The original Lufra Hotel was originally built as a private residence in the 1850s and was of weatherboard construction. It later became a boarding house and then a hotel run by the Nuroo family (and for a time, the Taylor family). Ansett Transport Industries bought the hotel in 1946 and it became part of Pioneer Tourist Hotels, a subsiduary company. Instead of refurbishing the old building, the company built a new hotel which was officially opened by Premier of Tasmania, Robert Cosgrove, on 13 December 1948. It was built primarily for tourists travelling between Hobart and Port Arthur.;;The old hotel building was destroyed by fire on 6 July 1950.;;