TRAGIC FIRE LEFT ASHES OF MYSTERY

PSOLVED RIDDLE OF CHARRED BONES IN RUINS COTIiGE

EIGHT VI€TIMS HpRPP INOUT-BACK^^

;.■';■■'■ .(E'roin I'N;Z. Truths'' Foxtdn . Awful tragedy looms across the placid sheep, areas and sanddune wastes . pf ; the Himatangi. : Through some . accountable jagency^ a whole fainily-^other; f atoer^a^^o^ jahd Atwb; men were, burned : m their home on Friday last; eight ■ human lives quenched •■^in the roaring, crackling death-box of a three-roomed whare, and as yet no^^ one has pierced the screen of mystery which envelops the whole affair. M-%-. ■■±% e * P^ ■>!^-

r T t HE 'crumbling,, decrepit place which i JL these eight, people -regarded^ as. -; -home, the- place '■ which brought many a. simple , little pleasure- to commonplace lives.; lived by ;the! gpod-.| natured., countrymen 'of the '• outback, . Was gowned ■••by', John Brown Westlake, whor: perished in "ithev fire; from" which the jwhare offered; a* single - avenue ; of escape^a narrow, iow-buUt door. .- ; TVe/.. whole story, meagre' as it is, is one : .of 'the nipst grimlyrpatrietic stories which, have their fount j n the domestic ■Kistory-;"oj- : ;.th'i's-,.'couritry;' ■> - ; ; News' < of ' sp.meiv 'grave : happening near Rarigiotu 'spread , around Foxton With greatx.rapidity; ; abput ..mjdda-y ..last Saturday,; but: exactly.' what- had' happened^no ortie was able:; to « tell;' . x ; . A lorry seen to dash. up;.to : the local police -station shortly after 1 o'clock, ..into whjch Constables Owen and Bell pikd, a I number of sacks, a stretcher, gum boots) and .rubber gloves, but be- , ■ ' fore'^ihe; :curidus = throng -had time ; to :gath'er. around: the vehicle, it drove offj^Dr. Wyllie's car following m hot pursuit. .. ','■'■',.■' v At about 1 o'clock on Saturday Constable Owen received a ring from a] native named Kauri, whq, in' an excited voice, informed the constable that a! -iiumber of people had. been burned to death m a house situated some . miles., back: , p.h : the Himatarigi; Estate. ; ■ •' W tj It was not long before the police, doctor, and a press representative were on vthef r way to the spot.' v • •" . Four miles, north of Foxton the lorry crossed over the railway line and went across, country m an easterly di-rection-—bver desolate,' ... water-logged/ scrub - covered . cpuntr y ; which' made the going very rough. v ' ' ■ \ ' ' : : After a couple of miles, the party was met by Kauri,; on -horseback, and with him ' !as guide the/ party made better" "progress. v ■ - ; : I Crossing ,the Cadogan homestead fence wires were removed \tp allow the motor vehicles to cross over to the Westlake property. ', \ '•';. The country m this locality gave : way to, high, sandy, scrub,-coVere"d v > hills, and twisting jnVbetyvf en two ; high ridges, tne nttle cphypy^oame ' . suddenly m view : off tfie cpwb.ails ■. of -the "Westlake- homestead."--:" ' ' •Cows were' still wandering upland down outside the .stockyard; waiting to be milked.. ;:^ ': : Calves bleated: piteously for theh' morning bucket of hiilk, but the cattledog ti£d to his kennel at the s end of the shed gave no •tongue of welconie or alarm at, the approach, of .tlie party. . ! With. head' hung low he seemed to sense the texTible iate which'had overtaken his /master. ,■ . • Topping, the ridge , on. the eastern side of the cpwbails, -the smouldering ruins of the VVestlaike.- homestead came into view.. iJNestling cpnifprtabiyat the foot of protecting sahdhills ■it had stood, but s6 located that once on .fire it' must, within a few niinutes, have" been • fanned into a veritable inferno as the westerly wind , swept down between the ridges as thro ugh. a funnel. s ; There stretched to the north of /" the house •■■a'^ hundred -acres : of x .beautiful bush, while to the east : and south lay 'fertile grass swards ... jv and belts, of flax lancjs.. The last* ' >>. place one' would " imagine " Fate i ;would select, for such a. tragedy. ' . *; A small pouitry/yard ;anil ibwlhouse was just over' the; brink .of, the hill, and m; a nest . m- the-_ corner of the ■henhouse were thr^ee * duck eggs awaiting collection by little hands tha^ were now for everj stilled;^-/ ;K;. ;'••• "-V- . A wihd-t)owed:'ca.bbage-tree at the head of j the ' nVjuse -.presented : ' a living tombstone . /oyer* > charred and' still smouldering-b odies m the ruins at its foot.: '^y^'\:-''^' r^-l;:\ '.■'/ ■■" '.:■- v .'-•■•;" ilmmediat'ely ; inside : the house, and possibly a yard^or.,_so .from the doorv waj% there lay on the. broad of its v back the terribly^ charred remains of lake, the head, of ■ :the- body ,' being nearest the d00r. .; Arbrief examination disclosed that Westlake had been al^

Tragic Scene

most, if ' not fully, clothed at .the .time the flames overtook .him; ,• - His head was almost completely charred, but it was possible to extract some teeth ,frqm ' the > incinerated; jaws which disclosed that' he had a full upper and lower denture m his mouth at the tinie. . The remains of twisted^ glasses found m the ashes near his right ear, and the .physical proportions of the body, proved beyond' doubt that the remains were those of ■ Westlake.' ; .;; '■ •■ ;.-•"•. : :; 'v' ■ ['■ . He swas a very short-sighted man who wore strong glasses -and had been big of stature. . :; . ./ . .-•;,■ His arms had evidently been bent back, 1 with the wrists near his shoulders, \vhen he fell on the broad of his back.!/ •■: ':■;•■ ' .'■' • ■':■-. '.'■'- " •' '■"■ ' ■'■'■ '■ '■'■■ On the upper arms remnants of a' singlet and shirt v were discernible, while on -the chest shirt and singlet buttons wero also intact. . ; . lAt his head lay a pile -pf , melted glass which once had been bottles, and a few feet away stood two benzine or kerosene tins with .punctured" tops. :: In , the '.. bedroom -on the , eastern V side of the hou#e lay rthe ialmbst . unrecognisable remair>s?of Mr. and Mrs. :' Wright at, the' ? fobt; :6f '■■':.^ ai, double-bed wire mattressV . : They^ lay feet to'feet and were; practically : v completely incinerated. . . The Wrights had been^ sharerjnilking on the farm for only two ; months^ v. ; Little more- vthan I boneis^remained." The skulls . w.ere m pieces and a portion Of that pf Mi; W right was found to have a round.; hole .iiij it : ; near the base, about halt ail inch, m diameter. Inside 'Jthe^perf^ration^ was a little lead.;.:,-;-; ■■ / \-i. *.';.: ' '■-.•.■■"■•.■••' ■■■■: ■ ■' ', ■'■■ '■'.■■ r It has- been suggested that the hole was caused after ' death-: by somiething

striking the skull, 'and that the lead •came from the lead- head nails on the roof. ■».. • : : • Mrs. Wright's head was near, the Window, -and : alongside her : body were corset ribs, while on her chest was a small row, of brass eyes and books. As the body was at the- end : of the bed it' is possible that clothing ell on the body from the end of the bed when at collapsed. ,^. s <^7 • .■■'■•-" '•.": It was impossible t& say . whether Mr. and Mrs. Wright were m night attire.:- •' ■■■: . .-;:•• ..' ;- -. ■. ■ :;■ ■" • Opposite the double, bed mattress m the" other comer 1 of the room , lay . a little wire mattress of a cot on. which was the unrecognisable form of the baby,. Prudence, scarcely more .than eighteen inches m length and : charred to ashes., -.' .- •. • . • . . / <" The child 'had ;,never* stirred from the cot. -' '■ -';, ; v.V •.••.• ■...-.■;"... ' On the wires of the double mattress lay the. ace of spades, stamped out of a piece of " tin-rrlast and ghastly trick which <Fate had taken. In tie room adjoining, which is also another bedroom with a door leading into , the . living-room, there lay m a heap the vthree bodies of the Wright children.. •• ; • " " The child first to fall down : had been reduced to nothing more than an outline of crumbling bones, but the other children . were riot so - badly • incinerated, although very little of their forms remained un* . ,*■ charred. .One little hand was practically intact with fist.' tightly clenched, . „ Two of the children had been sleeping together m one' comer of .the room near the window, and the other along the opposite Avail.. \ All had left the* sacking mattresses which formed thei¥ >btpiks, and seem to have made for the door, but were overcome,/ before they . could ••; reach safety.'. •'. .- „-.-.■; •' ..■_ ..■ _ . ■•■: •■-— The window of this' rbony which was

only a leanrto,^ was particularly large and opened "easily, ; and reached almost to' the floor.' V In, the next, room — a small lean-to which alsd Stiffened- iflto ttftr livitigrboni—there lay m the extreme southwestern corner, under what, once ;was a '■ window, a wire mattress.- ~ A- double-barrel shotgun lay m . pieces, near bygone hammer" cocked .iand the, other ,dowb.-. Both barrels were empty,; ' r £1 ■"''"■■" < -This was ,jthe ,'ro ; pu>7-~WesJ:lakc had ; , ; ; •■ v»>3u!;i- ■■■ "'- ■'"" V -H'l4ie t bodies. W.eVe removed to . tho f>xton i: mbrgTiei' where a. post-mortem will "he conducted. ._ .: . : , . On' Sujnday Inspector Simpson : and Detectives Quirke and - : Russell, of Palitierston .'Np|t]hj "^ accompanied by Constable - .Owfen;' ; >rafade * a further search among "the 'ruins, which were then cold. ; , *.-l;-:0^.^^y[ ..-■," m., the Uv^g-rp6m«-hliaxtiie; chimney, theyv'lpund ai number .of bones, considered 1 , to be' tho^e of^the ,employee, Sarhuel ; Bwart Thiomson, ' - and after flirtheir searc^ ■they^^UscoVered ; his best £da£ ftang^hg- m; the^"c<Jvf ; bails. The house had originally been a tworoomed'whare with a verandah along the front . of . it, and m this circumstance was. occupied by Mr. A. R. Crowe, of Poxton, who sold the place to Westlake on February 26 of this year. , Since then Westlake-had- added lean-tos? all* around the .place, taken down the partition m the original building, making it into one big livingroobi. ,\ ''./■; , '. ' ... :■£■/'. -."..• 'Questioned as to" her neighbors, • Mrs. .Kingj! a neighbor of the Wrights, said they were, a very happy family, and that Westjake was » particularly fondv of .v .the. children and Mr. and- Mrs. Wright. Of Thomson she knew but littlehe had. been with the Wrights for six years; and appeared to be a goodnatured sort. :' . ■■„■■ Westlake had been m the habic of disappearing at night time, remaining away "from the homestead for i-ome hoursi and returning late. .. Nobody knew where he ;went on these occasions, but it was understood that he visited friends m Bainesse, a few miles away:., ■•- " '- ; ..-■■■.["■'■■ ■■_■ .:■ - ' - ■ ■-■. - . He at no time mentioned where he had been, but being ..very shortsighted, he 'often became lost on the sandhills. , ;.. .' ;.. On ; sujch occasions he would ride his horse to the top of a sandhill and coo-ec and it ;was the custom of the frights to ; get up and either coo-ee;. or place. a- lighted lanip m the windbysr to guide him home. . Acfebydirig; to Mrs.. King, ■\yas .subject ..; to ; severe";.' heart attacks,•■■'■"£mfc;:'she, w adva^s|g4'--.the theory iliat • during . orie^ xoiC these he unwittihgiy^ set/fice;; to^he 7-b:6usfe,-.v >. '•-' It is rather remarkaJble "that m- 'the case of Mr-/..a;nd Mri fright both bodies were found feet' to -feet ;; at the end of the bedj and that' no ; attempt had apparently been made. to reach, the baby m" the cpt, ,-VIt is equally strange thattne three little children should not have attempted to get out of the .building by the wiridbw throilgh .which they; were so used ...to. jumping: jnjand out. • Will these -'rquestlonsr'ever, be. an-f swered, : -arid' if tbejr^ can be dissolved 'will their. •answer satisfactorily^accpunt for this a^M^incJdei^i^a^^htT^