Investigators are treating as suspicious a fire that destroyed the historic and beloved Ky West Hotel in northern Victoria.
Just before midnight on Monday (20 March), emergency services were summoned, and police and more than a dozen CFA vehicles rushed to the Ky West Hotel at Tongala, near Kyabram, around three hours north of Melbourne.
Crews battled to save the old weatherboard pub, and the blaze was not brought under control for several hours. The scene was finally declared safe at 3am, after an estimated 90 per cent of the fire had been extinguished.
All that remained the following day, as arson squad detectives attended the site, was warped corrugated iron sheets and two brick chimneys.
The Hotel was established in 1876 by Irishman John Meehan, and became a popular meeting place for local Irish residents. In 2014 Campaspe Shire Council determined the site had local significance and applied heritage status.
For nearly a century and a half the Ky West Hotel has operated continuously.
A few years ago, publican for the prior decade Wayne Cowley sold it to a former employee, 29-year-old Matt Ford and his wife, Imogen, who had been striving to take over the operation for years.
Cowley was one of dozens of local residents who came to the pub on Tuesday to share commiserations and offer support, telling the ABC the pub was a vital meeting place for the farming community, and “it’s like we lost a family member”.
Police are appealing for any potential witnesses to come forward, specifically anyone that drove on Graham Road during the hour or so before midnight.
The owners have suggested it is too soon to know whether the hotel might be rebuilt.
But the community has already launched a fundraising campaign to support the owners and attempt to collect enough funds to restore their watering hole.
Contributions can be made HERE.
