But there is hope the town’s treasured cinema will be rebuilt.
From school prizegivings to weddings to funerals, every event in Roxburgh residents’ lives had played out in the building, which was destroyed bar its landmark brick facade in Thursday’s fire.
Struggling to hold back tears while looking at the charred remains of the building yesterday morning, Roxburgh Entertainment Centre and improvements committee chairman Curtis Crawford said the volunteer group had lost all the effort from their thousands of hours of work.
"I’ve tried [to count the volunteer hours] ... it’s pretty hard to put a number on.
"There wouldn’t be many weeks go by that I haven’t ended up in there doing something for somebody.
"If there’s a funeral you help them set up and go in afterwards to make sure it’s all put away."
He had performed in school productions as well taking part in school prizegivings.
His parents’ school prizegivings were held there, as were his daughter’s.
All the money they had raised and spent upgrading the cinema was "just gone".
"I don’t know how to handle it," he said becoming emotional.
"We still need it."
Local woman Molly Parker said the hall had been a central part of her life since she was five years old.
Her brother, Doug Dance, was the projectionist there for decades, and her teenage years in the 1950s centred around movies, dances and balls at the hall.
She and her late husband Alan even courted at dances at the hall and had their wedding reception there in 1960. Their daughter Ruth, now Ruth Davidson, had her 1984 wedding reception there too.
Flower shows, Anzac Day services, Steptoe auctions, sports and countless fundraisers were all held there. .
Retired teacher Barbara Fraser was also among many who went to have a look, from a safe distance, at the aftermath of the fire yesterday morning.
Having spent many hours in the theatre and on the stage with school productions and as a member of the Central Otago Regional Orchestra, she found it deeply saddening to see, she said.
She was particularly upset at the loss of the grand piano from the theatre.
When the call to evacuate nearby buildings went out, he had thought the fire was related to last month’s electrical fire in the cinema.
However, the smoke was emerging from a different part of the building, he said.
"It would only be minutes before the flames came through the roof," Mr Kats said.
"By that stage, to be fair, the guys here had no chance.
"They couldn’t do anything to save the town hall other than save the properties around it."
"We managed to get them all [about 10 motel guests] in alternative accommodation ... the locals took care of them for us," Mr Kats said.
"Something must have just gone terribly wrong somewhere — for it to go so quick was just unbelievable.
"Now the big cleanup begins."
He, too, hoped the cinema and hall would be rebuilt.
"I don’t know if they can save the front facade of the building. But if they can, I think they should make every effort."
Sir Sam Neill, whose films have screened at the cinema, said he was terribly sorry to hear the building had been destroyed.
"It was such an integral part of the community for so many years," the Central Otago-based actor said in a statement. "To lose a local cinema anywhere is sad, but particularly in Roxburgh.
"I do hope that there is some chance of rebuilding.
"Community — that’s what it’s all about."
