Leeton Shire Council is proud to be participating in the national commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the birth of influential architect and town planner Walter Burley Griffin.
The Walter Burley Griffin Society is coordinating a series of major initiatives throughout Griffin's sesquicentennial year, running from 24 November 2025 to 24 November 2026, to recognise his significant contribution to Australian planning, architecture and landscape design.
One of these initiatives invites local councils and community groups to work together to plant 150 trees at significant Griffin-related sites across New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland where projects by Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin were realised.
In support of this initiative, and in consultation with the Walter Burley Griffin Society, Leeton Shire Council has planted 20 lemon scented gums along Irrigation Way (between Leeton and Yanco), as part of its tree planting program.
These trees will be formally dedicated at a ceremony to be held during the Australian Art Deco Festival in Leeton from 10-12 July 2026. The dedication will acknowledge Griffin's enduring influence on Leeton's distinctive town plan and its nationally recognised Art Deco heritage.
Mayor Cr George Weston said Walter Burley and Marion Mahony Griffin's influence in Leeton is clearly reflected in both the town's planning and its built heritage.
"The Griffins were responsible for the extension of the Leeton town plan, and their distinctive architectural motifs are evident in features such as the decorative frieze on the Leeton Water Tower, which remains a prominent symbol of their design thinking and lasting legacy in the town," said Mayor Weston.
Leeton is one of the significant surviving examples of Griffin's planning principles in Australia, and Council is pleased to contribute to a national legacy project that celebrates this important chapter of Australia's design history.
