Councillors from Griffith City Council in New South Wales recently visited Greater Shepparton City Council in central Victoria. Shepparton Mayor, Anne McCamish, said the visit reciprocated her Council’s trip to Griffith last year.
“One of the most striking things is the similarity between our two communities,” she said. “Shepparton and Griffith have many things in common, such as our reliance on irrigated agriculture and our increasing cultural diversity.”
Shepparton is the geographic centre of Victoria and a major food producer: home to SPC/Ardmona, Unifoods, Bonlac, Rosella and two major dairy companies. With a population of 60,000 and an area of 2,400 square kilometres, it is situated at the junction of the Goulburn and Broken Rivers and has all the facilities of a major regional city within a rural setting.
Griffith has 24,000 residents living on 1,600 square kilometres of prime agricultural land, which produces 90 per cent of Australia’s rice and 60 per cent of its citrus fruit.
Councillor McCamish said Greater Shepparton is one of Victoria’s fastest growing regional centres, while Griffith is recognised as Australia’s fastest growing inland centre.
“The way in which regions meet the future demands of such growth is of vital importance to our two Councils. We welcomed the opportunity to return the hospitality and show the Griffith Councillors some of the many highlights of Greater Shepparton.”
