AROUND 50 people had the opportunity to climb to the top of Kerang’s Lester Smith Water Tower last week as part of the Australian Heritage Festival.
While the National Trust has held the annual festival for more than 40 years, this was the first time the Gannawarra shire has featured in it.
Throughout the day, participants had the opportunity to climb the tower’s 83 steps to the lookout, while finding out more about the history of the tower and the role it played within the community, thanks to the Kerang Family History Group.
At the top of the tower, local residents and visitors were treated to uninterrupted views of Kerang and surrounding areas.
“The theme of this year’s festival was ‘Curiosity’ and was designed to bring heritage to life, encouraging the community to investigate and learn about cultural living and built heritage around the nation,” organiser and Gannawarra Shire Council libraries manager Mesh Thomson said.
“People are often curious about the history of the tower, its past and how it became a lookout tower, so the theme really fitted perfectly to be involved this year.”
In the past the tower has opened by request, but Thursday’s open day provided a unique event.
“There were members from the family history group as well as library staff available to provide more history of the tower and a fantastic pictorial display of the tower over the years,” Ms Thomson said.
The Lester Smith lookout tower was built in 1883 to provide Kerang with a regular water supply.
The steel water tank on top of the tower held approximately 25,000 gallons (112,500 litres).
The tower became redundant between 1957 and 1960 when a new water tower was constructed at the corner of Nolan and Vaughan streets.
It wasn’t until years later, in 1973, that plans were approved for a lookout to be added to the tower.
At a cost of $8000, the lookout was built in two sections and became known as the Lester Smith Lookout, paying homage to the late Henry Lester Smith and his work within the Kerang district which included 33 years of distinguished service to local government.
The tower has been home to a tourist bureau and the Kerang Lapidary and Gemstone Club, who managed the building from 1978 until the mid-1990’s, housing within the tower a large display of gemstones, rocks and other items of interest.
Today, the tower complements the Sir John Gorton Library, which opened in 2003.
