BURNING OF THE KEROSINE STORE. £1,500 WORTH OF PROPERTY DESTROYED.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXVII, Issue 4197, 26 January 1871, Page 2

BURNING OF THE KEROSINE STORE. £1,500 WORTH OF PROPERTY DESTROYED.

The inhabitants of Auckland were last night treated to a spectacle which luckily occurs but seldom, the spectacle of tens of thousands of gallons of kerosine, blazing up in one vast column of roaring and hissing flame, with a dense column of black smoke rolling up to an immense height It is unnecessary to describe the precise position of the kerosine store on the angle of the open spaca afovxttvug on. Stanley-sweet. It ia only necessary to state that in fclie store were some 1,200 cases of kerosine, each case containing about eight gallons of kerosine, valued over £1,500. It would appear, from what we can learn, that Bandmaster McComish was coming along Symonds-street at about a quarter-past twelve o'clock, when he noticed a reflection and smoke at the kerosine store, upon which he gave the alarm. He then ran to the store, where he was shortly afterwards joined by Constable Jackson. It was foon found that the j store was a-blaze, and the fire had obtained such a hold, and had such a vast quantity of material to feed it, that all hope of saving either the building or its contents was seen to be futile. The firebells quickly sounded the alarm, and crowds of people hurried to the spot and lined the high gronnd commanding a view of the fire. Very soon thousands had assembled, and the formation of the ground is such that the whole scene resembled a vast bonfire in the centre of an amphitheatre. For hours the flames rolled upward in one massive column, partly enveloped in a thick; black smoke fchafc darkened the. -wY«>Sfe sky m -fcha i«igfc> bourhood. The flames lighted up the surrounding country for a considerable distance, and the faces of individuals in the crowd were clearly distinguishable. Ever and anon, as the cases burst under the influence of the heat, the flames shot up with renewed vigour, and the volume of smoke became thicker and darker. Thejflames played along the ground, scorched up the grass, and burned white and fierce where the kerosine was thickest. It was one of the grandest, albeit one of the saddest, sights ever witnessed in Auckland. ! As we go to press tUo are is still burning, though it has almost exhausted itself. The store belonged to Messrs. Archard and Brown, and it contained kerosine belonging to Messrs. John Eoberton and Co. (120 cases), S. Jones and Co. (400 cases), Vance and Co., J. and J. Dickey and Co., H. B. Morton, Stone Brothers, and : T. and S. Morrin. The greater part of the kerosine for the supply of the j town has been destroyed. Besides the kerosine, there were in the store the sails belonging to the cutter 'Stag,' and valued at £SO, Oharlen Yiarciing) Vhe storeman, lsft the store all safe at 0 o'clock last; evening. He had taken in 300 cases of kerosine yesterday. He left the place perfectly secure. The Fire Brigade was on the ground, and did much to prevent the spread the fire, by throwing water on the roofs and fronts of the houses adjacent.