TOWN ALMOST WRECKED.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 33, 8 February 1910, Page 7

TOWN ALMOST WRECKED.

SYDNEY, January 31,

One of the most terrific and devastating cyclones ever experienced in New South Wales swept over the town of Brewnrrina, in the Far West, on Friday eight, and left the place an almost complete wreck. The wind increased from strong to fierce about 6 o'clock, and when at its worst the storm burst with terrifying results.

Rain drove down in gTeat sheets of water, and presently came in the form of immense hailstonee, which killed the smaller birde and animals as if they had been subjected to a heavy fire of rifle bullets. S-parrowa, swallows, domestic fowls, rabbdts, dogs, opossums, and other utterly frightened creaturos perished in large numbers, and it is reported that a horse was killed by the hail. Six inches of rain fell in less than an hour and a half, the storm making a zig-zag track across a narrow strip of country, and falling away momentarily, only to resume it 3 destructive career with increased force. It was as if iho storm king had paused to take breath before beginning anew his onslaught upon the hopeless town.

The damage wrought by tho visitation In the town itself was most extensive. Public and private buildings, churches, shops, and dwellings, were unroofed dismantled, or absolutely blown into pieces, and the debris of timber, iron, and other material was spread all around. It was as if a fearful earthquake had shaken everything from its foundations, and that, like a child's toy-blocks, the flimsy structures had collapsed. The places tnafc will have to be entirely rebuilt include the Church of England, two hotels, a blacksmith's shop, railway goods sheds, and men's quarters, and many private houses. The losses are roughly estimated at about £15,000.

One of the most marked effects of the hurricane was the laying bare of country which had been richly clothed with grass and shade trees. The latter were torn μp by the roots, the verdure was swept away as cleanly as if it had never been. Two miles from Brewarrina the railway line was washed away, and pasaengers and mails had to t>e transhipped. Tho Barwon River rose to 30ft, the Bogan River also overflowed, and there are added to the horrors of the situation fears of a most extensive flood. Telegraph and telephone lines naturally suffered severely, but communication was restored by Sunday, and the residents were able to reassure their friends in Bourke and Tareoon of their sa£sty. There were many narrow escapes, notably that of Mrs. Hobson, of the Exchange Hotel, .who had only just got out when the roof and walls of her room collapsed.