Impressive art deco architecture. Panoramic views from wide verandahs, vintage décor, stained glass windows and royal visitors.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Welcome to the Hydro hotel.
No, not THAT one! The one you’ve probably never heard of: the Hydro Hotel in Leeton in southern NSW, 550km west of Sydney and 450km north of Melbourne.
It might not have the peacock feathered finery of Mark Foy’s gleaming white folly in the Blue Mountains, but it does have the potential to match it.
Leeton’s Hydro hotel opened in August 1919 as digs for Water Commission officers in the development of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, as well as travelling salesmen and visitors to the town.
Unlike Foy’s Hydro, an outrageous party palace from the get-go, the Leeton establishment was a dry house without a liquor bar – until 1924 when prohibition was repealed and the Hydro promptly expanded and stocked the bar.
The hotel represented the changing fortunes of a conservative farming region rather than the hype of an alpine tourist town.
Presiding over the junction of five crossroads, Leeton’s Hydro is the centrepiece of town, but it’s not the only art deco gem – the Art Deco Society of NSW has 21 Leeton buildings listed on its register.
Leeton’s circular street patterns and ornamental water towers are classic features of celebrated Chicago architectural import Walter Burley Griffin, who won an international design competition to design Canberra.
Griffin actually had a grander vision for Leeton but it was scuttled by the start of World War I and the death of his biggest backer, Commissioner for Water Conservation & Irrigation Leslie Wade.
You can discover all the art deco beauties built or renovated during the interwar years in a wander along Kurrajong and Pine avenues. The free downloadable Art Deco Heritage Walking Tour audio guide takes in The Roxy Theatre, Movie Café, Wade Hotel & Chambers, Leeton Steel Retail, the Commonwealth Bank building and more.
Even without the guide, art deco details are a standout in the town – mosaic tiling in recessed doorways, pressed metal awning on ceilings, glazed windows, stepped parapets with chevron brickwork and rendered with tin decorative parapets are giveaways.
The Mediterranean (or Spanish Mission style) was also popular, and the Hydro Hotel and Function Centre an exquisite example.
A visit to Leeton’s ``other’’ Hydro is a must.
Far from the madding crowds of the usual tourist route, Leeton in regional NSW is a cheaper location to towns closer to major cities.
The Hydro Hotel is undergoing a gradual refurbishment and some rooms have been modernised.
Rooms are huge, the balcony envelopes the upper storey in a wide embrace and the Edwardian architecture is indeed gracious, elegant and grand.
In the waning afternoon light, the wooden floorboards are drenched red, gold and orange with the glow from a magnificent stained-glass feature window depicting the development of the Murrimbidgee Irrigation Area.
It is then you can imagine Princess Alexandra, Leeton’s first ever Royal visitor in 1959, happily lunching at the Hydro Hotel surrounded by the finery of the day.
· The Hydro Hotel will come alive when Leeton hosts Australia’s largest art deco festival from July 11 - 13, 2025. Treat your senses to exhibitions, markets, music, jazz, swing, and immerse yourself in the fashion, food, vehicles and culture of the town between 1910 and 1940. Click HERE for details.
Hydro Hotel
58-66 Chelmsford Place, Leeton NSW 2705
P: (02) 6953 4555
GETTING TO LEETON
From Sydney:
- Fly to Griffith (about 4.5 hours), then hire a car and drive to Leeton (about 40 minutes) or take the bus (45 minutes)
- Train (just over 8 hours)
From Melbourne:
- Drive (about 5 hours)
- Fly to Griffith then catch a train or hire a car (about 7 hours)
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