It’s almost 8 years since the fire which destroyed the Diggers Rest Hotel.
On the morning of October 30, 2008 the community of Diggers Rest woke to find the historical hotel built in 1854 still smouldering and under police supervision.
According to the Sunbury Leader Newspaper only days before the fire, “The Diggers Rest Hotel has been closed for two months for renovations. Licensee Brett Commisso said it would reopen before Christmas”.
It is understood that prior to the fire, the Environment Protection Agency had issued a clean-up notice and a requirement for the Hotel to connect their waste water system to the sewer network.
Although the Diggers Rest Hotel is not heritage listed, it is protected by heritage overlay within the Melton Planning Scheme.
The Heritage Overlay was first applied to the Hotel by Amendment C73, which came into effect on 17 April 2008 and gave statutory protection on an interim basis.
Amendment C71, gave permanent heritage controls to the Diggers Rest Hotel which came into effect on 26 August 2010 (almost 2 years after the fire).
Despite strong support to see the hotel demolished and replaced with a new family focused hotel and bistro, a number of residents stood firm opposing the demolition in favour of its historical significance to Diggers Rest.
Today, the structure still stands at the entry to Diggers Rest, less a chimney or two.
Follow the post on facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/diggersrest/posts/1116613378401164