Fire at Cullensville.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 8, Issue 22, 19 March 1897, Page 2

Fire at Cullensville.

At eleven a.m. on Wednesday morning, Mr James Fuller, manager for Messrs Greensill and Co., of Picton, noticed smoke issuing from the gable of the Grand National Hotel, and he, together with Mr W. A. Collins (with whom he was conversing, advised Mrs Oliver. On examination, it was discovered, that a fire had broken; out, in-', the upstairs portion of the hduse,'prV sumably the linen room, where a ser-, vant of the„house had been occupied in obtaining sheets to re-place those used the previous night. An .impression is also prevalent that the carelessness of one of the boarders, in neglecting to extinguish a cigarette, may have caused the conflagration. The house has been burnt to the ground, and those boarding there have lost their effects. A remarkable feature of the fire was that, although there was no breeze, the flames swept with tremenduous fury towards the Theatre Royal, caused undoubtedly by the intense heat. The inhabitants made strenuous efforts to save property, and Messrs Harding, Collins, Neilson, Johnson and W. Thompson were conspicuous. As far as can be no agent in. Havelock holds a cover of insurance on his register. Miss Handley, who occupied an attachment to the building as a dressmaker's establishment, was successful in removing the greater portion of her belongings before the fire spread. , Constable Egan has been indefatigable in his efforts to unravel the mystery; and we find the property was originally insured with the Standard office for £3OO. Mr Oliver (now in the North Island) is supposed to hold the renewals.