A gunman has been arrested following a near 10 hour siege at the Bellbird Hotel on the Princes Highway.
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Police understand the 47 year old Hampton Park man drove to the scene from his outer Melbourne suburb.
He was discovered at the hotel by a woman who reported him to police at 9.30am on Monday.
East Gippsland local area commander Inspector Luke Smeaton said it took some time for officers to engage the gunman.
"We communicated with him through public address system (megaphone), via telephone and face to face communication," he said.
"Obviously in an event like this our priority concern is safety.
"We do not rush the process, especially when there is a firearm involved"
The Princes Highway was closed on either side of the incident, stranding travelers for hours at Orbost and Cann River.
The gunman was arrested just after 7pm, he has been sent for medical assessment.
Police hope to interview him over the next day or so. His motivations are still unclear.
"It's a very remote area of Victoria, the hotel is the only thing on the highway for a while,” Inspector Smeaton said.
"We don't know why he chose to stop there."
Inspector Smeaton applauded the patience and generosity of nearby towns that hosted stranded travellers during the road closure.
"There were a few hundred blockaded on each side of the incident," he said.
"We did our best to keep people updated via social media, but we understand it was an enormous inconvenience for road users."
While police were able to bypass some travellers on secondary roads, the majority waited past 7pm for the blockades to be lifted.
Chris Barker at the Cann River Bakery said Monday's trading was almost as busy as the Christmas period.
"We were just doing what we could to make sure everyone was comfortable and happy and hydrated," she said.
Many of her customers were keeping updated on the incident via their radios. Police came through to inform travellers of the situation.
"Everyone was very understanding, very patient," Ms Barker said.
"It was a great day for business, but I did feel sorry for the people made to wait."
Matt Cooney at Relics Cafe said his business made three times the amount it did the same time last year.
"We saw the town's population grow ten times over the course of the day," he said.
His business worked hard to keep up with the rush.
"Obviously we weren't expecting this to happen so we had to call in all of our staff," he said.
"Our delivery was caught behind the blockade as well, so we weren't able to restock the kitchen."
Even once traffic resumed along the highway, it was slow moving.
"It still took me about half an hour to get my car out." Mr Cooney said.
There are reports that some travellers chose to stay overnight.
No one was injured during the siege. The road blocks were lifted once police confirmed there was no further danger to the public.
