By Faith Macale
Melton Produce has closed its doors after 24 years, after VicTrack took back possession of the land and building as part of its plans to upgrade Melton train station.
VicTrack owns the land the Melton Produce building is on, and the building itself. It leased the site to Melton Produce owner Peter Earl.
The store is housed in a 20th century pre-fabricated frameless steel shed built in 1964 as a storage shed for the Grain Elevator Board.
It originally had a distribution auger/elevator on the side facing the road, and a chute on the other side facing the tracks.
Mr Earl modified the building to let cars drive through the front door, load sacks of produce in the vehicle, and drive out the backdoor.
In 2018, the Melton council tried add the building to the heritage list but failed because of how little of the original infrastructure was left after the land was re-developed over the years.
“I was only little then, but I remember when it was built,” Mr Earl said of the shed.
“I used to drive a truck here with my grandfather bringing grains here.
“When the council tried to heritage list it, the railways opposed it, which pretty well indicated that there was going to be infrastructure changes.”
Despite plans to demolish the shed as soon as Melton Produce closes, Mr Earl remains hopeful the building will be saved.
“I think in Australia, there’s only this one and another one still existing,” he said.
A Level Crossing Removal Project spokesperson said work at the site was part of the state government’s plans for a new Melton station featuring improved platforms.
Mr Earl, now 70, said he was devastated about having to close his livelihood, but would take the opportunity to retire and visit family interstate.
He said his customers and community members were devastated to hear the news
“I worked five-and-a-half days, sometimes six days a week, so it’s a pretty full-on business,” he said.
“A lot of customers, they’ve been coming here themselves for 20 years and it’s convenient to a lot of people.
“Now, I’ll probably go to Queensland and visit my daughter, and start watching Hawthorn win premierships again.”
