The Fire at Waerenga-a-hika

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 7061, 22 August 1894, Page 3

The Fire at Waerenga-a-hika

CORONER'S INQUEST.

An inqutat was held at Waerenga-ahika yesterday afternoon before Mr J. Booth. Coroner, into the circumstances by which the Sir George Grey Hotel was destroyed by fire on the 14th inst. The following jury wbb empanelled : — Msssra W. R. Ball (foreman), O. A. Foote. C. E. Cameron, Goldsmith, J. Hamon, and H. Cooper. Mr L. Rees appeared to watch the proceedings on behalf of the Insurance Companies interested, and Mr Jones for Mr O'Connell. Cornelius O'Connell, licensee of the Sir George Grey hotel, deposed that the hotel was destroyed on Tuesday, the 14th inst. He would "have occupied the hotel for five years by next September. It was a wooden and iron building, containing 14 or 15 rooms. Wi Pere vras the owner of the property, trhioh witness leased from Mr W. Adair. He was told the buildiug was insured, but did not know this of his own knowledge. The stock and furniture were both insured in his faror for £300. He recently took a lease of the Waerenga-a-hika hotel for five years, transfer being from Mr Higgs to himself. S» hit! :*p,ilied for a transfer of the license of the ;v.'r~ George Grey hotel from himself to his brother, David O'Connell. He (witness) was carrying on business in the WaerengA-B-hika hotel on the 13th instant, and was Also conducting the business of the Sir ' -corge Grey hotel on that date. He i:« I eight or uin3 boarders on the night beioie the fire in the Sir George Grey Km si. On the night of the fire they slept in the W»crenga-a-hika Hotel. He knew thi", e>f his own knowledge. On the night of the fire he thought they were in the Sir George Grey. On the following day he learnt that they had slept at the Waerenga-a-hika BtoteL The boarders themselves told him soi He saw Mr Barnard, who had effected lie insurance over his furniture, the day after the fire, the 14th. He then told Mr Barnard that the boarders had all slept in the Sir George Grey Hotel, because he believed they had done so. He closed the hotel between 10 and 11 p.m. on the 13th. Of his own knowledge, he knew no one excepting himself was in the hotel. His wife and family were sleeping in the Waerenga-a-hika Hotel. They left the Sir George Grey on the 13th. After shutting the house witness .went to bed. He slept in the room over the bar. Could not say whether he had had a candle when he went to bed. He did not undress when going to bed. He slept bat-ween the blankets with his clothing on, but took off his boots and hat. He was the worse for drink. There was only one fire in the house that day, and that was in the bar parlour. Wood was used for fuel, the fire-place being an open one. Could not say whether there was any fire in it when he retired, but between nine and ten o'clock he saw a fire there. There was no fender before the fire. The floor was covered with oilcloth. He was awakened by the blaze coming into his room, but could not say what the time was then. The blaze was coming in the door. Witness ran through the fire, down stairs. He put on his slippers before coming through the blaze. All the lodgers were about when witness got down stairs, and they had the bar broken in. They had carried a lot of stuff out of the bar. They spoke to him first. He thought Single was the first man to speak to him. He did not know anything as to the origin of the fire. To Mr Rees : The only thing he said to Mr Barnard was that the fire must^ have originated from a candle having act fire to a curtain. He was asked by Mr Barnard what had become of his cash box, but what reply he made he could not remember. Was told after he had seen Mr Barnard that one of the men had taken it out of the bar and given it to his wife. It was not a cash box, but the till of the bar. He had nofc been told how much bad been handed over to his wife, nor did h» know. Received a. cheque for £40 some time before the fire. It was dishonored, and the police had now possession of it. The police got the cheque from witness at Waerenga-a-hika on the 14th instant. He did not think he had the cheque in his pocket when he went to see Mr Barnard. He did not remember whether the police got this cheque from him before he went to, or after he came from town. Could not remember whether he had spoken to anyone or not before he went to town on the 14th. The Coroner: That is an extraordinary statement to make. Examination continued : The £40 cheque was dishonored on the 11th inst., he having got it on the 10th. The arrangement between witness and his brother was that his brother was to take charge of the hotel till his time waa up, which would be on the 23rd September, when witnes3 was going to hand it back to Mr Adair. No valuations of furniture were made. He made up a list of what furniture was in the hotel before the fire took place. The list produced was the one made up. There was, as near as he could get at it, in the bar at the time of the fire. Stock to the value of £106. There might have been more or less. No furniture or stock was removed from one hotel to the other. To the foreman : When he said he closed the hotel between 10 and 11 he meant he closed the bar at that time. He might have closed the hotel five minutes or half an hour after that. He went to bed after closing the hotel. W. Varley, sworn, said he was a laborer and stopped at the Waerenga-a-hika hotel. On the night of the 13th he went to bed at 9.30, and was awakened by the breaking of a glass window. He Baw flames coming out of a window of the Sir George Grey. The Waerenga-a-hika hotel is abeut 60 yards distant from the Sir George Grey. He saw the flames coming through the window of the private sitting room on the ground floor. That was the only portion of the building he saw on fire. He gave the alarm, and dressed himself and ran over. He commenced to kick at the door, but got no reply. Another man came and they smashed the doors in. They tried to get up the main staircase but could not do so for the smoke. O'Connell came into the bar about ten minutes after witness got into the house. There was no light in the bar except from the fire. O'Connell was fully dresstd, and witness thought he had his boots and hat on. The hat was a hard black felt. He was under the influence of drink. Saw O'Connell about 9.30 on the night of the 13th at the Sir George Grey. He was then under the influence of liquor. He was boarding at the Sir George Grey on the 13th inst., and came to the Waerenga-a-hika on that night. He thought the servant girl had told him and the other boarders to go over to the Waerenga-a-hika. He and some of the others took their effects with them. To Mr Rees : Did not notice from where O'Connell came when he entered the bar. Could not say whether he came in from the inside or outaide. Did not know anything about a ladder being put up to the window of the room occupied by O'Connell at the Sir Ma C^eorgs 'irey hole). To the Cor'ier : There was a second staircase in the hotel, leading from the bar parlor. There wa? no fire in the bar or bar parlor when he fire' s iv r .♦■, John Collie, a laboi *\ at^osed that be was sleeping at the Wa«. •'jjja-a-hika hotel on the night of the 13th. r£e vent to bed at twenty past ten. Heard a ni/.se in the night, and on getting up saw thai the Sir George Grey was on fire. Saw the £* t in j the same room as the last witness. "ft? dressed and went over to the burning build- ! inc. aud effected an entrance by the bar door. Did not see O'Connell when he first got in, but saw him coming down the main passage some time after witness had got into the bar. He was fully dressed, and had slippers and a hat on. He asked witnesß if he had saved his books. He was undtr the influence of liquor. Wit* ness told him his books were alright. He told witness he reckoned he had only been closed ten minutes when he heard the noise. Witness thought when O'Connell said this, it was about a quarter past twelve o'clock. Witness bad been acting as barman in the Waerenga-a-hika hotel from the 4th August up to Sunday night last. Witness lest by the fire £54 worth of goods, and told O'Cocnell of this on the 15th. Told him he wanted something for his interest. O'Connell said he would do what he could, but witness reckoned he would not get anything out of it. Witness had asked the boarders to move over to the Waerenga-a-hika Hotel on the 3th. To Mr Reee : When O'Connell came into the bar there were several men about workj O g, Tbey cleared nearly everything from

the bar. Everything was saved from the liar except some aerated waters and part of a cask of beer. Could not give any idea what stock was iv the bar. There was nothing iv cases in the bar before the fire, everything being on the shelves. He saw the stock ' hat was removed from the bar, and had made ,i list of the articles saved. There were 13 bottles brandy, 59 bottles whisky, 24 small oUles whisky, 44 stout, 6 champagne, 8 schnapps, 22 English beer, 2 dozen cordials, and a five-gallon jar of whisky in, another five-callon jar which had been broached, 1 two-gallon jar port wine, broached, 1 twogallon jar sherry, also broached, 4 30-gallon casks of beer. These were all the salvage. There was a store-room just off tho bar where che goods were stored. Did not know whether anything wus saved from that. Did not know whether there was anything in it at the time of the fire. Wrote the tetter produced to Mr Barnard on the 15th instant. It was for a claim of £54 for goods lost in the fire, against Mr Barnard's Company. He did not mean to say that had Mr Barnard recognised his claim he would have been able to give more evidence concerning the fire. To the Coroner : He was not insured with Mr Barnard. His reason for writing was that he could not get any satisfaction out of Mr O'Connell, and ho thought he might perhaps from Mr Barnard. J. C. Dunlop, agent for the Commercial Union Insurance Company, stated the Sir George Grey Hotel building was insured in ins office for £500 in favor of Mr Percival Barker as mortgagee. To Mr Jones: So far as he was aware, O'Connell had no interest in the building.

J. O. Barnard, agent for the North German Insurance Company, said the stock and furniture were insured for .£3OO in his office. He inspected the property before the insurance was effected. It had been insured for three years. Last year the risk was inoreased by £50. To Mr Jonas : He was satisfied of the value of the stock on taking the risk, and when the extra £50 was taken O'Connell had assured him. the amount of stock was being kepi up. There was £125 on the stock.

Alice O'Connell, wife of C. O'Connell, said she slept at the \N aerenga-a-hika Hotel on the night of the 13th. Went to bed at 9 o'clock that evening. Last saw her husband" at 8.30 on that night. Before Bhe retired she knew he was to sleep at the Sir George Grey. Could not say what time the fire took place. To Mr Rees : Had told Mr Barnard Bhe had saved her personal effects, aa they had been removed at the time she went to live at the Waerenga-a-hika hotel. To Mr Jonea : She had endeavoured to get some person to go into the hotel when it was burning, as she thought her husband was in the building.

The Coroner in his summing up, Baid the jury would have to be thoroughly satisfied before giving a verdict as to whether the fire had been accidental or the work of an incendiary. From the evidence it was not very clear whether the building had not been wilfully set fire to, and should this be of their opinion, they would bring in a verdict to that effect, and had they any suspicious of any person they would add to their verdict & rider to thab effect.

The jury, after some deliberation, returned an open verdict, and considered that there was not sufficient evidence to show how the fire originated.