Burnt-out Robinvale Hotel to be demolished after 10 years of limbo
The fire-ravaged Robinvale Hotel in north-west Victoria will finally be pulled down, more than 10 years after a blaze gutted the town’s only pub and just two years short of its 100th birthday.
Swan Hill Rural City Council voted this week to step in and demolish the building after an independent structural engineering report found the site “critically unsafe”.
A safety exclusion zone was erected on Perrin Street earlier this year, forcing residents to take a detour. Swan Hill Mayor Stuart King said council had worked with the building’s owner for a very long time.
“But the time has now come for action,” he said.
Cr King said safety was the biggest priority.
“The building is unsafe, it needs to be demolished and so we will take action to have that work done,” he said.
An independent heritage assessment carried out last year found repairing the building was not practical. It also described as “highly regrettable” the failure to complete stabilisation and weatherproofing works shortly after the fire.
A loss for the town
Built in 1928, the hotel was long a tourist drawcard for the region and a gathering place for locals in a town of an estimated 8,000 residents. Many have grown increasingly frustrated at the lack of movement at the site.
Former resident Anniemae Goldring launched a petition last year urging council to reject the initial demolition application. She spent her formative years at the pub with her grandmother, who worked there as a bartender and cleaner.
She said it will be a sombre occasion when the building comes down.
“Differences aside, I’m glad that there will be some change for the township,” she said.
Hopes for a rebuild
Across the border in Euston, NSW, bowling and recreation club chief executive Guy Fielding said he was glad to finally see something happen.
“It’s been a long time [coming],” he said.
“The more facilities we have in our community, the better it is for our town and makes it more attractive for not only the locals but for tourists.”
He said it would be “fantastic” to see the hotel rebuilt.
“Every town needs a pub.”
Plans for the site are unknown. Cr King said any new building would likely need to meet a number of conditions because of the site’s heritage overlay. The bottle shop next door will be assessed after the demolition to decide its future.
Jonathan Jackson, 4th November 2026
