"Now it’s all gone and it’s just a bloody shame."
That was the reaction in Roxburgh after fire ravaged the town’s beloved historic cinema and hall.
The volunteer-run cinema, part of the Roxburgh Town Hall building, had been a labour of love for decades and was believed to be the longest running cinema in the southern hemisphere before yesterday’s blaze destroyed it.
Residents are reeling at the sudden loss of a central piece of local history as well as the town’s largest meeting place — the building had stood in Roxburgh’s main street for more than 110 years.
Among them was Doug Dance, 84, who volunteered as a projectionist at the cinema for 66 years.
Since starting in 1954, he had spent spent countless hours in the "beautiful" theatre, he said.
"It was my whole life. My kids grew up there."
He had joined the crowd of people watching the blaze, but had to leave as it was too much for him.
"Now it’s all gone and it’s just a bloody shame."
It was the end for the cinema, he said.
"It takes so long for things to sort themselves out and it’s been destroyed within hours.
"I just don’t think it’s possible it’ll be rebuilt."
At the fire’s peak, flames leapt up to 10m-high from the top of the building.
Later, windows exploded and the fire could be seen consuming the interior as smoke drifted across the town, and multiple buildings near the site were evacuated.
Fourteen fire crews, including two command units, came from as far away as Dunedin to help battle the blaze, which was called in at 11.45am.
A partial roof collapse in the afternoon allowed crews to douse the flames using an aerial appliance.
Residents were asked to urgently conserve water to help firefighters, who were also taking water from the nearby Clutha River and the town’s swimming pool.
The fire was contained at 3.30pm, but the building could not be saved, though a post from the Central Otago District Council on social media last night suggested there was hope the facade might be.
Many residents gathered, largely stoic and silent, to watch the fire: among them Mr Dance’s son, Daniel, who was emotional as he held his own son, Alfie.
"My father was on the committee that set up the theatre. I spent my whole life in that building, since I was little."
A witness said it was sad to watch decades of memories going up in flames, while another described it as heartbreaking.
Central Otago District Mayor Tamah Alley travelled to Roxburgh from Waitangi Day celebrations in Queenstown.
She said it was a sad day for the Roxburgh community.
Teviot Valley councillor Sally Feinerman, who lives along the road from the town hall, also watched the fire and said people were feeling sad, especially about "the age of the building and it being the longest-running movie theatre in the southern hemisphere".
"They’ve just done so much work upgrading the facility, which is really devastating for the group that run the Roxburgh Entertainment Centre. It’s the biggest meeting place we have in Roxburgh."
Fire and Emergency Otago District Commander Phil Marsh said the building’s fire alarm and multiple 111 calls alerted emergency crews to the fire.
Local crews had done an outstanding job preventing the fire from spreading to nearby buildings.
"It’s been a fantastic response from our volunteers and also our career staff that have come from Dunedin."
The cause of the fire was not known last night.
Fire investigators would begin their work to determine the cause and origin as soon as they could, he said.
Last month, a fire in the cinema caused minor damage, but early detection by a recently installed fire alarm meant fire crews were there within five minutes.
Mrs Alley said the talk yesterday was that the fire might also have been caused by an electrical fault.
— Ruby Shaw and Staff reporters
