No-one ever said preserving and restoring a silo complex would be easy.
A passionate group of volunteers is working hard towards this goal, spending dozens of hours every month fixing floorboards, replacing rotting wooden posts, and applying for grants.
The ambitious project is an outstanding example of what volunteers in the Nhill and District community are capable of doing, with thousands of volunteer hours invested to date.
The team is always looking for new donations as well as new volunteers.
“Unfortunately at this stage all the work we’re doing is inside, so no-one gets to see it,” said Peter Duperouzel, President of the Nhill Silo Heritage Project committee.
“But we’re talking about starting to do something out the front, starting to clean up the tin work and do some painting so people driving past can see what’s going on.
“We’re also getting back into the habit of opening the doors on Saturday mornings from 9am-12pm, so people can have a look inside while we’re tinkering on it.”
The biggest challenge at this point isn’t a shortage of ideas – the committee and the wider community have come up with lots of great concepts and proposed lots of good plans.
The catch is finding the money and the manpower to make them a reality.
Volunteers are still working to stabilise the site and make it safe with the goal of opening it up to the public. Huge strides of progress are being made when it comes to roofing and flooring.
“It’s a big project, there’s no worries about that,” said Peter.
“The thing for now is that we’re trying to raise as many funds as we can, and get as many grants as we can, so we can continue to do repairs to the building. There’s a lot to keep us busy.”
On the financial front, the committee recently received a Hindmarsh Shire small equipment grant which will help maintain the site and is currently looking into options to fund a new fence.
The post-and-rail structure will be erected along the front of the site at Davis Avenue to protect important assets such as the metal weighbridge floor while adding another layer of safety.
On the people front, new members are always welcome and Peter said the committee may also look at organising more working bees, at which extra sets of hands are always appreciated.
“We rely on volunteers,” he said.
“There’s a lot of interest in the site, committee members are in and out all the time and every now and then people call in and offer to give a hand with things like whipper snipping.”
There’s no official timeline for the improvements to the front of the site yet, but updates will be coming soon.If you’d like to be part of this history-making project, there are three ways to join:
- Donate: Please visit nhillsiloheritageproject.org
- Volunteer: Please call in on Saturday from 9am-12pm (or when you see the doors open) to speak to a committee member about the project and find out where you can help
- Discuss: Follow Nhill Silo Heritage Project on Facebook
This article appeared in the Nhill Free Press & Kaniva Times, 22 May 2024.
