Crowdfunding restores Buchan pub
Here is an extraordinary story about resilience and good Aussie initiative.
Two years ago, back in April 2014, a small Buchan pub nestled in the hills near the Snowy River National Park, was burnt to the ground due to an electrical fault.
The community was devastated.
Built in 1881, the Buchan Caves Hotel was more than just their local pub.
It was the place where people in the small town could come together and talk, to meet and plan and make arrangements.
Without their favourite local, the loggers, tourism operators, farmers and people who had spent their lives in the small town had to drink at the local football clubrooms.
It just wasn’t the same.
As a result, there was a community meeting which “unanimously” called for a new pub.
That saw 1694 people and businesses contributing to a crowd-funding campaign. They raised $605,146 to rebuild the Buchan Caves Hotel.
That was followed by months of hard work and what was mostly voluntary labour.
Everyone put in to rebuild the pub in Buchan, well known for its caves that draw in 140,000 visitors a year.
And so the new look Buchan Caves Hotel re-opens on Monday December 12.
So how can a town with a population of 200 raise that sort of money?
Lyndel Moore, who spearheaded the crowdfunding campaign said all stops were pulled out. They managed to get pledges from all over the world, from New York, London and Singapore.
Longtime local Marnie Cummings said the campaign went beyond just the town of Buchan.
“It looks so grounded in the little valley, like it’s always been there,’’ Ms Cummings told the Herald Sun.
“There were so many people from so many other places whose lives had been touched by Buchan in some way.
“Even people from overseas who had some association. We have just been gobsmacked by the support.’’
by Leon Gettler, December 9th 2016
