MURTOA leaders believe achieving national heritage status for the town’s historic stick shed will increase tourism in both Murtoa and the Wimmera.
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The Murtoa Stick Shed received Australia’s highest heritage honour on Wednesday, becoming the first Wimmera building on the National Heritage List.
Stick shed steering committee member Leigh Hammerton said it was fantastic for the region.
“There are only about 25 Australian national heritage-listed items across Victoria and most of them are parks,” he said.
“This will give the Wimmera some international recognition, which is long overdue.
“It will boost tourism not only in Murtoa, but in the whole region.”
The Marmalake Grain Store Wheat Storage Shed was built in the early 1940s to cope with a grain glut caused by the onset of the Second World War.
It is 265 metres long, 60 metres wide and supported by 560 unmilled mountain ash poles.
The shed was designed to hold 92,500 tonnes of wheat and is the only building of its kind left in Australia.
Shed steering committee member David Grigg said the heritage listing came at an opportune time, with Murtoa’s Big Weekend festivities kicking off on Friday morning.
“Last year we had 2000 people through the doors during the two days,” he said.
“With this announcement, I wouldn’t be surprised if we got 2500.”
The stick shed is only open during the town’s annual big weekend.
“Because it’s on a working GrainCorp site, we can only open it at this time of year because of occupational health and safety reasons,” Mr Grigg said.
“At the moment we can’t promote it because it’s on private property and there is no access.”
Mr Grigg said the committee was working with Heritage Victoria, which owns a strip of land between the highway and the shed, to sort out access issues.
“Once we’ve got access sorted then we’re only limited by our imagination,” he said.
“There is tremendous potential.”
Mr Hammerton said the national heritage listing was a result of a long-term relationship with Heritage Victoria.
The stick shed was added to the Victorian Heritage Register in 1990.
“The State Government spent $2.1 million on restoration in the past five years,” he said.
“There are ongoing costs, but now that we’ve got national recognition it opens the door for federal grants.”
The Grampians National Park is the only other place in the Wimmera with National Heritage List status.
Other structures on the list include the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Uluru and the Sydney Opera House.
Member for Mallee Andrew Broad said the survival of the Murtoa Stick Shed was a testament to the bush skills and ingenuity of the people of the Wimmera.
The stick shed is open Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 4pm.
