BLACK SUNDAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 250, 22 October 1928, Page 9

BLACK SUNDAY.

IN NEW SOUTH WALES.

£1,000,000 DAMAGE.

FROM FIRES AND . STORM.

A TERRIFIC VISITATION.

(From Our Own Correspondent.)

SYDNEY, October 12.

One of the most extraordinary weather visitations on record in Australia, which, according to cabled advices, also reached as far as New Zealand, held sway on Sunday, and, in New South Wales particularly, caused tremendous havoc.

In Sydney and its environs alone the damage is estimated at £1,000,000, while the indirect cost from the aftermath of such a visitation is not possible of computation. Earlier in the week Sydney had been visited by the unusual "mud" rain, caused by the red dust blown from western plains being brought down by light fine rain. It sprinkled everything with a red covering, extremely difficult to remove. Sunday dawned extremely hot and sultry, and the opportunity was taken immediately by practically every car owner to get out to the beaches or other pleasure resorts. But by 11 a.m. a high wind had risen. This developed during the day into a rushing, tearing blast which maintained a speed of 63 miles an hour over a long period. The wind, incidentally, brought no relief from the sultriness. Bather did it intensify the condition, and in addition it created widespread havoc. It came suddenly, seeking out the inherent weaknesses in buildings, and unroofing hundreds of houses in all parts of the metropolis.

It blew hoardings and fences down with one terrific puff, sent sections of roofs flying through the air for distances up to half a mile, and made such a wide sweep that the damage will not 1 - fully repaired for months to come.

Everywhere it brought devastation. During the day no fewer than 80 calls of fire were received by the fire brigades* mostly bush and scrub outbreaks, and it was from one of these that the most disastrous event of the day, involving a loss of more than £300,000, occurred. Scrub which surrounds the Cumberland' Paper Mills,, situated on t,W'"HT'Twdmi

the Lane Cove River, had been burning intermittently all morning; but it waa not thought to be really threatening to the mills until late in the morning. By that time the wind had readied its peak, and, sweeping the fire before it down the hills, it threw the all round the mills, caught alight to them, and within a few hours they were burnt to the ground.

- Incidentally, even the punts on the river beside the mill were destroyed, for the fire came down on a half-mile front, bringing such terrific heat that at its height , its waa impossible to stand closer than 500 yards from the main blaze. The main building was fitted with sprinklers; but though these held part of the mill safe for three-quarters of an hour, they were helpless before the final blaze. Firemen, worn out by a whole day of extinguishing bush fires and saving cottages on the same side of the river, arrived at the big fire at a time when it was impossible for them to get close enough to the river to get their appliances working. They had to stand by and watch the place burn.

At the height of the outbreak it was discovered that the watchman had not come out, and a party braved the flames to find him.

He was in the office section, even then being menaced, and was on the point of collapse, having worked throughout to get all the valuable records and other papers from the office building into the only stone building on the premises. Incidentally they were saved from destruction. Just after he was brought out, two badly burned employees crawled on hands and knees through the fire ind collapsed at the feet of the watcher*, rhey had been trapped by the in the mill area, and, finding retreat cut off from the waterside, because the punts were all alight, had to make a dash far life through the flames sweeping down -he hillside. The only possible way of jetting through was to follow the narrow track, on both sides of which the scrub was blazing fiercely and throwing jff flames which extended across its ridth. So* desperate was the situation 'hat both men shook hands before they started. For a time they were able to -emain upright, but for the last 500 yards &ey had to crawl on hands and knees, when they got out eventually they had ill-the hair burnt from their heads, while their arms and other partß of their bodies were affected, too.

Firemen took them to hospital, whercl they are recovering slowly. The bush and scrub fires round the metropolis were responsible for _ destruction of twelve cottage* j* suburbs, in addiliontoths^"*?*""^'

done to fencing and other property. Similar damage was reported from Newcastle south along the coast, the whole area being, apparently, a blazing mass. Lawson, one of the Bine Mountains tourist resorts, was menaced by a fire blazing on a wide front, and it was only diverted from the town proper by the combined efforts of residents and tourists.

Amongst the extraordinary incidents which occurred daring the day, perhaps the most outstanding was one in which a poultry farmer, William Williams, of Rydalmere, was severely injured. At the height of the gale he noticed that tlie roof of one of his large incubating sheds was being loosened. He climbed on the roof, and commenced to remedy the trouble. But an unusually strong gnat of wind caught the whole structure, lifted the roof entirely from its supports, and hurled it high in the air. Williams was clinging for life to its apex, and in this precarious position he was carried 30 yards and dashed, with the debris, in a neighbour's yard. When it crashed the roof turned over and pinned Williams to the ground. His neighbours rescued and he was taken to hospital with broken forearms, shoulderblade »«»4 collarbone, as well as dislocations to the right shoulder and left elbow.

Sunday's fires -were part of a bfrtjp reek for firemen, for on Saturday, ths Coronation Box Factory in Redfern was lestroyed, £30,000 damage being caused indon the Monday following, fire broke >nt in the shopping centre of Cremorne, >n the north side of the harbour, and siued £20,000 damage before it burnt itself-out. Firemen were impotent here igain, for the water supply was practically non-existent, most of the reservoirs oo that ride of the harbour being practically dry. Sunday was a record for the consumption of water, thus early in the season a warning has been issued by the Water Board to conserve supplies. The city's consumption for 24 hours up to 6 * m on Sunday was IW>' 375,000 gallons. Over Sunday thisfig™* ssr'-s gallons, beating the F e(101 ? 4,000*00 grion*. head the day. In some of theMgher levels it was to give sufficient supplies, and sent through the street* uiudnrirr the unusual spectacle of getting supplies in buckets. There reie times in some homes when they did jot have sufficient water to make a cup of tea.

The coastal area of Sydney ha« never bad such a Black Sunday. It does not wi«fcfag» repjrtttofc,