AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

Grey River Argus, Volume XXXII, Issue 5396, 16 January 1886, Page 1 (Supplement)

AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

Melbottbne, January 6. The fire which occurred on Wednesday night at the Melbourne Storage Works, Yarra Bank, wa3 finally put out at nine o'clock on Thursday morning. The damage is estimated at over £20,000, the companies interested being the Norwich Union, London and Lancashire, and the Queen. The bulk of the destroyed goods were uninsured. The Queen Company willbs called on to pay £900 and thelNorw:ch Union £1000. The fire was originally caused by straw catching fire. A large proportion of the stores being occupied by kerosene, the heat was]! intense. All the fire brigades were present but could make no impression until the fire had almost burnt itself out. A dispute has taken place between the operative plasterers and the employers, and it resulted on Monday in 250 going on strike. The men insist on a reduction of hours from forty-eight per week to fortyfour at the same rate of wages, namely, £3 per week. The action of the men causes considerable inconvenience. The heat during the last few days has been intense. Bush fires are being reported in various parts of the colony. At Camperdown terrible bush fires raged all day. When the wind changed the township was filled with dense smoke. Near Oobden a forest was in flames, which spread to the houses. Fences havebeen destroyed, and a great quantity of damage has been done to the Cape Otway forests. For miles, extending down to Lome on the sea coast, the crops and fences belonging to the selectors have been destroyed. An immense amount of property is damaged at Colac. The smoke yesterday was so dense that artificial light was applied to business places during the day. Baron yon Mueller received a telegram last evening from a camel driver named Billock, who was with M'lntyre in his exploring expedition of 1866. The telegram, which is sent from Cloncurry, North Queensland, states that Billock has just found the remains of the explorer Leichhardt.