General News
25 February, 2024
82 year old celebrates first birthday
When the Stick Shed started its working life there was no official opening, no celebration of what had been achieved - all that changes this Saturday.
Submitted by Dave Lennon
The first annual celebration of the Murtoa Stick Shed will also see the offical opening of the newly-renovated Visitor Information and Amenities Centre.
The renovation was made possible by a $345,000 grant from the state government through the Yarriambiack Shire Council, a $97,750 grant from The Australian Heritage Grants Fund, and the contribution of $33,000 from the Stick Shed Committee of Management.
Yarriambiack Shire mayor Kylie Zanker will officially open the Visitor Information and Amenities building at 10.30 Saturday morning, with morning tea to follow.
Committee of Management chair Sally Taylor said the committee is eager for the official opening and encourages everyone to come along and celebrate the new facilities.
“We are excited to show off our new surroundings and to be able to improve our visitor experience as well as showcasing other tourist attractions throughout the region," Ms Taylor said.
“Visitor numbers are increasing year-on-year - we expect to break the 25,000 mark this year, and we’ve just set a January record.”
As part of the Stick Shed’s celebrations, a new visual display will be projected onto the internal elevator wall featuring never-before-seen images.
Long-time Stick Shed campaigner and secretary/treasurer of the Committee of Management David Grigg said there had been a recent influx of new items which the public have never seen before
“We’ve been on a bit of roll recently in terms of finding new images and artifacts from the Stick Shed, and we are delighted to share some of them," Mr Grigg said.
“We are always looking for more, and we’re urging people who may have something to let us know.
If they’re looking through the family photo albums and find something of interest, we would like to have a look too.
Mr Grigg said there will be someone available all day on Saturday to scan the photos and documents visitors bring along.
"Or we can arrange something for later," he said.
"Come along and have a chat."