Heritage Festival
Heritage Festival 2019 Events
Bookings Open 19 March 2019
Exhibition 
Famous Faces of Melton
An exhibition that highlights 10 local people that made great contributions to sport, society and science, in Melton and further afield. Some of these names you will know, others are less well-known.
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Workshop 
Dry Stone Wall Workshop
Learn how to build and repair a traditional dry stone wall from foundations to coping stone. Professional waller David Long will provide training, materials, gloves and lunch is provided.
Bookings Required
Open Day 
Willows historic homestead
The Melton and District Historical Society will be opening their collections of Melton local history and the historic Willows Homestead in Melton.
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Tours 
History Among the Tombstones
Local historian, Judith Bilszta will take you on a tour of the historic Melton Cemetery (1862). Her stories of the sometimes tragic and sometimes amazing lives and deaths of early residents of the district will amaze you.
Bookings Required
Tour of Wil-im-ee Moor-ring (Home of many axes)
A guided tour of one of the most important green stone quarries in Australia. Wil-im-ee Moor-ring (Mount William) is a site of international significance and is a cultural site managed by Wurundjeri Tribe Council. This tour will be guided by Traditional Owners who will explain the significance of the important role it played in trade networks and cultural practices.
Bookings Required
Heritage of the Air
A bus tour exploring the local places that played a part in the development of Australia’s radio and wireless communication and early aviation. Learn about the US Army Radio Station in Diggers Rest, Beam Wireless Station in Rockbank, aviation pioneers, Jimmy Melrose, Houdini and experiments with early aviation at Mount Kororoit.
Bookings Required
Talk 
‘Oppy’: Melton’s Sporting Champion
Hubert ‘Oppy’ Opperman (1904-1996) was a sporting hero of the 1920s and 1930s, whose cycling achievements in Australia and oversea became legendary. This talk by Oppy’s biographer, Daniel Oakman will explore Opperman’s legend but also his links to Melton, where he learnt to ride a bike at the house of his beloved grandmother.
Bookings Required
Performance 
The League of Kindness - Crazy Cycling Contraptions and Daredevil Riders
Come and see some amazing bike creations and daredevil riders on the Chopper Stopper, Double Eagle, Penny Farthing and Puny Cycle. Some are so dangerous they are only for stunt riders, others can be road tested by those who are game. For big and little kids who love bicycles.
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What is Heritage Festival
The Heritage Festival is an annual celebration of all things history and heritage in the City of Melton. It is held during the Australian Heritage Festival each year. This year the Heritage Festival launched on 18 April. For more information visit the National Trust Heritage Festival website.
The City Strategy Team co-ordinates the Heritage Festival programming, but it is the community who has stepped up to lead walks, talks and share the research which contribute to our understanding of this municipality. Please contact us with your ideas for future events.
Heritage Festival 2018 Highlights
This year we had 2 bus tours. One bus tour travelled to Buninyong where we explored the collections and work of the Buninyong District Historical Society. We enjoyed a guided tour around the beautifully preserved historic town before having lunch in one of the many cafes available.
The second bus tour was to the Wurundjeri Ceremonial Rings in Sunbury, it included a free tour of the Indigenous ceremonial rings with Wurundjeri Elder Uncle Dave Wandin. We learnt about how the Wurundjeri use the ceremonial rings for ceremonies and land practices used on the surrounding reserve.
Professional dry stone waller David Long demonstrated and taught how to safely repair a basalt wall from foundations to coping stone. 25 people learnt about the different types of walls and how to plan what stones to use.
Local historian Judith Bilszta led two walking tours of the historic Melton Cemetery that was built in 1862. We learnt about some local names and heard interesting stories about the history behind the headstones.
There were two workshops with a librarian and members of the Melton Family History Group to help people trace service men and women from WWI. People learnt how to begin their research and how to overcome obstacles.
Caroline Springs Gallery hosted a touring exhibition – Writing the War: Personal Stories from WWI. The exhibition includes photos, letters and diaries from seven personal stories from the State Library’s collection.
The Melton and District Historical Society opened their collection and the historic Willows Homestead on three separate occasions.
Critically acclaimed three piece band Bush Gothic filled Warrawong Woolshed with the sounds of dark Australian folk songs. This daring bush band performed at night in the 19th Century bluestone shearing shed in Eynesbury with catering provided by Exford Residents Association.
It has been another successful festival and celebration of all things Heritage. Melton City Council would like to thank everyone who has been involved in the organisation of the events, the promotion of the festival as well as all those who attended.
For further information on Heritage Week please contact our City Strategy Team on 9747 7200 or email us at citysupport@melton.vic.gov.au