The day started of with Karsten and myself hiding in at the shadows trying not to draw attention to the fact we are bulldog supporters. This was due to the fact that the Western Bulldogs had suffered a 1 point loss to Essendon bombers the night before at the bush fire tribute match.
As the clock ticked over to 9:01 the bus was able to head off on the journey to Griffith, this was an unusual start to the MMASP because everyone was on the bus and ready to leave on time!
As the bus travelled along the Hume highway I looked around the bus, all of the members of MMASP were very entertained, this was through conservation, catching up on the news or the sleep missed from the night before, listening to music, or even looking at the vast country side.
As we were travelling along I spotted in the distance a giant red object glistening in the sun light, it was of course the giant strawberry at Koonoomoo, where we stopped for lunch and novelty photos with one of Australia’s many big tourist attractions.
One of the towns that we passed through was Jerilderie, this was the birth place of Sir John Monash and the town where Ned Kelly had spent the majority of his time.
The township of Griffith was a green oasis in the middle of the desert, as you approached the town it was easy to see what difference water makes.
We quickly settled into our rooms and then headed down an exhibition match of rugby league that was being played that night. The match had drawn a large crowd to see the match with most vantage points filled with people relaxing in their deck chairs. The community was alive watching one of their 3 favourite sports. The Griffith community is divided between AFL, Rugby union and Rugby league but will still happily watch any of them. This was a great start to our stay in Griffith, allow all of us to get involved in the local activities.
Visit Summaries
By Lily Chan and Wen Han Gwen
Riverina Grove
When we arrived Griffith, the first impression was a small town but full of friendly smiles. On our first visit, we were warmly welcomed by the managing director Luis Marangon in the Riverina tourist shop. He gave us a brief introduction of how Riverina business started by producing pickled olives, and grew into an iconic Australian preservative company. He then brought us to visit the manufacturing and packaging factory, and the visit end up nearly all of us carried with a bag of food products from Riverina.
Lunch @ Vita’s Restaurant
Vita’s is a famous local restaurant in Griffith. Upon arrival, we received a special and friendly welcome with champagnes. We were then served with a sumptuous organic meal specially prepared by the chef: Pork with mango entrée, lamb for main and strawberries ice-cream for desert, served with some Yellow Tail wines. During the meal, several presenters talked about the Griffith community, the success story of Casella wine and organic food produce in Australia. We were able to learn much about the Griffith culture and the Australian food and beverage industry in such an interactive and informal way. Our visit attracted the press and it was published in the local newspaper!
Winery visit – Beelgara
We were given the opportunity to taste the wine at Beelgara. We couldn’t resist the attractive packaging and fabulous wine so most of us went back with a bottle in our hands.
Overall, today’s visits were a very good pace, relaxed and enjoyable. We found that Griffith has its own unique Australian business culture, which is quite different from those businesses in metropolitan areas such as Melbourne and Sydney, and tend to be more multi-cultural in a diverse environment.
About to leave Monash
Arriving at Riverina Grove
Enjoying a local rugby match
Lunch at the Big Strawberry
Loius Marangon - Managing Director, Riverina Grove
Listening to Australian wine business in the Business Lunch
Lily and Simon at our Business Lunch
Thanking our Business Lunch Speakers
An article from Griffith's own newspaper The Area News 16/02/09
