What a terrific few days on the road for our 2026 OTC/Fellowship group, travelling from Melbourne through regional Victoria and finishing in Horsham, enjoying good company, great food and visits to some iconic historic sites along the way.
We kicked things off in Ballarat, with 14 people joining for the first evening. After settling into the Mercure Hotel, we gathered for drinks and a relaxed dinner, with plenty of good conversation and fellowship - a great way to start the trip.
From there, we continued to Ararat, where a highlight was our visit to the Gum San Chinese Heritage Centre. The centre tells the story of the significant Chinese community who lived and worked in the area during the gold rush, including their discovery of gold at Canton Lead - a key catalyst for Ararat’s establishment and early prosperity. It brings to life not only their contribution to mining, but also the challenges they faced and the rich cultural legacy they left behind. It’s a great experience that provides real depth and context to the region’s history.
Lunch followed at the Ararat Hotel before we made our way to Great Western for the underground tour at Seppelt Wines, exploring the remarkable hand-dug cellars that stretch for three kilometres beneath the winery - an impressive feat of engineering dating back to the 19th century.
By the time we reached Stawell, numbers had grown to 16, with a relaxed walk around town followed by dinner at the Gift Hotel.
Day three, we travelled on to Murtoa. The standout here was the Murtoa Stick Shed. Built during World War II to store grain, the shed is an extraordinary, vast timber structure. Walking through its row upon row of tall timber poles gives you a real sense of both its scale and the ingenuity of its design. The Stick Shed is the 101st Australian icon included on the National Heritage List. Completed in 1942, the shed as designed was approximately 265 metres long, 60 metres wide, 19 metres high at the hip and held 3.5 million bushels or about 92,500 tonnes of wheat. Much of the building was constructed with little mechanical aid and a limited workforce due to the war. A steel shortage meant the shed was built largely from readily available timber, some 560 (56 rows of 10) unmilled mountain ash poles erected into the auger-dug footings in the ground.
Also near Murtoa was the Rupanyup Museum, which is locally known as the Woods' Farming & Heritage Museum. It is a sprawling, volunteer-run collection dedicated to Wimmera community and agricultural life. It features over 90 vintage tractors, a replica street with old-fashioned shops, reconstructed historical homes, period fashion, and local memorabilia.
The nearby silo art added a welcome splash of colour before we continued to Horsham. A relaxed afternoon by the Wimmera River and around town set the scene for the President’s Dinner to round out the trip.
| Rupanyup’s silo art is the work of Russian mural artist, Julia Volchkova, who turned her attention to the town’s youth and their great love of team sport. The work vividly captures the spirit of community and provides an accurate insight into rural youth culture. |
This incredible silo art by SMUG celebrates the connection of Murtoa to Dr John Cade who discovered the impact of lithium leading to significant global shift in how mental health was tested from 1930s until today.
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The Horsham Silo Art, created by Smug in May 2022, tells the story of Yanggendyinanyuk, a notable figure in the Wimmera region of Victoria. Yanggendyinanyuk was a skilled tracker, talented cricketer, and cultural exponent. |
On Saturday, while many of us travelled back to Melbourne, five of our group went on to join the multi-district conference in Horsham.
All up, it was a wonderful few days of fellowship, discovery and shared experiences. A big thank you to Mary and Deb for pulling together an interesting and enjoyable itinerary - and to everyone who came along and made it such good fun.
