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New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4218, 26 September 1874, Page 4

A painful accident occurred on board the Waipara at Hokitika. While the men were engaged in discharging one of the heavy water pipes out of the hold of the vessel, and when the pipe was raised to a level with the mouth of the hold, the chain bearing the whole weight of the pipe suddenly snapped, and the one end of the pipe fell to the bottom of the hold with a tremendous crash, striking a man named Kobert McQuilkin under the kneecap, and smashing his leg very badly indeed. Dr. Maunsell was immediately sent for, and speedily made an examination of the leg, and found it to be broken. After placing the leg in splints the poor fellow was removed by boat to the Hospital, where he is likely to remain, according to medical opinion, for at least seven or eight weeks. The chain used in discharging such a heavy weight appeared to be rather light, but no carelessness is attributed to the man at the engine, or to any of those who were assisting in discharging the cargo. A fire occurred at Waimate, Canterbury, on Friday week, by which five houses were destroyed. The occurrence is thus described by the Timaru Herald: —The flames were first observed issuing from the building occupied by Mr. Hobbs, tailor, Queen Street, and the alarm was at once given. The fire spread with great rapidity—so quicldy, indeed, that the inmates of Mr. Hobbs' establishment and the young man in charge of Mr. Watkin's chemist's shop adjoining, who were in bed at the time, had hardly time to get a few clothes on, or in their hands, before they were compelled to quit the buildings. The ringing,of the school bell, and the glare of the fire, soon attracted the inhabitants of the township, who went to work with a will to save goods and endeavour to stop the progress of the fire. As soon as the fire commenced the whole of the block on that side of Queen Street seemed doomed, but the buildings being very damp from the previous night's rain, and the wind keeping low, a number of men, who worked most praiseworthily, succeeded in pulling down Mr. Molloy'S butcher's shop, thus cutting the fire off from Mr. Slee's Waimate Hotel. The fire extended to this gap, burning in its course, in addition to Mr. Hobbs' and Mr. Watkins' buildings, those occupied by Mr. Dixon (baker), Mr. Gascoyne (tobacconist), and Mr. Young (watchmaker). Mr. Slee's building was uninjured by the fire, but a quantity of his goods were damaged by removal. A correspondent at Waimate gives the following as the losses, os near as can be ascertained :—Mr. Hobbs' stock, uninsured, loss about £IOO, insurance on building doubtful ; Mr. Watkins, stock of the value of £IOO uninsured, insurance on building uncertain ; Mr. Dixon, furniture insured, loss about £9O, stock insured in the National and building in the New Zealand; Mr. Gascoyne, stock damaged by removal, loss £2O, insured in the National; Mr. Molloy, stock which was removed was uninsured ; building insured in the New Zealand ; Mr. Young, stock saved, building insured in the New Zealand. The origin of the fire is unknown.