An early morning fire in Surrey Hills has ravaged most of the roof of a heritage-listed 98-year-old wedding venue.
Fire Rescue Victoria crews arrived at the Wattle Park Chalet at about 6:32am on Saturday September 12, with fire and water damage tearing through about 30 percent of the building until the fire was extinguished within about 80 minutes.
According to Victoria Police, investigations into the cause of the fire remain ongoing.
Dealing with destruction: With only seven months as owner, Matthew Forsyth said seeing the damage to the property was “heartbreaking”, after first receiving the news from the media on scene and shortly after from Victoria Police.
“I felt nauseous and just gutted,” he told the Eastern Melburnian.
Operating under his business Sabora Events, Forsyth said he had invested hundreds of hours of work and hundreds of thousands of dollars into refurbishing the property.
“It was just absolutely oozing character and charm,” he said. “It needed a little bit of love in terms of cleaning – some broken windows and there was an awning that was in pretty bad nick.”
The view of damage from inside the main hall.
The history: Originally built in 1928 within Burwood’s 41-hectare Wattle Park, the chalet has served as a tea house, dance hall and wedding and function venue.
The construction used recycled materials from other infrastructure across Melbourne, including the roof slates from the former Yarra Bend Asylum in Fairfield and the bricks from cable tram engine-house chimneys.
The show goes on: To add pressure to an already trying situation, a wedding reception with 120 guests was scheduled for Saturday evening with floral arrangements already on the tables and food prepared.
Forsyth said the couple was understanding as he and his team sourced another venue, organised another menu, obtained more flowers from their florist and even revived the smoke-damaged seating chart.
🗣️ “They were just ecstatic with the turnaround,” he said. “One of the things I love about the industry is that everyone knows sometimes you’ve just got to get on with it.”
What’s next? Forsyth said beyond working out what the recovery process may look like, he had about 20 events scheduled over the next few months to either book alternative venues for or refund deposits if he is unable to find an appropriate location.