HOTEL TRAGEDY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23545, 4 January 1940, Page 10

HOTEL TRAGEDY

NINE PEOPLE PERISH FIRE SWEEPS BUILDING BABY THROWN TO SAFETY [from OUR OWN COIiUKSrOXDK.NT] SYDNEY, Dec. '27 Nine persons were burned to death in n fire which destroyed the wooden twostoreyed Grand Hotel at Goomeri, a small town about 170 miles northwest of Brisbane, Queensland. The victims were inmates of the hotel, who, trapped in the building, perished in the inferno. The. 18 bedrooms in the hotel were all occupied and, as many guests were unlamiliar with the stairs, they dashed to the fire escape, only to find it inaccessible, and, thus trapped, they ran back into the flames. The eight known victims were: — .John William Parker, 40, licensee; Mrs. Eva Parker, 41, his wife; Mrs. Gladys Edwards, 24; Mrs. Pearl Era Inn, 25; Miss Eileen Eisentrager, ;30;" Allen Gordon Carter, .'35; Robert Rickson, 25; George Eddie, 25 or 2(3. The police have found the remains of nine victims, and they believe that a young man, named Taylor, also perished. Screams Arouse Residents The screams of the trapped victims brought the whole population of the township to the hotel, but no aid could be given. Great waves of flame beat back a hastily-formed bucket brigade. About eight of the guests staying at the hotel and some members of the staff escaped, most of them by jumping ,12ft. from a balcony into the street. Among the injured was an 18-inonths-old baby, which was thrown by its mother from the balcony when she saw that she could not escape. A man in the street below caught it. This dreadful tragedy came as a sad sequel to the town's Christmas celebrations, which had been marked by great shopping activity and many festivities. With startling suddenness,, the hotel burst into lkitnes about a.m., and the lire spread to the post office, a large building, situated across a lane from the hotel. Two Men Jump to Safety Two men, Arthur Bovce and Arthur Rov Col lard, who were staying at the hotel, scrambled through a window and jumped to the laneway at the eastern side of the building. Mrs. Gladys Edwards, standing on the balcony, with her baby girl, aged IS months* in her arms, called to Collard, '"'For God's sake save my child, and threw the baby to him. He caught the babv and saved its lite. Then lie called to Mrs. Edwards to jump, but she had disappeared, apparently having been overcome by smoke. Collard, a timber truck driver, described his own wild dash through smoke and flames to safety, and the desperate efforts of Mrs. Edwards to save her baby. Licensee's Fatal Injuries "1 had booked in at the Boonara Hotel, close by, but 1 went to sleep in the loitnge of the Grand Hotel," he said. "A crackling sound woke mc. and 1 saw flames coming in the fanlight. I could not reach the door, because of the smoke and flames, but 1 suddenly saw a window and smashed through it to the dining room. Ihe heat was terrific. I could not get my breath. 1 managed to reach another window, and crashed through it. and 101 l on my back on the fotopath." . The licensee died in the hospital.He jumped over a balcony on to the hiiumen roadway, about 12ft. to 14ft.' below, severely injuring himself. He was also extensively burned. He had been awakened by his wife's screams and he called to her to follow him. In a state of hysteria, she ran from him back into the blaze. He then jumped over the balcony.