Woman And Eight Children Homeless

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30424, 24 April 1964, Page 3

Woman And Eight Children Homeless

(New Zealand Press Association)

PALMERSTON NORTH, April 23.

Four mattresses, a pair of sheets and a blanket are all that Mrs Lilian Jamieson and her eight children have now.

Last night the Jamiesons went to bed in the house they had lived in for a fortnight in Te Matai road, Palmerston North. This morning they were homeless, their house destroyed by fire. “I woke up some time after 1 a.m. to hear our dog, Scottie, whining and barking,” Mrs Jamieson said at a neighbour’s house this morning.

“Then I heard a crash, and two of my sons came running in to tell me that the livingroom was a mass of flame.” The family fled, grabbing what they could in their hurry. The Palmerston North Fire Brigade was called, and for two hours and a half firemen struggled against the flames. One of the boys tried to get their dog out of the house, but the fire drove him back. Scottie died in the burning building, as did a pet budgie. Today the younger children Alistair (14), Enid (12), Robyn (10), Valerie (9), lan (6) and Duncan (4J) played and ran about in their pyjamas, the only things they now own. The two older sons are John (17) and Maurice (15). The City Council has promised the Jamiesons somewhere to live soon.

But in the meantime, as their mother said, looking at them, “we haven’t even a comb between us.”

Help is also coming from the Salvation Army, and a city shop has offered its services as a depot for the gifts for the Jamiesons.