Natimuk Heritage Trail
The Djurite Balug, part of the Jardwadjali language group, lived in the area around Mount Arapiles. The name Natimuk reportedly comes from the Jardwadjali word for "little creek".
This walk follows the 34 numbered sites on the heritage trail map and covers most of the town. It takes about one and a half hours to complete. The sites tell the story of Natimuk's former churches, businesses, public buildings and industries.
The Arapiles Historical Society's wider self-guided walk now describes 73 heritage sites across three trails: east, west and north of Natimuk Creek. QR-coded signs at 34 key locations link to short historical videos.
Map of Heritage Trail
Download Natimuk Heritage Trail Map
Follow the numbers on the map, starting outside the Natimuk Store. The walk finishes near the old Fire Station.
Heritage Trail Sites
1. Post Office: The post office in Natimuk operated from several locations, including a grain store and Schmidt's farm on Lake Road. An earlier post office site is identified at 85 Main Street.
Address: 85 Main Street, Natimuk
2. Colonial Bank: This two-storey building was constructed as the Colonial Bank in 1888. It became an E.S. & A. Bank in 1918 and closed in 1930 during the Depression. It is now a private residence.
Address: 83 Main Street, Natimuk
3. The Willows: This was once a doctor's residence. The vine-covered brick shed beside it was formerly the bakehouse.
Address: 77 Main Street, Natimuk
4. Schurmann family home: Emmie and Hilda Schurmann once lived here. Hilda graduated from the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and travelled around the district as a music teacher.
Address: 71 Main Street, Natimuk
5. Flood marker: In May 1893, James Carrol, a 48-year-old coaching-business proprietor, drowned in the main street after falling into swirling floodwaters.
Location: Main Street, Natimuk; the exact point is not identified
6. Schurmann's Store and pioneer oven: The site includes what may be Natimuk's oldest commercial building site and a surviving pioneer oven.
Location: Main Street, Natimuk; the exact street number is not identified
7. National Hotel: The first National Hotel on this site was built in 1887 and burnt down in 1891. It was rebuilt in brick and reopened in 1892.
Address: 63-65 Main Street, Natimuk
8. Natimuk Masonic Lodge: The lodge was founded on 21 December 1897. The building later took its present form and is now used by the Arapiles Historical Society, including as a research centre and climbing museum.
Address: 55-59 Main Street, Natimuk
9. Former Shire Building: The Shire of Arapiles was amalgamated with Horsham in 1994.
Address: 62 Main Street, Natimuk
10. Court House and Historical Museum: This site was originally chosen for the post office. The courthouse opened in July 1891 and was used as a hospital during the influenza outbreak after the First World War. It was gazetted as a historical museum on 8 February 1964.
Address: 57 Main Street, Natimuk
11. Uniting Church: The church was originally built as Natimuk's Presbyterian Church around 1877. The present building was moved to this site in 1974 and later became the Uniting Church.
Address: 35 Main Street, Natimuk
12. Former St John's Catholic Church: Parishioners attended Mass here for the last time on 2 May 2010, when the 95-year-old church closed. The renovated building is now self-contained accommodation known as The Old Church Natimuk.
Address: 27-29 Main Street, Natimuk
13. St Aidan's Anglican Church: The congregation began in 1886.
Address: 38 Main Street, Natimuk
14. Dr Bird's former home and hospital: This house was Dr Bird's hospital for about 20 years. Dr Bird came to Natimuk in 1895. The town's original hospital, opened around the 1880s, stood on the site of the present RSL Hall.
Address: 40 Main Street, Natimuk
15. Carved hedge: This hedge was carved by Don Emmerson, who worked as a grader driver from 1948, Shire overseer from 1950 and Arapiles Shire superintendent from 1970 until his retirement in 1974. Emmerson also divined the water for the Centenary Camping Ground at Mount Arapiles.
Location: Main Street, Natimuk; the exact street number is not identified
16. Former flour mill site: The present saleyards occupy the site of a flour mill belonging to Bretag and Kuse, built around 1875. The mill moved near the old railway station in 1906. The later Noske's mill burnt down in January 1920. Reports described the smell of burnt wheat lingering in town for weeks.
Location: Natimuk saleyards; the trail text does not provide a street number
17. Former mill dam and irrigation channel: The mill dam was built on the creek when the flour mill was operating. The Wartook to Natimuk and Mount Arapiles channel was Australia's first government irrigation channel system. Water first reached Natimuk on 15 January 1888.
Location: Natimuk Creek; the exact point is not identified
18. Major Mitchell historical marker: This plaque commemorates Major Thomas Mitchell's passage through the area on 22 July 1836.
Location: Natimuk; the trail text does not give a street address
19. Memorial Band Rotunda: Built in 1921, the rotunda was funded as a way to wind up a comfort fund established for First World War soldiers.
Location: Main Street, Natimuk
20. Former Natimuk Hotel: This elegant old house was built as the Natimuk Hotel by Heinrich Sudholz around 1876. It was damaged by fire in 1881 and rebuilt in stone in 1884. It is now a private residence.
Address: 64 Main Street, Natimuk
21. Beard and Sisson engineering works: This shed is all that remains of the engineering works established in 1879. In the late 1800s, the business was described as Victoria's largest agricultural machinery works and employed 105 people in 1894.
Address: 84 Main Street, Natimuk
22. St Paul's Lutheran Church: Lutheran services in Natimuk began as early as 1872. The congregation became the town's largest religious denomination.
Address: 92 Main Street, Natimuk
23. Original Natimuk State School: Natimuk State School No. 1548 opened on 19 April 1875. It had 170 pupils in its first year. A new school opened at the other end of town in 1962.
Address: 1A Sudholz Street, Natimuk
24. Former Fire Station: The Natimuk Fire Brigade began in 1890. This station building was erected in 1959.
Address: 111 Main Street, Natimuk
25. Rosel family home: The house was built by the Rosel family. Lou Rosel was an early proprietor of the National Hotel, and his mother sold shoes from the front room.
Address: 109 Main Street, Natimuk
26. Former police station and lock-up: This limestone residence was formerly a police station. A shed in the back yard was the old lock-up. It is now a private residence.
Address: 103 Main Street, Natimuk
27. Soldiers Memorial Hall: Originally called the Mechanics Institute, the hall has served many community purposes. On 15 August 1891 it was packed for a demonstration of the Edison phonograph.
Address: 101 Main Street, Natimuk
28. Former general-purpose store: This building was once a general-purpose store and is now a craft shop.
Address: 96 Main Street, Natimuk
29. Bakery: The bakery building was constructed in 1897.
Location: Main Street, Natimuk; the exact street number is not identified
30. Former National Bank: This private residence and cafe was once the National Bank, which opened in 1908.
Address: 93 Main Street, Natimuk
31. Natimuk Brass Band Hall: The band was formed in 1885. It went into recess from 1930 to 1947 after its instruments were destroyed in a store fire.
Address: 91 Main Street, Natimuk
32. Former powerhouse: The brick garage was built in 1920, and the adjoining powerhouse was built in 1927. It generated 230 volts, and electric street lighting came to Natimuk in March that year. Natimuk Electric Supply joined the SEC in late 1956. The site is now associated with the town's rock-climbing community.
Location: Natimuk; the exact street address is not identified
33. Natimuk Silo: The concrete silo first received wheat in December 1940 and has a capacity of 110,000 bushels.
Location: Station Street, Natimuk
34. Flowerdale: Built for the Schmidt family in the late 1870s, this is described as the oldest standing house in Natimuk.
Address: 5 Schmidt Street, Natimuk
Important Information
Many buildings on the walk are private property. Do not enter private properties or attempt to inspect buildings or rear yards. View them from public areas only.
For further details, see the Arapiles Historical Society's Natimuk Heritage Walk and the Horsham Rural City Council heritage study.
Location
Cnr Wimmera Highway and Schmidt Street, Natimuk 3409 View Map
