Murtoa Accommodation, Hotels, Tours & Information

Murtoa

Murtoa might be a small rural town serving a major wheat region in the Wimmera, but there is nothing small about some of its prominent buildings. Built in 1941 from 640 unmilled tree trunks to stock-pile wheat during World War II, the Stick Shed stands 20m high, 260m long and 60m wide. Nor is the neighbouring Grain Complex any midget. Its collection of massive silos can hold up to 400,000 tonnes of grain. Over the road stand the enormous steam engines built in 1911 to power the Wimmera Island Freezing Works - each of them weighing 30 tonnes. Murtoa has developed round the 20ha Lake Marma Reserve where the birdlife and magnificent sunsets can be admired from well designed walking tracks. The park's entrance is guarded by Memorial Gates, erected in 1920 in honour of the locals who died on World War I battlefields, while the reserve grounds feature a public fountain, band rotunda and a barbecue-equipped picnic area. The town's museum and centrepiece stuffed bird collection are housed in an old 13m water tower.