The president of a 106-year-old cricket club headquarters that burnt to the ground in Christchurch early this morning says the loss is devastating.
Firefighters were called to the New Brighton Cricket Club at the Rawhiti Domain just after 4am and found the blaze spreading to nearby pine trees.
The fire is being treated as suspicious and an investigation is underway.
The club's president, Rob Dixon, was at the scene this morning and said it looked like there was nothing salvageable from the building.
"It's the 100-year-old photos, it's the trophies that have got names from people from the 1950s on them.... the honours board and things like that you can't replace.
"You can start a new trophy for the best bastman, but you can't bring back the trophy from 1954 with the name of the first person who won it."
Mr Dixon said the club will hold an emergency meeting tomorrow.