Buchan pub to reopen thanks to crowdfunding
by Leon Gettler
Two years after it was burnt down due to an electric fault, the historic Buchan Caves Hotel could reopen as early as June after the townsfolk in the tiny Victorian hamlet of Buchan, around an hour northeast of Bairnsdale in Snowy River country, raised $605,146 to rebuild it.
“We’ve put the roof on and the cladding ... and have just finished putting on the decking for the veranda,” pub owner Greg Brick told the Weekly Times.
“This is all about the town and the support the town has given to it. It’s not about me or any individual; it’s been an amazing community effort.”
The loss of the pub had devastated the small country town. The 100 odd residents had lost the place where they could get together and talk and drink tall beers.
There was a community meeting which “unanimously” called for a new pub.
And so 1694 people from near and far chipped in with funds as did local businesses who contributed to the crowd-funding;
They set up a website called Let’s Build a Pub.
The fundraisers included former resident Lyndel Moore who promised annual profits from the business will be given back to the community, supporting the Buchan Primary School, the CFA and the footy club.
Former pub owner Pip Kay even took to Facebook and wrote: “I was devastated when it burnt down, now I can’t wait to see the new one”.
“I really didn’t think it was going to happen. It shows it’s amazing what people can do,” said Mr Brick, who also runs a 160ha sheep and cattle property as well as Buchan Valley Plumbing.
“It was the social hub of the area, a contact point for a lot of people and to a certain extent the town died when the pub burnt down. It’s been a sad old town since.”
And so, more than 120 years after it was first erected, the pub will re-open by the middle of the year. All because the people of Buchan had come together.
6th April 2016
