"Plant a six-inch nail in this soil, water it and in a year you will have a crowbar," said winemaker JJ McWilliam when he landed in the Griffith area in 1913 with a bullock cart of vine cuttings. McWilliam was part of a trickle of farmers and visionaries settling the once arid plains, confident that the giant Murrumbidgee Irrigation Scheme would transform the area into fertile lands.
Today, you can hardly stem the flow of growers, producers, restaurateurs, winemakers and foodie entrepreneurs who have flocked to Griffith, making it one of Australia's fastest-growing cities and the gateway to the vast agricultural hub known as the Riverina.
This is the place to come if you're serious about your food and wine, and if you like your country holiday tinged with a dash of cosmopolitan vibrancy. The Riverina produces a staggering two thirds of the State's wine, and you'll find about a dozen vineyards scattered around the Griffith area.
Pop into the Griffith Visitors Centre for a map of local vineyards and head out on a self-guided winery tour. You'll come across familiar names like De Bortoli, Miranda Wines and, of course, the one that started it all, McWilliam's. Some are in the town itself, like newcomer Terra Nova Estate with its excellent French restaurant Michelin, while others are scattered throughout the surrounding countryside.
Griffith's large community of Italian descendants has a lot to do with this city's preoccupation with food and wine. Along tree-lined Banna Street, the main stretch and leafy centrepiece of this Walter Burley Griffin-designed city, you'll find dozens of Italian restaurants, pizzerias, cafes and bakeries.
Try Bertoldo's Bakery for some of the best bread and pastries around, Vita's for hearty pasta dishes, and the refined atmosphere of La Scala.
If you just feel like grazing and want a gourmet snapshot of the Riverina's very best produce, visit Riverina Grove, a short drive from the city centre. Here you can sample delicacies like organic licorice, salami and sun-dried tomatoes. Stock up, drop by a winery for your favourite drop and you've got all you need for a picnic at Lake Wyangan, a popular spot with boating and watersports enthusiasts.
To see this city at its cosmopolitan best, try to time your visit to coincide with the five-day Festival of Griffith, incorporating winery tours, performing and visual arts, sporting and food events. Held every second easter (the next one is 2003), it's a showcase of Griffith's multicultural talents.
But don't let all this focus on Griffith's bountiful food, wine and culture distract you from the intriguing history of the Riverina area, much of which is captured in the Pioneer Park Museum, two kilometres out of town atop Scenic Hill. Set on 18 ha of bushland, it's the largest museum west of the Blue Mountains.
You'll need the better part of a day to take in its many old and replicated buildings from the Riverina area and large collections of horse-drawn vehicles, steam-powered machines and antiquated working engines.
Scenic Hill also offers fantastic district and city views. The patchwork quilt of paddocks, vineyards and orchards you see today from lookouts such as Sir Dudley de Chair's and Rotary Lookout is a stark contrast to the "howling wilderness" described by explorer John Oxley in 1817.
Before you leave Sir Dudley de Chair's Lookout, scramble down to take a quick peek at Hermit's Cave, built earlier this century by an Italian migrant named Valerio Recitti. To get the full story of this eccentric character, pick up a copy of his biography from the visitors centre, and you'll fully appreciate the imagination that created this network of stone galleries and pathways, cliff-side gardens and floral painted rock walls.
Further afield, you can visit the original home of the 'Black Stump' of Australian folklore - Merriwagga, a little town about 70 km north-west of Griffith. Legend has it that the wife of a local bullocky was burnt to death while cooking a meal around a campfire oven, prompting her husband to observe on his return, "When I returned my wife was dead; she looked just like a black stump". Her remains are buried in the Old Gunbar Cemetery.
You could easily spend two or three days exploring the district's many interesting towns and attractions. Venture south and you'll pass through the massive rice farms around Leeton, where you can pop in to its popular SunRice Centre for a cooking demonstration and an overview of how this boom industry developed. Or stretch your legs along one of the network of walking trails at Cocoparra National Park, a short drive north of the city.
Alternatively, just settle in for some laid-back hedonism in Australia's regional food and wine capital.
Turn off the Sturt Highway to the north and drive through the vineyards. There are lots of wineries to stop off at along the way and it paints a much more scenic picture then a drive along the highway.
Jessica, Brighton.
Take a glider flight from Leeton or a scenic flight from Griffith airport first, this will give you a kaleidoscopic overview of the whole irrigation area, taking in the green vineyards, orange groves, multicoloured vegetable plots, processing plants, apricot, plum, apple prune and peach trees, wineries, rice and wheat paddies, and Burley Griffin design of the city. Then you can hire a bike, bus or car to meet the relaxed and friendly community whilst enjoying homemade antipasto, wine, and pastries under a clear blue sky, bright starry night or by walking amongst the native flora and fauna of the nearby Cocoparra National Park.
Anne, Yenda.
4WD
