Guests were forced to evacuate their rooms when a fire ripped through a Central Highlands pub.
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The Bronte Park Chalet went up in flames on Friday morning, while visitors and staff were inside.
One of the guests was Anthony Shaw, who was on a fishing trip from New South Wales with his 14-year-old nephew.
Mr Shaw said at first, “most people thought it was a false alarm”.
“The fire alarm sounded … I looked out the hallway and other people were doing the same thing,” he said.
“I looked out the back of the lodge and noticed the steam coming off the roof behind or near the kitchen area, so I raced back in to wake up my nephew and packed straight away, but staff came very soon after. They did a great job getting every one out.
“I’ve been to Tasmania five times and I stay there every time.”
Within hours, the historic pub was gone.
Bronte Park General Store’s Shane Hedger said the chalet’s owner came running across the road about 7.30am to call triple-zero.
“She’s just gutted, I’m gutted, I think she is in shock at the moment,” he said.
“The pub was basically gone within two hours.”
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Mr Hedger has been in the area for 11 years and said he had never seen a fire “this big” before.
“They’ve lost everything,” he said.
“It’s a bit of a hub for local fisherman … it was booked out for months.”
Tasmania Fire Service crews from Hamilton, Gretna, Brady's Lake, Ouse and Great Lake were called to the Marlborough Highway holiday park and spent nearly three hours battling the blaze.
Mr Hedger said about 10.30am, smoke could still be seen coming from the buildings and firefighters remained at the scene, cleaning up.
Central Highlands fly fishing guide Ken Orr said the state had lost an “icon”.
“It’s going to have a dramatic effect on the community,” he said.
Mr Orr said the site, which was up for sale, was originally part of the Hydro Construction Village.
It was also the host accommodation for the 1988 World Fly Fishing Championships, which are being held in Tasmania again next year.
“There’s a lot of angling history that has gone with it. Our local and visitors watering hole is gone,” he said.
“A sad day in our highlands.”
Memories of the pub were shared online by locals and visitors to the region.
Some recalled growing up there during the days of Hydro villages.
Others spoke of school excursions to the chalet.
Nobody was injured and firefighters stopped the blaze from spreading to nearby houses and bushland. Fire investigators were at the scene on Friday, but the cause was unknown.
TFS said it was “likely to take some time given the size of the building and extent of the damage” and investigators will return to Bronte on Saturday.