Murtoa Stick Shed
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Murtoa Stick Shed, formally known as the Number 1 Emergency Grain Store, is a large grain store (
silo A silo (from the Greek σιρός – ''siros'', "pit for holding grain") is a structure for storing bulk materials. Silos are used in agriculture to store fermented feed known as silage, not to be confused with a grain bin, which is used t ...
) in
Murtoa Murtoa is a wheat district town in Victoria, Australia, situated around Lake Marma on the Wimmera Highway, north-west of the state capital, Melbourne. The town is in the Shire of Yarriambiack local government area. At the , Murtoa had a populat ...
, a town in the
Wimmera The Wimmera is a region of the Australian state of Victoria. The district is located within parts of the Loddon Mallee and the Grampians regions; and covers the dryland farming area south of the range of Mallee scrub, east of the South Austral ...
region of Victoria, Australia. It is located adjacent to the railway line in western Victoria’s vast wheatbelt 560 upright poles, some 80-foot-long, went into building the cathedral-like structure. Many more poles went into fabricating the roof trusses and bracing. The slender
mountain ash Mountain ash may refer to: * ''Eucalyptus regnans'', the tallest of all flowering plants, native to Australia * Mountain-ashes or rowans, varieties of trees and shrubs in the genus ''Sorbus'' See also * Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf Mountai ...
poles were probably salvaged from native forests at
Powelltown Powelltown is a town in Victoria, Australia, 70 km east of Melbourne's central business district, located within the Shire of Yarra Ranges local government area. Powelltown recorded a population of 214 at the 2021 census. History The ...
,
Noojee Noojee is a town in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia, north of Warragul and east of Melbourne, in the Baw Baw local government area. At the 2016 census, Noojee and the surrounding area had a population of 157. The town benefits from ...
and
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burnt during the 1939 bushfires.Forests Commission Victoria Annual report The Murtoa Stick Shed, as it became known, is 870 feet long, 198 feet wide and 62 feet 10 inches high at the ridge, covering an area of 170,000 square feet and with a capacity of 3.4 million
bushels A bushel (abbreviation: bsh. or bu.) is an imperial and US customary unit of volume based upon an earlier measure of dry capacity. The old bushel is equal to 2 kennings (obsolete), 4 pecks, or 8 dry gallons, and was used mostly for agricultu ...
or 95,000 tonnes. Australia experienced a wheat glut in the late 1930s as traditional export markets of Great Britain and Western Europe evaporated due to a shift in world trade and restrictions to shipping. By the outbreak of the War in 1939, the Australian wheat industry produced between 150 and 160 million bushels per year, of which 100 million had been traditionally exported. But only 48 of the 160 silos planned under the 1935 Victorian Silo Scheme had been completed. The Murtoa Stick Shed was hurriedly built over four months between September 1941 and January 1942 and filled with grain within six months of its construction. The wheat stayed in storage until 1944. It was the first emergency bulk wheat storage shed built in Victoria and is the only one remaining of its type in Australia. Wartime shortages meant the builders had to rely upon and adapt traditional bush construction techniques. It’s claimed to be the largest “rustically-built” structure in the world. The Forests Commission Victoria (FCV) produced over half a million lineal feet of poles from State forests mainly for emergency storage of wheat in 1941/42. ''FCV Annual Report 1941--42''
“Poles and piles were in heavy demand throughout the year, and in view of the shortage of private operators an increasingly large quantity was supplied direct by the Commission's organization.  The poles were for use for all purposes and included large quantities for the erection of emergency storage sheds and for special purposes to meet requirements of the Army and Air Force.  Large numbers of the poles were supplied in lengths ranging from 60 feet to 100 feet, and in one case two 120-ft. Yellow Stringy bark poles were supplied and railed from Eastern Gippsland.”
''FCV Annual Report 1942--43''
“Output of pole timbers increased substantially, and large quantities were supplied to the order of the Australian Wheat Board and other authorities for the construction of emergency storage accommodation.  Included in deliveries were 36 poles 100 feet long from Orbost and Beaufort.”
''FCV Annual Report 1943--44.''
“With the Wheat Board's operations completed, the demand for poles has been considerably less, but poles for the Postmaster-General's Department, the Army and other bodies have been supplied throughout the year."
A second and much larger Stick Shed, with double the capacity, was erected in 1942/43 at Murtoa using poles largely supplied from forests at
East Gippsland East Gippsland is the eastern region of Gippsland, Victoria, Australia covering 31,740 square kilometres (14%) of Victoria. It has a population of 80,114. Australian Bureau of Statistics2006 Census Community Profile Series: East Gippsland (Sta ...
and
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. This second shed was demolished in 1975. The Murtoa Stick Shed No 1 became increasingly expensive to maintain and was eventually phased out of service from 1989. The building was listed on the
Australian National Heritage List The Australian National Heritage List or National Heritage List (NHL) is a heritage register, a list of national heritage places deemed to be of outstanding heritage significance to Australia, established in 2003. The list includes natural and ...
in 2014, recognising its place "as a significant part of Australia’s history associated with Australia’s wheat industry and the impact of World War Two on the home front".


References

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External links


Murtoa No.1 Grain Store - National Heritage Listed
- Department of Environment and Energy
The Stick Shed
- Official website *McHugh, Peter. (2020). Forests and Bushfire History of Victoria : A compilation of short stories, Victoria. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2899074696/view Australian National Heritage List Wimmera 1942 establishments in Australia Buildings and structures in Victoria (Australia)