Residents of the NSW outback town of Bourke have been left shocked and devastated after losing two of its most historic buildings in what police believe was a deliberately lit fire yesterday.
Emergency crews raced to the scene at around 3.30pm on Wednesday as fire raged through the town’s RSL building – known as Diggers on the Darling cafe – and the Old Oxley Hall.
While not among Bourke’s official heritage-listed sites, both buildings were much-loved by locals, and the Old Oxley Hall was home to an impressive collection of the region’s military memorabilia – now all lost in the blaze.
Locals watched on in horror as the buildings burned, with both reportedly engulfed in flames within minutes.
Police say both Rural Fire Service and NSW Fire and Rescue crews attended the ferocious blaze and were lucky to prevent it from spreading to adjacent buildings.
In a statement released this morning, NSW Police said the fire was being treated as suspicious.
“Officers attached to Central North Police District attended and found the building well alight,” NSW Police said.
“Police evacuated neighbouring blocks and established a perimeter, which included closing a nearby supermarket.
Fire and Rescue NSW attended and extinguished the blaze; however, the building was completely destroyed. No injuries have been reported.”
“A crime scene has been established, and police are continuing to investigate the cause of the fire, which is being treated as suspicious.”
It’s not the town’s first loss of an historic building, with the North Bourke Pub, then known fondly as the Back O’Bourke Hotel, going up in flames in 2010.
The century-old pub was burnt to the ground at its location on the banks of the Darling River. It is currently in the process of being rebuilt on the same site and in the same style as the original pub.
The town – which was once home to legendary Australian poet, Henry Lawson, who lived in there in the 1890s – has many historically significant buildings including its Court House which was built in 1900 and is the farthest inland Maritime Court in Australia.
Other noteworthy buildings include the Post Office and the Fitzgerald Post Office Hotel, the Western Lands Department, the Roman Catholic Church and the Towers Drug Company.
