Chinese temple badly damaged in Lunar New Year blaze

A historic Chinese temple in South Melbourne has been badly damaged after a fire tore through the building, with flames seen billowing from the roof.

The heritage listed building has been badly damaged in the blaze. Picture: Tony Gough

A beloved heritage listed Chinese temple built more than 150 years ago has been severely damaged after a blaze tore through the South Melbourne building.

Bright orange smoke could be seen billowing from the second storey and roof of the See Yup Temple as the flames engulfed the building just after 8pm on Saturday night.

It took 30 firefighters about 45 minutes to bring the blaze under control

Emergency services issued a warning to the public to avoid the area and surrounding streets were closed to traffic.

The cause of the blaze is not yet known. Picture: Tony Gough

The temple was built more than 150 years ago. Picture: Tony Gough

Trams on nearby Clarendon St were also disrupted as firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze.

Several people living near the temple phoned triple-0 amid concerns at the rapid spread of flames.

A fire at South Melbourne’s historic See Yup Temple - hopefully they can get it controlled without too much damage but it’s not looking good :( pic.twitter.com/yuRR1cj6Va

— Matt Steadman (@matt_steadman) February 17, 2024

The fire broke out as the Chinese community continues to mark the Lunar New Year of the Dragon, which began last Saturday and is celebrated for 15 days.

Built in 1856, the temple is owned by the See Yup Society of Melbourne.

It is predominantly used for Chinese language classes, worship, and traditional festivals.

Many have taken to social media to share how important the temple is to the community, with one writing it was “one of the oldest Chinese temples in Australia. I hope they can save it”.

Arson chemists were on Sunday called in to probe the cause of the fire.

Anyone with information about the blaze is being urged to come forward.