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Investigators have not ruled out the possibility that fireworks caused the blaze which destroyed the clubrooms of an Auckland bowling club early yesterday.
The Cornwall Park club's building off Market Rd was well ablaze from end to end when the alarm was raised shortly before 4am.
Fourteen fire engines attended.
Police kept people away from the scene because of the danger from asbestos material used in the 1951 building.
The clubrooms and an unoccupied manager's flat were destroyed but firefighters stopped the blaze spreading to nearby St Cuthbert's College classrooms.
In April, the Carlton Bowling Club merged with Cornwall to form a new entity called Carlton Cornwall Bowls.
President Alan Crowe said the fire was a "shock for members".
"We're rebuilding here and it was going well," he said.
Among the club's 150 members at the site yesterday was Roger Harris, a former test cricket player.
"We gain strength from these things and go ahead," he said.
Cornwall members were upset about the loss of photographs and memorabilia.
However, Carlton's records of its 111-year history were in storage elsewhere, pending the redevelopment project.
Cornwall Park Trust Board chairman Michael Horton said the board would certainly consider a request from bowlers for a new building.
