Community spirit: Husband and wife Greg Chandler and Jenny Miller are the current custodians of the Barmah Racecourse Reserve area, keeping up maintenance in honour of the Corry family from Bush View.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Back in the day the fastest horses in Barmah gathered together on New Year’s Eve.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
Locals would start betting on races at 6pm, ride until dark, party until sunrise and fall asleep after the morning milking.
This all happened at Barmah Racecourse Reserve, under a bush shed (a simple frame) which people threw branches over once a year so they could drink beer in the shade.
After World War I, the community built a proper shed in its place and in 2019 that shed lost its roof to a dust storm.
Greg Chandler from Nathalia Pony Club suspects a twister hit the shed dead on, because the entire roof was ripped off and dumped several metres away over a fence and several trees.
“That happened in February 2019. We ‘ummed and ahhed’ about pushing it all over and burning it but then COVID came. We had nothing to do and thought, ‘why not fix it?’,” Mr Chandler said.
“All the roof beams are still originals. The walls are original, the furniture is original. That all survived.
“All we needed was Jenny with a chainsaw and a few new bits. A few hours over a few days, a few friends and it all came together.”
Does the job: Inside the tea and tote shed.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Nathalia Pony Club secretary Jenny Miller said the club had been using the “tea and tote” racing shed as its rec room since 1975.
“One end was where the wives made the tea and the east end was the tote and beer end,” she said.
“The numerous clubs of the Pony Club of Victoria’s northern zone use this as their home ground. Adult riders also hire the venue out.
“It is getting harder and harder to find good places to ride and here they can camp, cook and have hot water.”
The tea and tote shed sits on 24 hectares of riding area — a cross country course and well-positioned for visiting riders to follow dirt roads on sightseeing trips.
Upgrade: Chain link was replaced by a stronger wire mesh.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Mr Chandler said the shed was here for the community.
“We put it back up to help draw people into Barmah. Everyone has got a tin shed but only Barmah has this.”
The tea and tote shed is accompanied by a brick canteen built by cricketers in the 1980s and the old jockey change rooms.
The property backs onto Barmah Island, a section of red gum forest kept separate from Barmah National Park.
14°C