SWEPT BY A HURRICANE.

New Zealand Times, Volume LVII, Issue 2413, 19 January 1895, Page 2

SWEPT BY A HURRICANE.

WIDESPREAD WRECK AND RUIN AT FI J I. SEVERAL TOWNS DEVASTATED. VILLAGES DESTROYED. SttlPWitEdKS AnD LOSS oE LIFE; By Telegraph -. —PfeSS AiSffcidUon, Auckland, January 18. TllC s.s. Qhaiii from Fiji; brings Sows of A destriictiVe hurricane thefts dh January 7th.and Stir. Of the, five omA'chea which Suva lately boasted, the Presbyterian; the . Wesleyan, Md. the,Native and. Cburoh of England collapsed MilrOly ] Md the European Chui'ch of England was partly unroofed. The Roman Catholic structure escaped with little damage. The Government have suffered considerable loss in the destruction of the Customhouse. The bonded store (a two-storied building) was totally wrecked. Of the smaller stores, many frete entirely destroyed. The stores and warehouses of the larger merchants came off best. Thejr I'Osse‘s frbte c'oniparetivoly light in .comparisbn with riSkA . The boat.buildCra frith Upeh shedfr suffered considerably; sonle of the - sheds having fallen on ;tlieir wprkfr. ■, > - Many hOUsoC Were left rodfless ahd verandahlSss; Outhouses and tehees are only ,represented by debris. . The family of Mr Behtley, of the Customs, suffered considerable exposure and privation through their dwelling - being eomplhtbly Blown away'. Tho patients and attendants of the Hospital had a bad time, and it was deemed advisable to remove the patients to a smaller but stronger structure. . „ At Nausori.the liiill is wholly uninjured, but the irodf of the manager’s house is damaged j also. the mechanics’, barracks. The officers’ quarters were blown to the ground. A portion of the roof of the accountant’s and other buildings on the estate were more or less damaged. The store of Brodziak and Co. was unroofed, and considerable damage Was done. Several houses on the river are down aud otherwise injured. At Upper ReWa tho stores of Harley and Stephen were totally wrecked. Bennie’s is unroofed, and several buildings more or less damaged. At Vivia, lower down, the butchefy of E. Corbett and Co. aud the Stare of John Bandell ,arß partially tinrotifed; That of J. RenniU; .at Ldwer Befra; is in ft like plight, while the dwelllfighoilso is completely ruined. At teviika, thh Barque Ophir was wrecked on a reef, with 10() toils copra. The barque Dione, from Africa, had her masts cut away, which saved her from foundering. Several small craft were driven to sea. ' The hoUSSs Ofrfied By Messrs Garrick and A. MartiU were wrecked, and the occupants had a miraculous escape. The s.s. Ohau met the hurricane. The s.s. Taviuni had a narrow escape from being driven on a reef. The entire native village at Übntha Bay was blown to pieces, and the village at Wairiki was levelled, excepting the Catholic Church. ' . The cutters Shark and Eleanor and an unknown schooner foundered off Taviuni. It is believed that all the crews were lost. At the island cf Taviuni the native towns suffered severely, aud only one or two houses are left.

The Holmhurst Sugar estate estimates its loss at J 31500. The ooeoanut plantations are ruined.

Bega is considerably wrecked. Mokonai and Wakaia suffered severely. The cutter Senievo was wrecked, and two cutters, names unknown, are reported to have been wrecked on Wakago. ' The barque Ophir has been sold at auction for ,£SOO. and hor cargo at 23370,’ the purchasers being Hoarder and" Co.