A cottage at Tasmania’s heritage-listed Low Head Pilot Station will be rebuilt following a fire last week.
The blaze destroyed the roof of a single accommodation cottage known as Coxswain Cottage, built in 1861 to house pilot station workers.
The building sits closest to the water, adjoining the boat ramp.
“The fire is extremely unfortunate, but thankfully involved just one of the accommodation cottages on the heritage-listed site,” the museum said in an online update.
The site’s most significant heritage buildings escaped damage.
These include the convict-built Pilots Row from 1835, which houses the Maritime Museum and the original Coxswain’s Cottage from 1847, now operating as the Pilots Providore Cafe.
“Both these buildings and the rest of the cottages are unaffected, apart from being engulfed in smoke for a while,” the museum said.
The damaged cottage was home for many years to the late Wayne Shipp, who served as Coxswain and the Maritime Museum’s first curator.
“Fortunately, most of the damage is in the roof (which isn’t the original covering) where the fire started,” the museum said.
The roof has been removed and the building secured from weather.
Parks and Wildlife have indicated to the museum the cottage will be re-roofed and restored after Christmas.
The Low Head Pilot Station holds the distinction of being Australia’s first government pilot station.
“A pilot service has operated at Low Head since 1805,” the museum said, noting this was shortly after the first Europeans arrived in northern Van Diemen’s Land in November 1804.
The station has operated continuously from the same site for 220 years, making it unique among Australian pilot stations.
The Maritime Museum remains open daily from 10am to 4pm except Christmas Day, offering 13 rooms of displays.
