Willow Tree Bowling Club has burned to the ground after a fire broke out in the community hub on Tuesday.
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A NSW Rural Fire Service spokesman said crews were called to the scene shortly before 5pm where they discovered the roof alight.
The fire quickly spread throughout the building.
Fire and Rescue NSW firefighters also attended to help extinguish the building. Crews used defensive firefighting techniques and ultimately brought the blaze under control by 1am on Wednesday.
The Rural Fire Service spokesman said there were no reports of anyone inside the building.
Investigations are continuing.
Images of the fire were uploaded to the Recreation Road club’s Facebook page on Tuesday evening where they drew shocked and saddened responses from the Upper Hunter town.
Many took to the page to vent their shock and sadness at the loss, which Margaret Stewart wrote meant “a lot of history gone up in smoke”.
Cameron Barton said witnesses believed the fire emerged from the structure’s roof.
“From what we have heard from witnesses who had seen it from the start, it started in the roof and just spread from there,” he said.