Destructive Fire.

Clutha Leader, Volume XXXI, Issue 1868, 6 December 1904, Page 4

Destructive Fire.

CLI'THA LEADEIi OFFICE DESTROYED.

A fire broke „ut ; u the. Clutha j Leader .oflice shortly before midj night on Saturday, resulting in the total destruction of the buiklLftg and practically the entint, ecmtentaf TV lire was first observed by Messrs'). Bower, W. M, Clark, and Robert firigor, fun., , about half-past 11 o'clock. ~ They' had j passed the building a short time previously without observing anything | wrong, .and when in John street, in I the. vicinity of the post, .office,, they I observed flumes just, beginning to issue j from the eaves and windows at the j rear portion of the Wilding'. They immediately ran round the old Colonial Bank corner to the building, givI ing the alarm to th<; resident* in the I vicinity. On arrival at the front of | the building, it was found that the ' fire had obtained so strong a hold in I the upper part of the rear, known as I tiie composing and publishing room, , that any attempt to save the building ! was useless. In a few minutes a j number of persons we.rn on the scene, ; and efforts were immediately directed ! to saving as much of thn, contents as ■ possible., and also to prevent the spreud of the ,fire to the prirtting and machinery building of brick at th? back [ of the main building, and to Mr Poul- ! ter's, building of brick immediately adI joining. The flames soon gathered enormous force, and all that it was possible to save was three pages of the advertisements and some 20 cases of type out, of 120. odd that were in the building. Fortunately.it was printers—Messrs Jno. Bower and R. W. Grigor-that had the handling of these, or even they would not have been saved in anything like oi;der, for the flames were raging in the ceiling and roof of the building, and" portions of burning wood, etc., were falling down. Tn the front portion, comprising the office and editor's room, an 3 the room, nexlt right-of-way between these buildings and Mr Poultor's, known as Mr J. 8. Fleming's room (latterly occupied by Mr Browne, accountant), Mr W. Guest, Mr Fruish, Mr Levenson. R. Mason, Mr Thomas Sinclair, and others worked desperately hard in saving the volumes of the Cliitha Leader for the last 30 years, the safe, and a .number of .other valuable hooks, .besides one «r two small lines of stationary. This Sad all to