Staff reporters
The burnt ruins of the historic Mt Warning Hotel at Uki were a sightseeing destination yesterday as locals and visitors who had some connection to the 100 year old pub looked over the site.
Fire brigade investigators have assessed the two storey building in which the whole top floor containing guest rooms was internally gutted.
The outside walls and frame of the building remains standing, but will have to be demolished.
Uki residents were shocked to find their old pub is no longer, but the tears shed when many watched it burn turned to hope as they looked over it yesterday.
Some said they hoped the hotel would be rebuilt, as it was a community hub for generations and would continue to play that role.
It was one of the north coast’s classic ‘country pubs’ with a rich history going back to the old cedar getting days and the once large local dairy industry.
It has a colourful history, and served to unite various groups in and around the village as the population grew or changed over the years.
From the pioneering early farming and timber logging days to the alternative lifestylers who settled in the village and surrounding valleys during the 1970s and 1980s, the pub served them all, helping to unite the community with its Friday night raffles and family nights.
But it wasn’t always like that, with one famous brawl taking place there in the 1980s between conservative locals and new lifestylers who formed a local branch of the Australian Marijuana Party and had campaigned at the pub.
The two groups including loggers, farmers, hippies and tradesmen eventually made up their differences, resulting in a stronger community.
Tweed Shire councillor Gary Bagnall told Echonetdaily he had conveyed Council’s sympathy to publican Geoff Brown, who was too distressed to talk to media after the incident.
It’s believed Mr Brown, who has run the pub for around five years, wants to set up a temporary bar while insurance assessors and fire investigators decide the fate of the hotel.
The heritage listed hotel was set to celebrate its centenary in March next year.
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