Stick Shed Open Day May 6, 2011

A public open day will be held at the Murtoa Stick Shed on Saturday 7 May as part of the National Trust Heritage Festival 2011.

The Murtoa Stick Shed will be open to the public from 10 am to 4 pm Saturday. Admission is free.

Immense in size, the Murtoa Stick Shed spans the length of five Olympic swimming pools and has been dubbed the ‘Cathedral of the Wimmera.’

It was constructed in 1941 as a solution for grain storage during the World War II wheat glut. The Stick Shed could store up to 95,000 tonnes of wheat at one time and is the last example of its kind.

Three other similar sheds were built in Victoria, as well as one in Geraldton (Western Australia) and another in Parkes (NSW), but Murtoa is the only one still standing.

Constructed from timber and corrugated iron, the Stick Shed gets its name from the hundreds of unmilled poles – some up to 20 metres high - which stand in rows propping up the immense roof. With its vast gabled interior and the long rows of poles, the space has been likened to the nave of a medieval cathedral.

The Stick Shed is of historical, architectural, scientific and social significance to the State of Victoria

The shed is currently undergoing an extensive conservation program funded by the Heritage Council of Victoria and Heritage Victoria.

Once the building is stabilized, Heritage Victoria will work with Graincorp and the Victorian community to develop a future use for the site.

The Murtoa Stick Shed is located at 1465 Wimmera Highway, Murtoa in the Graincorp grain receival facility. Turn off Wimmera Highway at Graincorp site entrance. Turn right into designated carpark at the end of the driveway. Please be aware of all traffic on Graincorp’s site. Enter the building through the side entrance.

Official Website: http://www.dpcd.vic.gov.au/heritage/news-and-events/news/open-day-at-stick-shed