Fire has ripped through a 160-year-old homestead recently renovated by former television personality Tonia Todman.
The blaze which heavily damaged the homestead early Monday was reportedly caused by a guest stoking a fire.
The homestead, named Highbank, was built at the beginning of the gold rush in the late 1840s by the Watson family, who had arrived from Scotland to move to farming land around Kyneton.
The family was known for breeding Clydesdale horses which were kept in the stables, which have now been restored into self-contained apartments.
Todman offered accommodation and classes at Highbank in cooking, craft, interior design and gardening.
The CFA was called to the homestead on Donnelly Road in Kyneton, in the Macedon Ranges region northwest of Melbourne, at 6.47am to find the bluestone and timber farmhouse fully ablaze.
No one was trapped and no-one has been injured.
The fire was brought under control at 7.27am, half an hour after 16 CFA fire trucks rushed to the scene, and fully extinguished at 9.15am.
Firefighters from Bendigo used ladder support to help quell the fire after the roof of the building collapsed.
Todman is known for her regular appearances on Good Morning Australia, and has written 28 lifestyle books.
An avid gardener, she also has a rose garden at Highbank which is sometimes open to the public.
The Age, Bendigo Advertiser
