Never say never

Can there be too many photographs of the Stick Shed?
Never!

The Murtoa Stick Shed was open to the public over the long weekend, as part of Murtoa's annual Big Weekend, and though Sunday was threatening rain, the dull overcast day provided better lighting of the interior of the shed, as there was less contrast between the outside and inside, even with the north-western corner blown in.
(The corner suffered minor damage in a wind storm and is yet to be properly repaired by Heritage Victoria with funds already committed).

The passageway along the north wall

Bottom of the conveyor & access doors

The conveyor & conveyor belt

The conveyor along the length of the shed

The shed lit by the hole in the north-west corner

Stick Shed on 101 heritage list

Major news, as local icon - the Murtoa Stick Shed - is being placed on the National Heritage List next to natural places such as the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park and the Great Barrier Reef; other built heritage places - the Sydney Opera House, Port Arthur Historic Site, and Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building, and alongside our other local listing – the Grampians.

Australia's national heritage comprises exceptional natural and cultural places that contribute to Australia's national identity and encompasses those places that reveal the richness of Australia's extraordinarily diverse natural heritage.
The heritage listings defines critical moments in our development as a nation and reflects the achievements of Australians.

This is Australia’s highest heritage honour, The Stick Shed, becomes just the 101st place of Australian cultural significance to be National Heritage listed, giving recognition to its significant role in the history of Australia's wheat industry and the impact of the Second World War on the home-front.

The Stick Shed (The Marmalake No. 1 Grain Store) was born out of desperation and inspiration. Initially a temporary emergency building, it was erected during 1941 when the war prevented exporting the wheat harvest overseas. The Australian Wheat Board was left with a valuable resource but insufficient, adequate storage for it.

Work started in September 1941 on a building designed to hold over 3 million bushels (92,500 tonnes) of wheat. The design was based on the same angle a pile of wheat forms naturally. Nearly 600 unmilled hardwood poles were used to hold up the roof.

 

The Stick Shed under construction (PROV)

The wartime restrictions meant that only raw, local and recycled materials were available, labour and machinery were scarce. Builders had to rely on ingenuity to overcome problems and shortages, they adopted common bush techniques to brace the poles.

What the builders erected was an adequate storage facility which has outlived its intended lifespan, but they also unintentionally created a serene cathedral-like interior amongst its forest of poles. 
 

Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt said National Heritage listing meant the grain store was recognised as a significant part of Australia’s history and ensured it would be protected and celebrated for future generations.

The Stick Shed is open this weekend on Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 4pm, as part of Muroa's Big Weekend - don't miss Australia's 101st National Heritage Site.

Murtoa's Big Buildings

When I told someone I wanted to go and see the Stick Shed, she said "but you've already seen it".
However you can't have too many photos of the Stick Shed.
The Marmalake shed was open on Saturday and Sunday as part of Murtoa's annual "Big Weekend", and while there were Heritage Vic people inside to answer questions and explain its workings, you were free to wander at your leisure.

Crowds walking the central corridor

Again there was a constant stream of people taking the opportunity to view the interior. I was followed in by a father and his young son who had been thrilled to be stopped at the level crossing  by a long goods train but was wanting to see the 'sticks'. Then coming out was stopped by an elderly couple who wanted their photo taken with the shed as a backdrop. They all wanted to experience that 'cathedral' sensation.

The skylights spotlighting the central corridor

Leaving the Stick Shed, I ventured across the road to the Wimmera Inland Freezing Works. The works were established in 1908 as a farmers' share co-operative. Building began in 1911.

The facade of the freezer works now the domain of pigeons

No. 14 Store door

 The aim of the venture was to freeze and transport fat lamb meat  to distant local or export markets. Unfortunately the scheme failed and the works closed in 1924. Since then the buildings have been abandoned, except for the section utilised by Schier Cabinet Makers as their furniture factory. Recently the Dunmunkle Sumpoilers  have taken over the engine shed and restored the engines. They also open the engine shed for The Big Weekend and have a number of engines operating.

 The works were powered by massive engines to generate electricity and drive the compressors. Amazingly the drive belts were made from 2" diameter rope.

Spare drive belts originally wrapped in canvas, now rotting on the landing

The huge single cylinder engines required between 6-8 of these belts to provide their drive power.
The masonry walls of the freezer buildings are 18" thick.

Doorway on the first floor level

In the Shed

The interior of the Stick Shed

The Murtoa Stick Shed spans the length of five Olympic swimming pools. Built in 1941, it is the last remaining of the sheds constructed in Australia as a solution for grain storage during the World War II wheat glut. The Stick Shed demonstrates Australian ingenuity during a time of hardship, some of the purlins and rafters were connected with twitched wire - the farmers' answer for holding things together.

Unfortunately the Stick Shed was only open to the public on the Big Weekend, work is underway to enable more frequent Open Days, but nothing has been announced yet - watch this space.

Marmalake

Yesterday was an important date - it was the 70th anniversary of the Marmalake Grain Store. More commonly known as the Murtoa Stick Shed, construction began on 26th September 1941. Amazingly the shed was ready for its first shipment in just 4 months - January 1942. At a time when much of the building was done with little mechanical aid, and most of the workforce were away fighting overseas it is a wonderful achievement.

Builders photo

The shed comprised 56 rows of 10 poles to support a roof 19metres at the ridge and 270metres long by 60 metres wide. When full (by June that year) it held 3,381,600 bushels of wheat. And even more amazing there had been a 7 million bushel shed alongside this one, unfortunately it was demolished back in 1975.

ABC TV filming in the Shed on Friday

The Stick Shed has been in the news lately as

• work on the restoration nears completion

• the Shed will be open to the public on Sunday 2nd as part of the Murtoa Big Weekend

Check out The Age's video with facts, interviews, historic photographs & current video shots. And don't forget to also check my previous Posts with the "Stick Shed" label.

And the walls came tumblin' down

The Stick Shed is in the news again - unfortunately.
The newspaper headline screams - Shed demolition call.

Graincorp & the Murtoa Silo Committee believe the shed is "beyond repair, is a safety hazard and should be demolished."

In October 2008, the State Government awarded $1.2 million to stabilise the Stick Shed.

Then in September 2009 workers for Heritage Victoria began the stabilising works. However within days, Worksafe Victoria issued a prohibition notice on the site. Heritage Victoria claim the shed was "in reasonable condition and most of the shed retains structural integrity".

The State Government are maintaining that they are "committed to ensure that Heritage Victoria continues to work with the local community and other interested parties on ensuring the site is made safe while protecting its heritage value to the region."

Here are my photos from February 2008


And from April 2010 - the major hole of 2008 is of similar dimensions.

The buckling at the grain elevator end appears much the same

It is the hole mid-way down its length which has opened up from just a sag in 2008 to a gaping expanse with all the timber work gone now.

Lifting the roof

At long last, contractors have begun the stabilising works on the Stick Shed.
Some of the posts, rafters and purlins will be replaced/repaired, vermin removed, and roof sheets replaced and secured over the coming months. Most of the conservation works will be high up near the roof, so the workmen will be using cherry pickers and scissor lifts. They are hoping to have the work completed early in 2010.

Stick Shed on the Net

I came across Leigh Hammerton's passionate site for the Stick Shed the other day at Mighty Murtoa Stick Shed
He has some great photos there, including one from up on the upper conveyor, and facts & info on the shed, bits I didn't know like -'the roofline is sloped to the same angle a pile of wheat forms naturally'

Dollars for Stick Shed

"$1.2m rescue for stick shed"
The banner headline on the front page of the local Wimmera Mail Times today.
The State Government announced today $1.2 million will be used to stabilise the Stick Shed so it could ‘vigorously pursue’ a future use for the Murtoa icon.
Work will start early 2009 on repairing the collapsed sections, securing the roof and removing the vermin.
Victorian Premier John Brumby said “This conservation program is the first step in securing the future of this incredible building which is one of Victoria’s most important and most threatened heritage places.”

Leigh Hammerton

Stick Shed now & then

Previously (Post of 7th February, 2008) I mentioned Murtoa's famous Stick Shed and how this once mighty storage facility was now abandoned and falling into disrepair. Unfortunately it is still falling down as more cavities open up, but today I was shown an old photo of the shed being built in 1941 which is reproduced below.

Wimmera's gothic catherdral

Colloquially known as the Stick Shed, this wheat storage shed was built in 1941-42 from 560-640 unmilled tree trunks, it was used to store grain which could not be exported during the war years. It is the earliest and the only remaining grain store built in Victoria during the early 1940s.

The Stick Shed is 265 metres long, 60.5 metres wide and 19-20 metres high, it is part of the Murtoa bulk grain handling site and is owned by the GEB. It was added to the Historic Buildings Register in 1990, and despite a couple of demolition applications, numerous studies and reports into its restoration, several patch repair jobs, nothing has been done about the final fate of the Stick Shed and it continues to deteriorate.

The Stick Shed is the largest building erected in Murtoa, on the Wimmera plains between Horsham and St Arnaud. Another similar structure, about half the size, was originally adjacent. Now the Grain Elevators Board receival centre stands beside the shed. It consists of numerous massive bunkers and wheat silos grouped together. They hold from 300,000 to 400,000 tons.