FIRE TRAGEDY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 199, 24 August 1939, Page 13

FIRE TRAGEDY.

MOTHER'S SAD STORYi

SIX CHILDREN TRAPPED. EVIDENCE AT INQUEST. (Prom Our Own Correspondent.) TAUMARUXUI, Wednesday. An inquest was opened at Taumarunui this afternoon before Mr. W. Thomas, district coroner, touching the death of the six Maori children who died from the effects of burns suffered when a whare in which they were sleeping was destroyed by fire at Turangi, near Tokaanu, on Tuesday evening. After hearing the evidence of the mother of the children, the inquest was adjourned sine die. Tn evidence, Te Raita Whakatihi said she was the wife of Edward Biddle, whose Maori name was Teti Pitara. Her husband, she said, was employed on the native development scheme near Tokaanu, and they occupied two of the huts on the scheme property. She said she was the mother of seven children six of whom had suffered fatal burns in the fire. "About C.30 last evening I prepared tea for the family, and we had the meal in the whare where the children slept," continued witness. "There is an open fireplace in the whare. and we kept a sack in front of it to keep it from smoking. About 8 p.m. all the children except the eldest were in their beds on I the floor asleep. My husband and I then left with our youngest child, who is only two months old, to go to our sleeping quarters in the other whare, only a short distance away. My husband and I settled down for the night in our beds. When I left the house the fire was well down, and seemed quite ;id fe. Saw Boy Carrying Wood. i "Since the fire I have been told by Dave Kahia, who has a hut nearby, that lie saw my eldest boy taking some more wood into the whare, so I presume he put it on the fire. Mr. Kahia did not see my boy put the wood on the fire, but I am of the opinion that he made up the fire again and went off to sleep. L'osaibly some of the wood dropped forward and either caught the timber of the whare or the sacking that we used to sit on when on the floor.

"I do not know who was the first to find the whare on fire. Someone had broken the door open before mv husband and I tried to rush in to save the children. The children were etill alive w lien we took tliem out of the burning whare and put them in another whare. They were all badly burnt, and the dis-. ti let nurse pive assistance. We set out for Taumarunui hospital in two motor cars, and met the ambulance on the way. After we transferred to the ambulance one of the children died, but I do not know which one it was. We had no insurance on our effects. My husband is deaf, and althouh he can speak a little his mother and I are the only ones who can understand him. All the children were registered at the 1 okaanu Native School," she concluded.