BUSH FIRES RAGING

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21765, 3 April 1934, Page 14

BUSH FIRES RAGING

MENACE IN AUSTRALIA MAN FATALLY BURNED many homes destroyed Willi the recent boat wave, bush fires have been r;»j^il l-<; in different, parts of Australia. .Mr. .lolin Wcynionlli, aged 70, retired builder, of Coroniandel \ alley. South A list ralia, was trapped last week in a Ma/, inferno at Ackland's Hill, east of ('oromandel Valley, in tho worst hush lire that has ever menaced the district. llis charred body was found by his sou. About a dozen other men had to run for their lives. An area eight miles long and from a mile to three miles wide was devastated. One house and its contents was burned to the ground, and the lire ran through many orchards in the district. ]n the evening it was under control. There is strong suspicion that the. fire was started by an incendiary. With 50 men, Mr. "Weymouth was fighting to keep back the wall of flame, from the property of Mr. 11. Baust at Ackland's Hill, in heavily timbered country. The flames rushed down upon him and he had no chance of escape. It was thought at first that Mr. Weymouth was clear of the flames, but a few minutes after the fire had passed, a frantic search failed to reveal him in the unhnrned scrub, and his body later was found. He appeared to have been kneeling and his arms were round his face. Incendiarism Suspected Practically the whole of Cape .Tervis Peninsula was enveloped in flames and smoke, there being many separate blazes which aroused suspicion, as in the hills, that the fires were caused deliberately. In the Slate Forest at Second Valley, acres of pines were burned and the whole of the forest was in danger. The south of Kangaroo Island was ravaged by fires for several days, and large areas of grazing country were destroyed. The home of .Mr. J. I). Jones was surrounded by flames and was saved only after desperate efforts, during which Mrs. Jones' clothing caught alight and she received burns on the body. Peports from country districts in Victoria indicated that large bush fires were menacing several townships and isolated homes in the State. The fires had been fanned by hot winds, and hundreds of people were fighting the flames. Holidays Abandoned Two homes and their contents were destroyed between (Jpwey and Ferntree Gully in tlio Dandenong Panges. The home of Mr. P. Price, in the Upper Gcllibrnnd district, near Beech Forest, was burned. The most serious fires occurred in the .lioeeh Forest area. Tn the Otway Panges, the homo of Mrs. L. Powers, at Olangolali, was cut oil' by flames and fears were held for the safety of the four occupants. At Beech Forest itself the residents of the six houses removed their furniture and started fighting the flames. So serious were fires near ITpwev that guests at Shirley guest house abandoned their holidays and returned by train to their homes. Desperate efforts were made to save Dunkehl in the Western District. "Large pieces of burning bark were carried half a mile into the town, setting alight grass in backyards.