Bell View Hotel

The well-known Bell View Hotel at Bell, was owned by Mrs. Ensor, of Mungalalla, and occupied by Mr. S. Graham as licensee.

The premises were lit by a system containing volatalised benzine under air pressure, and on the night of 19 October 1930, this system malfunctioned. A naked flame produced an explosion, setting fire to the dining room. Within a few minutes, the fire had spread throughout the hotel building. Assisted by a breeze, and in the absence of any fire fighting equipment, the fire spread to a billiard room, a hair-dressing saloon, the old Bell View Hall, and the office of McCoy and Co, auctioneers, all of which were adjacent to the hotel.

Within the hour nothing was left of the whole mass of buildings but the stumps and burning debris. The value of the five buildings destroyed was estimated to be £5000.

Enquiries made by the police found no suspicious circumstances regarding the source of the fire, however it was rumoured locally that the outbreak was the indirect result of a practical joke.

Though strenuous efforts were put in by those in attendance, from the beginning it was evident that there was little or no hope of saving any of the buildings and their contents.

In an attempt to stay open for business, a temporary bar was erected on the ruins of the hotel.