arid area of the state. He successfully constructed 100 kilometres of channels and irrigated 400 hectares of land by gravity. The controlled flow of water made European-style towns possible to develop. The irrigation also made fruit and grain farms possible instead of just sheep and cattle farms.

Sir McCaughey subsequently convinced the NSW state government that the area would be suitable for irrigation. In 1906 engineers began constructing the giant irrigation scheme, at the time the largest capital works program in the world. Many men used horses and machinery to create a large network of canals throughout the area. This enabled water to be diverted from the Murrumbidgee River to the recently developed dry, flat land where the farmers could utilise it to make their farms productive. On 13th July 1912, ahead of schedule, the "Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area" was officially opened.

were made available on 3rd April 1913.

A butter factory, fruit cannery and abattoir were established and additional farms were made available under the Soldiers’ Settlement Plan. This Plan was a ballot for those soldiers who fought for Australia in World War I. A soldier would put his name in a hat, and at a public meeting a government representative would draw a number of names out. Those whose names were drawn out had the option of choosing a piece of land made available by the state government for the purpose of farming. Each soldier-settler was given £2500 ($AUD6250) for a very small house for their family, £500 ($AUD 1250) for a machinery shed, and £2500 ($AUD6250) for fencing so that he could begin farming operations. This money had to be returned to the government at 2 1/2 % interest per annum. The soldier also was given £8 ($AUD20) per week for the first twelve months to live on. This money was not required to be returned to the government. Some returned soldiers were lucky under the Soldiers’ Settlement Plan and obtained land, others were unlucky and missed out.

Progress of the Leeton area under the governance of the Willimbong (later Leeton) Shire Council continued steadily as irrigation farming stabilised after World War II.

In the 1950s, the expansion of the Letona fruit cannery and the establishment of the Ricegrowers Cooperative Limited were important events for Leeton. Today Leeton is very much involved in the rice, grain and beef industries. The township employs many people in the production of rice, horticulture and agrifoods.

Leeton today

Population

As of the Census of 2001, Leeton's population was 11469 with a median age of 33 years. Leeton's population increased by 4% since the 1996 Census and 6% since the 1991 Census. In 2004 the population is said to be approximately 12054 with a population growth rate of 3.2% since 2001. Leeton's population comes from diverse backgrounds including 3% indigenous, 2.4% Italian, 1.6% from the United Kingdom and 0.8% from New Zealand.

Economy

Leeton is very much involved in rice, grain and beef industries. Many people are employed in the production of rice, horticulture and agrifood. The Census 2001 statistics indicated that 4930 people were working full-time in the Leeton area and 1365 people were employed in a part time capacity.

Further statistics about the Leeton area

Number of households 3576
Number of farms 746
Number of businesses 493
Number of primary schools 7
Number of high schools 3 (incorporating 2 boarding schools)

For further detailed information about Leeton, visit the Australian Bureau of Statistics site (link below).

Sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics and Geographical Names Board

Further Internet resources:

Leeton
NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service map (pdf)
NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service bioregions
The Wiradjuri people
Rural Society the journal of research into rural and regional social issues
The Riverina at the ABC
Olives to eucalypts - Italians in the MIA at the ABC
About Griffith