Buchan pub saved as crowd funding campaign raises $600,000
THEY asked for a buck and they got $600,000 - and now Buchan will have a pub once more.
A crowd-funding campaign has cracked the ambitious target to rebuild the Gippsland town’s pub, which burnt down last year.
By 9.20pm, they had raised a remarkable $602,691.
The Buchan Caves Hotel burned down on April 9 last year, leaving the Gippsland town without a local watering hole.
As of Thursday afternoon a crowd funding campaign by “the Town of Buchan” to rebuild the pub had raised $595,744.
But if the coffers didn’t hit $600,000 by 8.31pm, the town would’ve lost it all.
Lyndel Moore suggested the town launch the online fundraiser months ago and “could throw up” as the nerves build with just hours to go.
“It is a big deal for a town like this,” she said.
“Unless you go to this town and see it for yourself it is hard to comprehend how much difference this would make.
“There are kids in Buchan who didn’t go to school today because they wanted to stay home and watch the computer screen — people are excited.”
Buchan locals believe the 125-year-old hotel was more than the bricks, mortar and beer it served.
It was the meeting place for Friday catchups and a pit stop for visitors — it was the glue that kept the town alive.
Ms Moore said Buchan, population 300, had taken a financial hit since the pub burnt down.
“It is so quiet there because there’s nowhere for people who don’t live there to stop in,” she said.
“The knock-on effects from losing the pub are massive.
“If a town like this can’t save the pub, then at some stage the town will fall off the face of the earth.”
Despite being thousands of dollars short, the town isn’t throwing in the towel just yet.
There’s garage parties planned and promises of “a big night in the bush” — after they get their $600,000.
“The thing about crowd funding is that you can never embark on something like this and at any hour become pessimistic,” Ms Moore said.
“We have a very good feeling.
“If you are looking for a good party, then I would bet Buchan would be the party hotspot of Victoria tonight.”
To donate to Buchan’s “Let’s Build A Pub” campaign, see www.pozible.com/project/196567.
Source: Herald Sun, Monique Hore, 13th August 2015
Originally published as: Buchan pub saved as crowd funding campaign raises $600,000
