SERIOUS FIRE IN DUNEDIN.

Otago Witness, Issue 523, 7 December 1861, Page 2

SERIOUS FIRE IN DUNEDIN.

, £10,00'J WORTH OF PROPERTY" DESTROYED. Dunedin was on Sunday morainsr last the scone | of a oonfl-uyration the ;n'>«t d-.'-jt'-ue.tive in its re- ; ;=:iits, and the met ala-ming in it< aspect, t'mt » has* ever occurred in this tiira. It is wonderful •how, with the insufficient mean-* at hand, the fire )jwas confined to the comparatively small area it > occupied. A* it is, an immense a'Tiount of valnt .able proncrtj hi* been destroyed, but fortunately . attended by no lost of life. . The fire was first discovcrd about half-pa^t two t a.m., by Police Constable M-iknc, wlio, while on duty in Princes-street, noticed smok« and flam? to bft inning f:-o:n the noi'zhho'irhon'l of Mess-rs. '|Cn»-<rill & Co.'" store and Mr. Shan l\s bakehouse. 1 j Tie at onoo stive the alarm, a*id ln^cnircis were idepatched for the police, and the fire-b?U on the ft hill fooii ffivo out iN alarm in 2 peal 1 :. bringing ! hundreds of panie-r-tricken spectitors to the won? !of disaster. Mr. Commissioner Hrfiniiran with a • strong body of police were promptly in attendance ; l and after tome delay the smuil fire-engine — the , only one, we recret to say, that Dnnedin can hoa«t . of — was brought up and stationed on the beach, 'i where, the, tide fortunately hei;><r in, a plentiful pimply of water was oM.r"ncd, jrid, un-1"!' fie skillful direction of Mr. Bullen, at once commenced to pl'iy on the flaming nvw. (i nirs of mm were also f»-mcd to pass bucket*: ; b-it, in spite of pverv , exertion, it soon became apparent that all efforts to save the burning promise* woic unavailing, a'iti .jcrcrv effort was now directed to saving the neighbouring buildings. The wiiolc of Messrs. CargiH land Co.'s stores, Mr. Sha.id's .-ho - i, and <h<it of J Mr, Pollock, the butcher, and the " Daily Times " land '"Witness" oßi'-e wore involved in one tJffttSS-njtf-firor whivh -~rnth\r>/i!y fiU bej tore it, sending up long forks" of flame, which, ■ carried by the wind in the direction of Wa'keraroused the utmo.-t fcan for the safety of the whole of the buildings in that locality. ' To prevent the extension of the fire m that direction, the shop of Mr. Simpson, bootmaker, was pulled '.down, and every precaution taken by the ore.iI piers of the neighbouring homes, by covering' jthe roof with wet blankets Providentially thej I wind was only light at the time, and the. progress! of the destructive clement in taut direction was stayed. The Queen's Arms flot?l. which, beinu lin immediate contiguity to the Witneti offioc, jevcaned almost miraculously. To this building jan.il V.W hrai» billiurd room a:i.l premises behind, ,t.remendr)iis efforts were made, — the intervening! |po v tion of the printing office was pulled down, and iwet blankets spread over the building, and the 'engine was brought to play continually upon it:, ilinrs of buckets wore organised. Fortunately' the«c efforts were rewarded with success, and about, half-past throe o'clock fears for its safety were removed, anil the hotel now stnnds a monument to the indefatigable industry, skilful conduct, and indomitable courage of all engaged in the struggle. Thft conduct of the poiicc was beyond all pmi«e, and the most invaluable assistance was rendered j by many of the townspeople, bodies of whomi worked with an earnestness and courage which nothing but feelings of grave apprehension fo> - the safety of the town could have inspired. Many I bravely entered the bnrniue; buildinL r s and assisted lin carrying our, from the Witness office, the great quantity of property which was luckily saved ; numbers were seen coining out loaded with effects,! or stag'jrorirstr under a load of type, the perspiration pouring off them in torrents, — and exhausted as they were, cheering each other in their work ofj salvation. The military who, from some misapprehension, did not arrive until rather late, gave all assistance in their power, and the exertions ofj I the officers were particularly conspicuous, — one of jwhom for upwards of an hour continued to pass j buckets of water from the harbour to the fire. I The amount of loss sustained by the various I sufferers may be estimated at about £1 0,000 j I Messrs. Cargill & Co.'s loss is about ,£4OOO ; that of the proprietors of the Daily Times and Witnpss newspapers, about £1000 ; Mr. shand, £2000 ; I Mr. Pollock, the butcher, £»00 ; Mr. Simpson, I £200. Various opinions exist as to the origin of jthe fire ; some that it commenced in Messrs. iCaririll & Co.'s store, and others that it originated in Mr. >hand's premises. The evidence adduced at the inquest, held on Wednesday, shews, that it most probably began in Messrs. C.irgill & Co.'s warehouse, and a verdict to that effect was returned. Nelson Got.d Fields.— The following is from a correspondent of the "Nelson Examiner :" — The Waimansjaroa, spite of its neglect and snubjbing by our Provincial authorities, still holds its I way triumphantly as a gold-bearing region. By 'the boat now leaving, you will receive in Nelson some 176 ounces of as nice gold as you could wish to see. One nugget obtained here weitrhs slightly over two ounces, and several in the parcel now forwarded to Nelson exceed one ounce each. All the claims on thu Waimangaroa are turning out exceedingly well, though the weather has been wretchedly bad. I said you would receive 176 ounces by this trip, but I should also mention that there are, at the least, 400 ounces in the hands of the diggers, consequent on the fact of there not being money here to purchase it. This gold has nearly all been got within the last month by 23 Europeans and about «0 Natives. A movement is in progress on the gold fields to promote the establishment of mining boards. The " Lord Ashley " arrived on the evening of the 4th, with the English mail. The news from the Provinces is of little interest. Sir George Grey had not returned to Auckland. j A race meeting is spoken of at Wethcrston's ( about Christmas time. Stakes of a hundred .guineas arc contemplated.