Iconic Pine Falls at Pub

THE iconic pine tree at the Victoria Hotel, Moonan Flat, fell in winds yesterday at approximately 3pm.

Owner of the Victoria Hotel, Scott Bailey, said they were fortunate the tree fell when it did, when it was quiet and nobody was injured.

See photos below.

“We’re fully booked out, so it could have been catastrophic,” said Mr Bailey.

“There’s a bike group this weekend, plus a few snow chasers coming out, but fortunately nobody was injured,” he said.

“There were some ladies in the beer garden who were having a drink and had to dive for cover,” he said.

“Where it landed and the time it landed it was probably the best outcome because the beer garden gets very busy at times and it could have gone over the hotel or over the residence,” he said.

Scott Bailey said he thought the tree was older, but people who saw the tree planted told him it began growing at the pub in 1966.

The Hotel is closed for lunch today, as the roof of the restaurant is assessed, before opening for the weekend.

“Part of it landed on our restaurant, so we are getting that assessed at the moment,” he said.

“The kitchen is still functional, we just need to get the roof assessed in the restaurant to make sure we can allow people in there,” said Scott Bailey.

The SES was called to the Hotel and locals have pitched in to help cut the fallen tree, while an arborist is planned to come to the Hotel with a crane truck to manage other parts of the tree.

While, the owners are not sure what tree they may plant next, a shade sail may be used this summer and the tree will remain part of the Hotel’s history in a new way.

“Some of the trunk sections we are going to cut into longer pieces and get it milled into a slab and I’m hoping we can put something in the bar and around the place,” he said.

“We might auction some off for charity, we’ll see how it pans out,” Scott Bailey said.