Contribution of the Horses

Griffith acknowledges the contribution of horses – silent, hardworking partners of man.

Just outside the Griffith City Council Chambers sits a rustic memorial acknowledging the contribution of the horse to the history of Griffith – an iron replica of a Bills Horse Trough.

Horses were an integral tool in the construction of irrigation canals and farm works. Draught horses were used for hard and heavy tasks such as carting heavy loads and construction. Water from the irrigation canals is the life blood of Griffith and the construction of the massive infrastructure of the irrigation canal system was totally reliant on horsepower.

In general, horses were used on the farms to harvest fruit, transport people and goods, mustering sheep and cattle and day to day works. Horse drawn carriages and sulkies were the main form of transport for the school children, farmers, government offices, mail, milk and bread runs.

Bills Horse Troughs were manufactured in Australia and installed to provide relief for working horses in the first half of the twentieth century. A trust fund through the will of George Bills financed around 700 troughs in Australia and 50 overseas.