ENORMOUS LOSSES "

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 9, 12 January 1932, Page 9

ENORMOUS LOSSES "

(From "The Post's" Representative.) SYDNEY, 7tli January. The bounteous seasons that have been enjoyed by New South "Wales are reflected in the ferocity of the bush and grass fires that are now. blackening the great western plains of the State. Rain which fell at frequent'intervals ensured a steady growth-of grass ana a wealth of vegetation everywhere, and while the-station owners rejoiced in the fact they know that when the hot weather N came their troubles wouia be increased a hundredfold;' Now they can look upon thousands-and thousands of acres which are in "ruins. . •

So far nono of the great homesteads have been destroyed", but stories have reached the city of heroic fights against great odds in ; order to save the valuable station buildings, ta; spite of heat wave conditions that have enveloped the whole of 'the State men have spent day and night in the open, making firebreaks, but their task has been in. vain, and gradually three great; fires are merging into a single blaze, the extent of which has not been equalled in Australia for many a day. In one. district alone, Paddington, it is estimated that 16,000 sheep have. perished, but it is impossible to obtain a.fair estimate cf the losses in that .direction. The most serious damage is that done to, the fences, most of which'are of an elaborate pattern, necessary to keep the rabbits in check.

One of the' best-informed, nien in the West estimates.that the whole of that vast area will be eaten out by the flames by March, and that, with fences down and confusion with stock, a return to the old pioneering methods of shepherds and boundary riders trill be inevitable. •• Here are somo of the properties which have suffered this week: The Meadows (14,000 sheep and 56,000 acres burnt out); Springfield ' (17,000 sheep and 18,000 '• acres) • Lyndhurst (2000 sheep, and 22,000 acres). The flames at night were so vivid that 'plane passengers were able to read a newspaper when the machine was three miles from the centre of the conflagration. It was an amazing sight, even for an experienced bushman.

It is impossible to estimate'the total losses that have been suffered by the great fires that have swept New South Wales for more than a week, but it is certain that, as in the "past, the • indomitable spirit of the "West will win out, and that that great country will quickly recover from the blow.