Leeton, New South Wales

Leeton is a town in the Riverina region of southern New South Wales, Australia. It is about 550 km West of Sydney and 450 km North of Melbourne in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, Leeton town population in 2016 was 6,931. Leeton is in one of the most productive farming regions in the state, the town was designed by Walter Burley Griffin and purpose-built for the irrigation schemes announced by the New South Wales government in the early 1900s. Citrus, rice, cotton, grapes, walnuts and wheat farms can all be found throughout the Leeton Shire. Leeton is called  Australia's Rice Capital and as The Heart of SunRice Country, as it is home to the SunRice headquarters. Other industry includes the Arnott’s Group (previously Freedom Foods), the Daily Drinks Co., JBS Australia, Webster Limited (walnuts and cotton) and Murrumbidgee Irrigation Limited.

History
Prior to European settlement, the area was inhabited by the Wiradjuri people. The town is named after Charles Alfred Lee, a Government Minister for Public Works in New South Wales from 1904 to 1910.

Historic Hydro Motor Inn
The Hydro Hotel was constructed in 1919.  It was built so that the Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission managers had somewhere to stay when in Leeton. It was only licensed to sell alcohol in 1924, after the alcohol prohibition in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area was stopped.

Roxy Theatre
The Roxy Community Theatre was built in 1929 and opened in April 1930.


 Climate 
Leeton has hot dry summers and cool winters.

 Transport 
Leeton has passenger trains to and from Sydney.

Notable citizens
Australian poet and writer Henry Lawson lived in Leeton for two years, from 1916 to 1917. Lawson was hired to write about the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area to attract people to move to the area.

References

Other websites
Leeton Shire Council – council website
Leeton Visitors Information Centre

Category:Towns in New South Wales