Owner Craig Starr awoke early to see the timber-framed corrugated iron building 500m away well alight, a heart-breaking scene after the family, with help from many friends, had built and opened it in 2013.

Hall's strong community spirit has helped the Starrs continue their farm tourism business. Mr Starr said tour groups had been fantastic in responding to the inconvenience. "I even had a student the other day give me $20 towards the rebuild which I thought was nice," he said.

Hall Rotary Club lent them a mobile food trailer with a barbecue and ice box,. "They have been fantastic, they said we can use it for as long as we need it. So we have still been feeding our visitors," Mr Starr said.

A week after the fire a young Canberra couple went ahead with their wedding near the ashes of the function centre, and because of the extraordinary community support the Starrs continue to host visitors from China, the United States of America, Spain and England.

"We are still a working farm, we have 1500 sheep, we give [visitors] the experience of a working dog, I shear a sheep for them. I explain what my life is like and what life on the farm is like, answer their questions which can vary from football to shearing, wool prices and where the kids go to school," Mr Starr said. He said people appreciated seeing what life was like for a typical Australian family.

"One of the big things after the fire was support, and love from the community, people we have had dealings with offering to help," Mr Starr said. "The whole project should be a community project in the hope people across the district feel a part of it. We will have some working bees, put on a barbecue, make it all fun and enjoyable."

The previous function centre was made of iron and timber from the old Gold Creek station. The new one, which has been designed by the same consulting engineer, Pierre Dragh of Hall, will be built of recycled materials, much of it from neighbour Gordon Smith's timber yard, including pieces from an old slab cottage, recycled hardwood from wharves and demolished buildings.

A stone wall to be assembled by local stone mason Tom Bolton will feature in the new function centre. "With the old building we did not have a proper entrance, for more official functions, people did not know where to go," Mr Starr said.

The farmer and tour host had hoped that, being on the same building footprint, planning officers from the ACT would have allowed a more straight forward process. "We have to go through the whole new project. I would have liked to be well and truly underway by now. We can't, I have asked if we could build the toilet block just to help with other functions. No, we have to go through the process, which I found a bit frustrating," he said.

"I'd really like to be up and going by spring time, but it is getting closer and closer now. We have just got to go as quick as we can," Mr Starr said.