THIS weekend will mark the start of a six-month experiment at Murtoa’s iconic Stick Shed.
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David Grigg, secretary of the Stick Shed’s executive management, said the shed would open every Sunday between 10am and 2pm after a review of attendance in the past few months.
“We’ve been having up to 200 people every Sunday come through when we’ve been open on the first Sunday of every month,” he said.
A total of 3368 people visited the Stick Shed between October and December.
“But then we’ve also been doing something like two or three tour groups a week. These are people who have been coming through and then going to see the Silo Art Trail and caravaners and things like that,” he said.
“So we decided in our meeting prior to Christmas we’d open it every Sunday. We just feel there is a demand there we should fill.”
Entry is free for residents of Murtoa and Lubeck.
Mr Grigg said people needed to show their driver’s licence or proof of their address to avoid being charged.
“We believe locals are ambassadors for us,” Mr Grigg said.
“They bring visitors here and it’s not fair every time they come up that we ask them to pay.”
The committee will review the trial in the middle of the year and they are advertising for casual tour guides during the week. Mr Grigg says they hope to be in a position to make an announcement on this by the end of the month.
The committee is also waiting to hear back from the Australian Heritage Commission about a $200,000 funding application to upgrade the shed’s access area. Mr Grigg said he expected to hear an outcome on the application in March.
The committee’s decision comes at a time when the Stick Shed’s role in Wimmera culture continues to grow.
Having only opened as a regular tourist attraction 18 months ago, it has since hosted a wedding, two wedding photographies and will host its first Wine and Dine event in March.
Mr Grigg said long-term plans included maintaining the Stick Shed and attracting more special events.
“More exhibitions and maybe concerts and I personally think it would be an excellent venue for filming,” he said. “It has boundless opportunities.”