General News
21 September, 2022
Visiting an Australian Bush Icon
The group then took a visit to the Schier Cabinet Makers before heading to the Mechanics Hall, home to weddings and theatricals, which briefly featured in the film,'The Dressmaker'
Submitted by Lou Mason
Braving the miserable weather this week, Dimboola Probus Club members set off together on a special trip to Murtoa.
Spirits were high as the group thoroughly explored the town, beginning with some fortifying refreshments in the welcome company of the Murtoa Probarians at the Railway Hotel.
The group then took a visit to the Schier Cabinet Makers before heading to the Mechanics Hall, home to weddings and theatricals, which briefly featured in the film,'The Dressmaker'.
There was just enough time before day's the main event for more necessary bolstering against the rain - a warming lunch of pumpkin or vegetable soup with sandwiches at the Murota Neighbourhood House.
Murtoa, of course, is the site of the Stick Shed, one of the largest sheds in the world, (some say the largest) built in 1941 in response to a government call to conserve a surplus of grain during the war years.
With its 560 unmilled mountain ash poles rising to a height of 20 meters and a storage capacity of 3.5 million bushels, it is an enduring testament to iconic Australian bush ingenuity.
Even our Probus members who had visited there before still marvelled at its size and grandeur.
I asked our Probus secretary Annette Luckett, who worked with activities officer Ruth Wood in planning the event, what the highlight of the trip had been for her.
"It was getting together with other members and spending the day out," she said.