Murtoa

Murtoa
Town
McDonald Street, Murtoa
Murtoa
Coordinates: 36°36′S 142°29′E / 36.600°S 142.483°E / -36.600; 142.483
CountryAustralia
StateVictoria
LGA
Location
Government
 • State electorate
 • Federal division
Population
 • Total897 (2021 census)[2]
Postcode
3390

Murtoa is a town in Victoria, Australia, situated around Lake Marma on the Wimmera Highway, 305 kilometres (190 mi) north-west of the state capital, Melbourne. The town is in the Shire of Yarriambiack local government area. At the 2021 census, Murtoa had a population of 865.[2]

Murtoa is located around 30 kilometres from Horsham, a major city in the Wimmera region.

The working section of the present-day Murtoa Grain Receival Centre can hold up to 400,000 tonnes of grain and is the largest inland Receival Centre in Australia.

History

The name Murtoa is believed to come from a local Aboriginal word meaning "home of the lizard".

The Murtoa district was first settled by Europeans in October 1871 by a party of five farmers from South Australia: Gustav and Frederick Degenhardt, Martin Uhe, Herman Volprecht and H.P. Anders.[3] They were attracted by Victoria's liberal land selection terms under the 1869 Land Act, which offered land at £1 per acre.[3] Guided to the area by a swagman, the group selected blocks around the permanent water of Marma Swamp, a move that immediately brought them into conflict with the pastoralist Samuel Wilson, who held the surrounding run and claimed the water rights.[3] The selectors occupied the land prior to survey, and Wilson's subsequent claim for exclusive control of the swamp and 500 adjacent acres was not sustained by authorities.[3] Murtoa's post office opened on 1 August 1874.[4]

The township was formally laid out in 1875, with the required land excised from the selections of Gustav Degenhardt and an earlier settler, Harry Friend.[3] Development was spurred by the opening of the railway line in 1878, connecting Murtoa to the growing regional network.[3] The early farming community was a noted early adopter of mechanical stripper harvesters and established essential infrastructure, including a community-built wattle and daub school in 1874 and a flour mill relocated from Beaufort the same year.[3] Many of Murtoa's pioneer farmers were German immigrants, and the school taught in both German and English.[3][5]

Murtoa Secondary College opened in 1956 and closed in 2000, when it was merged with Murtoa Primary School to create Murtoa College, which is Murtoa's only school.[6][7][8] Our Lady Help of Christians (OLHC), a Catholic primary school in Munro Street opened in 1963 and closed in 2025.[9][10]

Murtoa Stick Shed

Murtoa is the site of the largest rustically-built structure in the world, the Murtoa Stick Shed. Because wheat could not be exported during World War II, a temporary grain shed, 270m long and 60m wide, was built in late 1941 and early 1942, using 560 un-milled mountain tree trunks. These "sticks", braced with iron tie rods, are set in a concrete floor and support a hipped corrugated iron roof. The cathedral-like structure was last used to hold wheat in 1989–90.

The Murtoa Stick Shed was heritage listed in 1990, and in October 2008 the Victorian government allocated funds to restore the structure.[11]

The Murtoa Stick Shed was added to the Australian National Heritage List in October 2014.[12]

The Murtoa No.1 Grain Store is an impressive and unusual example of Australian rural architecture; a form of design and construction rooted in the Australian traditions of bush ingenuity and the adaptation of traditional building techniques and materials. The corrugated iron and timber woolsheds across the Australian landscape are the most iconic depiction of this style of building ... The durability of this remarkable building is a testament to the bush skills and ingenuity of its builders and represents a rare and impressive example of Australian rural architecture and building technology to solve a difficult and large scale engineering problem.

— Department of the Environment, [12]

Lake Marma

Murtoa's Lake Marma, situated in the centre of town, has always been a haven for wildlife and one of the most attractive lakes in the Wimmera. It is currently being improved with restored surrounds. The main feature is the 1890s avenues of sugar gum trees around most of the lake. There is a playground, BBQs, Rotunda and large lawned areas adjacent. Rabl park immediately to the North of Lake Marma is a series of waterways and ponds with attractive treed surrounds. It also incorporates a Skate Park, playground, 1896 Railway's walking bridge, BBQ and large grassed areas. Both lakes are fishing and recreational areas, with birdlife and walking tracks surrounding both.

Shopping

Murtoa's main shopping centre is located in McDonald St. and is a largely original c1910 precinct, with timber facades and verandah posts. A large new Medical Centre at the Wimmera Highway (Marma St) intersection is a major feature of the town. The restored 1928 large Mechanics Hall is adjacent.

Murtoa also has some larger local employers, which includes GrainCorp, Schier Cabinet Makers and Solomit Strawboard.

Sport

The town has both Australian Rules football and Netball teams competing in the Wimmera Football League.

The Warracknabeal-Wimmera Racing Club, in conjunction with the local Murtoa/Marma Racing Club, schedules two race meetings a year at Murtoa, including the Murtoa Cup meeting in October and the Marma Cup on New Year's Day. From 2016, the Marma Cup will no longer be run on New Year's Day as this event was cancelled in conjunction with the local club and Racing Victoria. In lieu of this decision, Murtoa will host a mid-week race meeting in July 2016. These two meetings are very popular with all Wimmera residents.[13]

Golfers play at the 18 hole sand-scrape Golf Course of the Murtoa Golf Club on Murtoa-Lubeck Road, just South of town. There are also excellent bowling greens, new tennis courts, quality sports ground with new clubrooms and netball court. There is an indoor stadium located at the college.[14]

Notable people

  • John Cade - psychiatrist was born in Murtoa in 1912[15][16][17][18]
  • Amalie Sara Colquhoun, an Australian landscape and portrait painter, was born in Murtoa
  • Chris Crewther, Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for the Mornington electorate from 2022 to current, former Federal Member for Dunkley and Chair of the Foreign Affairs and Aid Sub-Committee in the Australian Parliament (2016-19), schooled at Murtoa (Secondary) College between 1996 and 1999
  • Hugh Delahunty, Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1999 to 2014, representing Wimmera and Lowan, was born and schooled in Murtoa

References

  1. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Murtoa (urban centre and locality)". Australian Census 2021. 
  2. ^ a b Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Murtoa". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h J, K (3 May 1912). "Early Murtoa History". The Horsham Times. p. 6. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  4. ^ Phoenix Auctions History, Post Office List, retrieved 22 March 2021
  5. ^ "Farming on the Wimmera". The Australasian. Vol. XXXVIII, no. 983. Victoria, Australia. 31 January 1885. p. 10. Retrieved 16 November 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "Murtoa College - Number 1549". www.vic.gov.au. 29 January 2026. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  7. ^ "Murtoa Secondary College - Number 8115". www.vic.gov.au. 29 January 2026. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  8. ^ vrqa.vic.gov.au https://vrqa.vic.gov.au/StateRegister/Provider.aspx/DetailsProvider?AccountID=ab54fd95-0179-e711-80e0-005056825391. Retrieved 6 February 2026. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ^ Schoolzine. "About Us - Our Lady Help of Christians School Murtoa". Our Lady Help of Christians School Murtoa Website. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  10. ^ "Our Lady Help of Christians School, Murtoa – Community Gathering - DOBCEL - Diocese of Ballarat Catholic Education Limited". dobcel.catholic.edu.au. 20 November 2025. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  11. ^ "The Mighty Murtoa Stick Shed". Leigh Hammerton, Murtoa. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  12. ^ a b "Murtoa No. 1 Grain Shed" (PDF). Department of the Environment. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  13. ^ "Murtoa/Marma Racing Club". Country Racing Victoria Ltd. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  14. ^ Golf Select, Murtoa, retrieved 11 May 2009
  15. ^ Cade, Jack F. (1999), "John Frederick Joseph Cade: family memories on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his discovery of the use of lithium in mania", The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 33 (5): 615–618, doi:10.1080/j.1440-1614.1999.00624.x, PMID 10544983, S2CID 7072182
  16. ^ De Moore, Greg; Westmore, Ann (2016). Finding sanity : John Cade, lithium and the taming of bipolar disorder. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin. p. 324.
  17. ^ Williams, Robyn (2016). Ockham's Razor Sunday 6 November 2016: Finding sanity. ABC Radio National.
  18. ^ Fanning, Ellen; McCullagh, Cassie (2016). Life Matters Wednesday 31 August 2016: Finding Sanity – John Cade and lithium. ABC Radio National.
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