GELIGNITE OUTRAGE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21727, 16 February 1934, Page 8

GELIGNITE OUTRAGE

BAKER'S OVEN BLOWN up

houses damaged by bricks SENSATION IN QUEENSLAND Residents in the vicinity, of the West Burleigh railway, station, in Queensland, had a terrifying experience shortly before one o'clock on a recent morning, when a terrific explosion wrecked a large baker's oven and a brick chimney, the property of Mr. E. A. Marsh, of Currumbin. Thousands of bricks and pieces of cast iron, many of which weighed several pounds, were ; hurled in all directions, and two near bv houses were damaged bv the flying material. - Some of the bricks were hurled more . than 100 yards, and large pieces of cast iron, which had formed part of the oven, were found about 70 yards*from the scene of the explosion. No one was injured, but a horse which' was grazing in an adjacent . was struck by a sheet of iron and cut v on the hindquarters. Force of Explosion Some idea of the force of the explosion can be gauged hv the fact that several houses at Tallebudgera, about three miles away, were shaken. Buildings within half a mile of the explosion trembled violently, and in some cases the occupants suffered severely from shock. A telephone wire was struck by a piece of flying iron, and was severed. The explosion set the night alarm ringing in the West Burleigh telephone exchange, about 100 yards away. Mrs. R. Jensen, who lives with her husband and a nine-year-old daughter in a house on the opposite side of the road and about 60 yards from the wrecked oven, was lying awake in bed in a front room of the house when the explosion occurred. She said the noise sounded like three loud explosions in quick succession. The house shook violently, and almost immediately there was a terrific crash on the roof. Tb-is was caused by several large pieces of cast iron from the wrecked oven falling on it. Two pieces penetrated the roof of the verandah and splintered the rafters, two of which fell to the floor, leaving a gaping hole in the roof. The pieces of the oven which "had crashed through the roof were found later under the window of Mrs. Jensen : s room. Several pieces of the oven, including a portion of the door of the firebox, were found on each side of the house, and some were embedded in the ground. Limbs were torn from a tree in front of the house, and palings were knocked off the front gate of the fence in an adjoining property; Piece of Burned Fuse^ Probably the greatest shock was felt by Mr. and Mrs. E. A. Keal and family, who live in a house about 20 yards from the scene of the explosion. Mr. Keal said he was awake at the time, and was startled to hear a terrific explosion. The roof of his house was showered with bricks, while : hiany went high over it and were found about 30 yards beyond the house. The roof was badly damaged, and much of the heavy rain which fell later in the morning found its way into the house. A large piece of burned fuse was found at the scene of the explosion. It is considered that an exceptionally large quantity of gelignite must have been used to have caused such extensive damage to the oven and chimney. The oven, which had a capacity of about 400 loaves, was blown to pieces, and even the solid brick foundations had huge cracks rent in them. It is thought that plugs. of gelignite must have been placed in such a position as to completely wreck the foundations. The bakehouse, which had-been attached to the oven, was dismantled a few days previously by Mr. Marsh, who intended to build a larger and more up-to-date building.