AUSTRALIAN NEWS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21360, 13 June 1931, Page 11

AUSTRALIAN NEWS

BIG FIRE IN SYDNEY. , THE SINGER BUILDING. I SYDNEY, June 12. Four firemen were burned about the face and hands during a fire which badly damaged the big six-storey Singer Building in the city. About 10,000 people watched 80 firemen in their strenuous efforts to prevent the flames from spreading. 1 NEW SOUTH WALES FLOODS. EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO CROPS. SYDNEY, June 12. Serious flooding occurred in a number of places on the Mummbidgee and Tumut Rivers. The whole of the Tumut Valley is under water. The police rescued several marooned families in boats. Extensive damage has been done to crops. A large concrete bridge over the Hillias Creek on the Sydney-Mel- , bourne road was carried away, and several other bridges were washed away. Albury and Wagga districts fear serious floods. The rivers are still rising. TWO DEATHS REPORTED. SYDNEY, June 12. (Received June 12, at 9 p.m.) The severe floods in Southern New South Wales have already been responsible for two deaths. The victims are Andrew Peck, aged 43, a station manager at Dubbo, and James Roddy, of Coolac. BANK OF COMMERCE ROBBERY. THREE MEN SENTENCED. SYDNEY, June 12. (Received Juhc 13, at 1 a.m.) The theft of £SOOO from the Australian Bank 6f Commence had its sequel at the quarter sessions to-day, when Arnold Walker, aged 42, was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment, William Evans (49) to four years, and Joseph Wall (58) to two‘years. The judge expressed the opinion that the bank staff had displayed negligence. A, message received on December 15, 1929, stated that the Australian Bank of Commerce received a telephone message from the National Bank, asking for £SOOO in notes. Ten minutes later, two men arrived with a National Bank warrant authorising payment to them, The money was paid out, and the men left without hindrance. Some hours later the National Bank received the warrant in the usual exchanges, and it was found to be false. How the thieves secured the official stamp was a mystery.