The Waltzing Matilda Centre at Winton went up in flames just before 2am on Thursday morning.

Firefighters battled the blaze for more than four hours, but the centre was completely gutted.

There were no injuries and fire investigators have been called.

The outback Australia icon contained much of the town’s history and also of Waltzing Matilda.

Queensland State Emergency Service Spokesperson said the fire was alight when fire crews arrived.

Fire crews received the call at 1:50am and two fire trucks from Winton arrived on scene at 1:58am and requested from Longreach and arrived at 4am to help control the blaze.

The fire was under control at 5am and was extinguished by 6am.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services inspector Bob Stook has confirmed that the Waltzing Matilda Centre has been completely destroyed by fire.

“This is going to devastate the town,” he said.

“They have lost so much memorabilia and history of their place. The Waltzing Matilda Centre was an icon for Australia.”

Winton Mayor Butch Lenton said it was heartbreaking to see fire rip through the centre.

“It has preserved Winton history and unfortunately it has been gutted, but we have to stay positive,” he said.

Winton Mayor Lenton said the centre was a significant employer of Winton residents.

A meeting will be held to talk about the future of the building.

Cr Lenton said tourists loved the centre as it had a number of different elements, making a popular destination.

He encouraged tourist to travel to the town and help in the time of need.

The building was built in 1998 according to the Waltzing Matilda Centre website and has expanded over the years to showcase art work and the Qantilda Museum.

Susan Eliott, who worked at the centre, said the blaze destroyed a cafe, an art gallery, a visitor information centre and, worst of all, a museum.

"It was absolutely full of Winton's history and Qantas's history ... that's definitely going to be the worst place affected," she said.

"The cafe - we can rebuild all that - but we can't get the history back. And there was a beautiful Anzac room there, it was only opened in April."

Winton, about 170 kilometres northwest of Longreach, has a population of about 950.

It was one of Qantas's founding towns and has strong links to the history of the popular folk song.

Ms Eliott said the Waltzing Matilda Centre was the focal point of the town and expected locals to be severely affected by the blaze.

"It was such a huge thing for the town ... that's why people came here," she said.

"I wouldn't be surprised if some of us have to leave the town for work."

Winton Shire Council's tourism and events manager John Elliott says the small community of about 900 is a "tough bunch" and will rally together to rebuild the centre.

Mr Elliott said a vacant shop in the township had already been secured to house the visitor information centre that was lost in the fire.

A cafe, art gallery and history museum were also destroyed in the blaze, which took more than four hours to extinguish.

A room dedicated to Banjo Patterson, the bush poet who wrote Waltzing Matilda, was lost in the fire as were Qantas artefacts and an exhibition honouring the district's 620 Anzac soldiers.

Winton, about 170 kilometres northwest of Longreach, was one of Qantas's founding towns and where Waltzing Matilda was first publicly performed.

About 19 people worked at the Waltzing Matilda Centre and employee Susan Eliott said it was likely many of them would have to leave the town to find another job.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she would talk to Tourism Minister Kate Jones about what could be done to assist the community.

"It's absolutely devastating, I was just out there a couple of weeks ago, we know how much that building means to the people of Winton and the people of Queensland," she said.

Mount Isa Mayor Tony McGrady said he had contacted the Winton Council and conveyed the sympathy of the council and the people of Mount Isa on their loss.

The small town of Winton, in the heart of Queensland’s Outback, is in the grips of devastating drought, but this has not weakened the proud spirit of the town and their determination to stage a film festival like no other from the 26th June to the 4th July 2015.

The red carpet was getting ready to be rolled-out for Winton's Vision Splendid Outback Film Festival.

The  festival program included contemporary, classic and award winning films inspired by the Aussie outback and also features masterclasses, special events, conversations, tours, the Qantas Short-Film Competition and the Qantas Paper Plane Competition. 

Despite the devastating loss of one of the venues for the Vision Splendid Outback Film Festival this morning, when fire gutted the landmark Waltzing Matilda Centre in Winton, festival organisers are keen to assure people that “the show will go on”.

Daytime screenings were due to be shown in the Sarah Riley Theatre in the tourism complex but the fire now makes that impossible.

Film Festival director Mark Melrose assured the public this morning they were working on a back-up venue.

“We are working on an alternative and everything will go ahead,” he said.

“Our thoughts are with Winton, the staff and volunteers. We encourage visitors not to change their plans.”

The second Vision Splendid Outback Film Festival is due to open on June 26 with the premiere of Last Cab to Darwin, with lead actor Michael Caton in attendance, and will run until July 4.