With over 40 historic buildings open for free on the day, including bus trips, tours and guided walks, the inaugural Open Day was very well received.
The objective of the Heritage Open Day was to increase awareness of the history, people and buildings that helped shape Greater Shepparton and to place on show the many heritage sites in the area.
The bus tours were popular with the tour to Dhurringile Mansion proving the most popular. Day’s Mill at Murchison was an independent visit and received 180 guests.
With 44 places open to the public, with some venues opening for the first time, there was something for everyone. Venues included: historic buildings; homesteads; cemeteries; places of worship for all denominations; institutes.
Greater Shepparton’s Councillor Seema Abdullah participated in the tour and said she was delighted to see the outcome of Heritage Open Day.
“Greater Shepparton has many unique and spectacular heritage sites; we need to showcase our region’s heritage and associated history with pride to locals as well as visitors. Many of these places have the potential to become must see visitor attractions,” said Cr Abdullah.
“The interest shown by the community in our first open day strongly demonstrated such potential of our heritage sites. Well done to the Heritage Advisory Committee members for their initiative, passion and hard work in organising the Open Day,” she said.
Greater Shepparton City Council Acting Director Sustainable Development Colin Kalms said “the day was a remarkable success with many people planning their day to take in as many of the places as possible”.
