THERE is something to be said about stopping for a moment, lifting our eyes up off the ground and taking an interest in what else might be in our line of sight.
Shepparton may not have the grand buildings that populate regional towns like Bendigo and Ballarat yet is does have a number of points of interest that we tend to overlook.
From a recognised heritage perspective, there are some 190 listings in the Victorian heritage database that include all manner of significant placements around the shire.
The Heritage Advisory Committee is an adjunct of the Greater Shepparton City Council, formed around 2012 and comprising members of the public to provide advocacy for cultural and heritage matters in the region to Council.
One such building that dates back to the interwar period of modern architecture, was the Fairway Building on the corner of Fryers St and Maude St with a frontage in the Mall built in 1937.
In its day, the construction represented some advances on previous construction methods with steel columns that gave rise to larger open spans for glass windows to be installed. Perhaps the only thing that has been retained from the original façade is the decorative pressed metal panels under the canopy.
The committee comes from all manner of backgrounds, some representatives are guardians of local museums, others have undertaken research into historical aspects of Shepparton including its indigenous past.
In better times, the Heritage Advisory Committee arrange open days of more than 50 heritage locations around the municipality.
