03-08-2025
Century-old water tower in Wodonga transformed into unique bookshop
With its towering, cylindrical form and circular internal shelves, booklovers who enter regional Victoria's newest bookshop have to be willing to fossick for titles in a confined space.
Wodonga's 100-year-old water tower has been transformed into a second-hand book store by Melissa Boyes.
For decades, the water tower housed a shoe repair business but has sat empty for the past year.
"When we first took occupancy, it was very empty and echoey … we've tried to soften it with a bit of carpet, and obviously a lot of books," Ms Boyes said.
When the local council asked for expressions of interest for people to occupy the space, Ms Boyes knew a bookshop was the answer.
She had experience in such ventures, having opened her first bookshop in an old tobacco shed on her farm in north-east Victoria.
"You can squeeze bookshelves in anywhere, and you can make do with the space that you have," she said.
In Victoria's south west, Jo Canham had just finished an arts degree in literature and criminology when she decided to ditch a career in the justice system and open a bookshop instead.
In 2004, she moved to Port Fairy where she transformed an old Masonic Lodge into a bookshop.
"It had previously operated as a church and youth centre, so there were crosses, bibles and even a step-into baptismal font," Ms Canham said.
Her store, Blarney Books & Art, was also once home to a bowling alley that ran the entire length of the hall.
"We considered for a while whether we should have a combined books and bowling spot, but it was incredibly loud," she said.
"We've chopped it up, used it for tables, benches, and other things, so it hasn't been wasted."
A health scare and the need for a tree change inspired Ann and Paul Smith to open a little bookshop in a quaint gold rush town on the outskirts of Castlemaine in central Victoria.
Mr Smith had previously managed a bookshop in Melbourne for Frank Cheshire before purchasing the 1854 Bath Arms Hotel at Campbell's Creek in 1994.
"There was already a good, new bookshop in Castlemaine, so we thought we'd be the good second-hand bookshop," Ms Smith said.
Now, the renovated building houses approximately 150,000 books in nine rooms.
"It's probably the biggest second-hand bookshop in Australia now, I think," Ms Smith said.
Water towers and watering holes are not the only heritage buildings in Victoria being repurposed as bookshops — there are old school buildings too.
At Beechworth, in Victoria's north east, a former schoolroom and chapel for the Wesleyan church built in 1854 now houses the Quercus Bookshop.
The volunteer-run social enterprise has operated as a second-hand bookstore alongside an opportunity shop since 2008.
"It's a space where community can come together, and we offer community activities and support programs," operations manager Heather Jameson said.
