£225,700 LOSS TO ARMY

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 21671, 24 March 1945, Page 4

£225,700 LOSS TO ARMY

SHOWGROUNDS FIRE FINDING RESERVED (P.A.) PALMERSTON N.. March 24. Evidence presented to the coroner's inquiry into the showgrounds camp fire by tiie officer commanding the ordnance depot at tiie showgrounds. Captain W. S. Keegan, as to tiie damage caused by tiie fire on December 31 last set the loss to the Army Department at £225,700. The total value of all stock at tiie depot at the end of December, 1944, was £1,100,000.

Captain Keegan said that thefts up to the time of the fire were very small from ordnance. The greater part of the over-all deficiencies were the result of miscounting. In two years nine months the losses from all sources amounted to £027. For the same period there were brought on charge surpluses to the value of £ 1 GOO, and thus the surpluses outweighed the shortages by about £IOOO. The witness detailed the accounting system of charging for goods. From his knowledge of the store there could be definitely no suggestion that the fire was started to conceal shortages. Corporal Gould, of the works branch, Central Military District, described tests made with gas-heated coppers under conditions representing those in the men’s cookhouse and ordnance store.

Detective F. X. Quin gave evidence of inquiries into possible causes of the fire. They had been widespread and exhaustive, but produced no relevant information which had not been placed before the court. No evidence could be found of sabotage, incendiaries, or any interference like that. No person could be found who had lit the copper found burning by Sergeant Luffman. The insurances on the buildings of the A. and P. Association, the owners, which the witness detailed, were very substantially below the replacement cost of the buildings to-day.

The coroner, Mr. H. P. Lawry, S.M., reserved his finding, which he said he hoped to give next week.