North East Vic fires: Tintaldra Hotel opens doors and hearts to fire-affected residents

Generosity of spirit and a handy generator made Tintaldra Hotel the place to be following bushfires that tore through North East Victoria earlier this month.

Baptism of fire: The Tintaldra Hotel’s Mark Sewell, who took over the pub as a co-owner just ahead of the bushfires, has been offering free meals during the crisis. Picture: Dannika Bonser

THE Tintaldra Hotel has been a beacon of hope for locals after the Corryong bushfire tore through the North East Victorian town this month.

For two weeks following the devastation of the fires, the pub was open for free meals, shelter, groceries and essentials, and to lend an ear to those suffering from the ­effects of the fires.

Mark Sewell, wife Michelle Tan and Darren Jones bought the pub only last month and decided to defend the iconic hotel when bushfires broke out on January 4.

“We’ve only just bought the hotel and we felt that 150 years of years of history would have been wiped out if we didn’t stay,” Mr Sewell said.

It was another easy decision to keep their doors open for the community and surrounds who had very little left.

“No one had power or ­anything to cook their own meals but we did,” Mr Sewell said.

“We were kindly donated a generator and local produce that would have gone off otherwise.

“We made the best of a meal out of it and shared it around.”

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Mr Sewell said each day about 20-30 residents and volunteers from the surrounding areas of Towong, Tooma and Walwa came to the pub to share their stories.

While it had been an unusual introduction to the town for Mr Sewell, who moved there from Melbourne.

He said things were slowly getting back to normal.

“It was definitely an experience,” he said. “The silver lining is that it’s been a really good way of meeting people from the community.”