Leeton, New South Wales
From Freepedia
Leeton is a booming farming town and Local Government Area in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Leeton is situated approximately 550 km west of Sydney in the productive Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area. Leeton is administered by Leeton Shire Council. Leeton's current population is 12,041 and it continues to grow at a rate faster than that of other towns in New South Wales. Leeton is situated in one of the most productive farming regions in the state, with citrus, rice, grapes and wheat farms found throughout the Leeton Shire. Leeton is Australia's Rice Capital as it is home to the SunRice headquarters. Other industry includes the Vetta Pasta Company, Berri Juices, Rockdale Beef and Murrumbidgee Irrigation.
Leeton holds a number of town landmarks, including the famous Roxy Theatre in the centre of town. Leeton's areas are also based around large towers that store the towns water. They form the circular design of the roads, carrying on from Walter Burley Griffin's first design. They also provide a striking feature for each section of town.
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Education
Leeton is an important educational centre for the region. Leeton has three secondary schools incuding Leeton High School, St Francis De Sales Regional College and Yanco Agricultural High School. The shire has seven primary schools and a special support school. The town also has a campus of TAFE NSW and the Murrumbidgee College of Agriculture that holds short courses.
A startling statistic about education in Leeton is that there is approximately 100 more secondary students in Leeton than there is in Griffith, yet Griffith is double the size of Leeton. This displays how important Leeton is as an educational centre.
Transport
Leeton is very well connected to the surrounding regional centres and capital cities. Leeton is approximately 450 km from Melbourne along the Newell Highway, Goulburn Valley Highway and Hume Highway and 550 km from Sydney along the Sturt and Hume Highways. There are daily flights leaving Narrandera Airport, operated by Regional Express (REX). The airport is located near the shire boundary appromately 20 km from the CBD. There are coach services to Sydney and Adelaide, leaving Leeton Coach Terminal in Gidgee Street daily. CountryLink also offers coach services to Wagga Wagga to link the Sydney–Melbourne XPT daily. The Griffith Xplorer train to and from Sydney arrives at Leeton Railway Station on Saturdays and Sundays.
Future for Leeton
Leeton is continuing to grow so more needs to be done to provide for the growing population. Industry is continuing to grow with industrial areas expanded and existing industrial businesses undergoing extensions. These provide more jobs for the people of Leeton. Leeton's housing development is continuing with various new housing estates being built on the town's boundaries. These housing estates include Karri Estate and Golf Links Estate. These have hundreds of new house blocks for people to purchase. These blocks are well equipped with all modern amenities. Leeton's retail sector is also growing with the construction of a new shopping centre at the town's former MID site. This is known as Leeton Market Plaza, and it is expected to open by 2006.
Leeton is very community based, and many new community projects occur. Recent projects include the establishment of sections of the new town bike track network, regional skate park, indoor recreation centre and the federation stage in Mountford Park.
Local government
Leeton Shire Council
Postal Address:
23-25 Chelmsford Place
Leeton
NSW 2705
Phone: (02) 6953 2611
Fax: (02) 6953 3337
Area: 1167 km²
Population: 12,041
Mayor: Clr Paul Maytom
General Manager: Mr Ray Pluis
Email: council@leeton.nsw.gov.au
Web Address: http://www.leeton.nsw.gov.au
