At Murtoa’s Big Weekend earlier this month, more than 200 people performed in mass choir in the stick shed.

Yarriambiack councillor Helen Ballentine said the choir in the shed was fantastic.

“I looked forward to future events like this in the stick shed because the environment is amazing, especially as far as the acoustics go,” she said.

“I felt it was a wonderful event.

“After all these years, we have been wondering what people could use the stick shed for and we might have found the answer.

“People can go there and appreciate some music, whether it be more choirs, modern day bands or jazz bands – anything is worth the time.”

Cr Ballentine said the stick shed was big enough to hold thousands of people.

“The event really impressed me,” she said.

Cr Tom Hamilton said he hoped in the future there would be more events at the stick shed.

“The committee is open to suggestions about how they can move forward with the shed,” he said.

“It is now open on the first Sunday of each month for viewing from 10am to 2pm.

“Hopefully, we can get more events there.”

Murtoa’s Big Weekend chairman David Grigg said the mass choir performance was a highlight of the event.

“It was an extremely well attended event and we were happy that people turned up to sing and watch,” he said.

“There was so many cars that we had to cut a fence to open up another paddock to use as a car park.”

In 2014, the Murtoa Stick Shed received Australia’s highest heritage honour, becoming the first Wimmera building on the National Heritage List.

Originally known as the Marmalake Grain Store Wheat Storage Shed, it 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.