DESTRUCTIVE WHIRLWIND NEAR AUCKLAND.

Thames Advertiser, Volume IX, Issue 2463, 6 November 1876, Page 3

DESTRUCTIVE WHIRLWIND NEAR AUCKLAND.

About one o'clock last '-'Friday', an'ua« usually loud and strange noise) somewhat resembling that of thunder, was heard at Cox's Creek, : as'if coining fromtbe direction of College, Boad,'and before the nature of it could be understood, a whirlwind struck Messrs Warnock Brothers' soap and : candle'manufactory ; at-Eich« mond. The part of the building first attacked was the'middle;'the whirlwind forcing itself through to the opposite side, and destroying everything in. its,way,as well as unroofing, the',factory, ana com-; pletely blowing down fthe large'chimney-! stack.,of the,establis^ent,. i w,hich''-was..a

j' strongly-built pile- -. ; One..,end, ofj-the, , building, which contained some-fifty tons of goods, was shifted off the blocks on | which it stood 'to the'extent of two feet or ; upwards. The interior of the factory, including portions of the machinery, was much damaged, whilst not a vestige of the roof i wasfleftr. AWal^plates/,and;; studs were broken and splintered and carried away infill., directions—some jof j them to distances ranging from a quarter of a mile toupwards of two.'miles; l -' 86terrifically' strong was, the wind that some of the wal) plate's 'and" Other ■ heavy 1 ' ■'•'piece's-' j o£ tiinbcrwiere .wafted away/with such violence that'' they were'driven from' six to twelve inches into Jhej ground,' in the' neighbourhood" of" the factory/ where' the. ..soil ris, .not. hard. It was fortunate, that the rMessrs. Warnock and their employees!.were absent from the factory at dinner at the time, or some serious; if not fatal, accidents might have occurred. Theonly persons who' were ou the premises wero Mr James Warnock 1 aud one of the workmen, and we need hardly remark that both those narrowly escaped, losing their lives,'and it is' indeed a wonder that they did not. Mr Warnock was repeatedly knocked down, and sustained some slight injuries, whilst the workman was struck in the face with potash used in soap making, which has so injured his eyes that JHsfoared he will ! lose his sight. He has not been yet able to open them, notwithstanding that medical aid has been procured for -Mm. - The Messrs Warnock estimate . the damage thus done to their,manufactory, including machinery, goods, &c> .at about £500,,, „•.• About a quarter of a mile'irom' the soap and candlo f manufactory 7is. Mr Bead's farm,, where the whirlwind also

did its work of destruction.'' It wliolly demolished Lis farm-sheds—of I 'which' there were three or four—not a vestige of them being left," So "cleanly hare 'they l)eeq-swept away with their -.contents that it can hardly he, discovered' whjre tliey stood. Mr Bead's house was not, singalau to say; touched;: althoughat isiwiifaiivVa few yards of the sheds.