GREAT FIRE IN WESTPORT.

West Coast Times, Issue 1329, 25 December 1869, Page 4 (Supplement)

GREAT FIRE IN WESTPORT.

(From the Westport Times.) 1 he most serious and disastrous elemental visitation as yet recorded in the history of Westport occurred in Gladstone-street on Saturday night. At ten o'clock, when th' 1 town was in its u-ual condition o! quietude, though perhaps a trifle briske th.»n on ordinary Saturday evening-;, from t.ie presence in the t-treets of a few strangers f-om the Terrace, and of a mimber of tin townspeople taking an evening saunter before retiring to their homes, the oftendreaded alarm of " Fire !" was heard in the I main street, and shortly afterwards the cry was echoed over all parts of the town. A j rush from the four points of the compaswas made towards the place where ihe alarm originated, and it was discovered that a fire had broken out in the shop of Mr j\n<!ow, draper and general storekeeper, \ •whose premises occupied a central position j in the main block of buildings on the wot j or seaward side of Gladstone-street. From the general account given of the origin of the occurrence, it appears that Mr Anslow, previous to closing his premises for the night, was in the act of extinguishing one of the kerosene lamps by turning down, the wick. As he did so, the burning wick came in contact with the body of kerosene in the lamp, causing the latter almost immediately t<> explode. For a few minutes Mr Anslow strove hard I to extinguish the exi ending flames, bus j several articles of drapery, and two ca<;it of kerosene, which happened to be standing close to where the lamp burst, having ca-.ight, it soon exceeded the powers of Mr Anslow and the few neighbors who hnd then congregated to diminish or extinguish the fire. Barely time was lett to remove half-a-dozen nrticles, when the flames with .ne grasp, seemed to seize the whok of the roof and envelope the premises in 1 cloud of smoke. The alarm was then more loudly reverberated from one street to another, and crowds of people rushed to the s cne, but scarcely three minutes had elapsed from the time Mr Anslow's roof had caught until Caro's Golden Age 110 el. on the left, and Trimble's Theatie Royal, on the right, were enwrapped in smoke and flame. Only a few minutes passed, I when any attempt to allay ihe fierce flames which then spread along ' like a thing of li c," >va«= seen to be hopeless, and the fire, pots *- ts c ncerned the one block of buildins /as deemed be}ond human subj' etioi . i 1 his stage, the attention of the crowd wa- direc d to the drap ry establishment of fessrs Fleming and Mv ra}', and dur ng the 'n minutes which passed before the spi ding of the flame to that distance, the pec c set to work with a will to remove the arge stock of drapery on those premis* s. Silks, moire-antiques, velvets. la< - c-4. and the most valuable drapery lots we 131 3 seized upon in the most primitive mv; :>er, and thrust into the middle of the ftre. t-. The flames were fast spreading end soon made their appearance inside tliei. wails also, and desperate efforts were the! deemed necessary to save the balance of tie stock. The windows were smashed tc r ford more rapid modes of egress, and eve y avai'able assistance was given by the cro yd, bnt the enemy became too powerful, and a considerable quant'ty of the stock had of necessity to be left to its fate. The fire then burnt most fiercely, a.d the heat was so intense as to be almost unendurab'e on the opposite siJe of the street. Without the slightest P'j-sibi !ity of checking the fire, whi<h iv a f.w minutes more placed the offices of MrPi't, Solicitor, at Smyik's Tramway Hotd in a similar position of danger and certain destruction. The attenion of the crowd having been concentrated in the attempt to -aye the stock of Messrs F'emin^ and Murray, little heed had been given to the two latter places until the fire had got a firm hold of them, and a \ery narrow f scape was made by Mr Fo»te, clerk to Mr Pitt, in saving papers from the upr.er office, and neaily all the articles in the Tramway were lost. An empty store, adjoining Sniyrk's Hotel, was the next place to fall a victim, and then followed the residence of Dr. Rockstrow, which had been recently purchased by him from Mr George Somner, architect. With a considerable portion of s furniture and chemicals J*it was soon consumed. The vigilance of the people certainly had the effect of staying any further progress of the flames in that direction, as the most strenuous efforts were made to subdue it. The saving of the school-house and other buildings inMolesworth-street, is attributable solely to the energy which was here displayed. While the fire had thus extended over the entire left hand portion of the block, it was evidently proceeding with a determination to encircle the right-hand portion in like manner. Trmble's Th> at re Royal ! been gutted by the flames almost "in a twinkling," leaving the inmates scarcely time to save a single article. With the exception of a few private effects taken out, the whole building, furniture, and stock was a mass of unapp oacliable ruins in a very short time Onward the fire extended towards Horn's, the tobacconist, who managed in a manner to get a large po tion of his goods away from the premises to the middle of the street, but fr ra the mode in which much of the goods was thrown about, not to rvention the loss of the two shops, which were his own pro- • pert", he nm-t have been one of the ivict losers. The S » rtsman's Am bel nging to Mrs Austin, who had * ntly gone to some expense iv imj)rov> ments, and the Imperial Hotel, the pror ity of Mr Tasker, tenanted and furnish I by Mr Derungs, verj' shortly follow< The .• ew shop of Messrs Roberts md inpson, bootmakers, of which mention as made last week as having the r i be n ;ompleted, and added to the few neat bui t ngs iv town, was totally destroyed almost b'ibre the paint and plaster on the wall; had properly dried. The bulk of the ,; tods, however, was saved, but Mr Sim} -on i-? greatly to be sympathised with, i a 1 * lit ing 10-t from his hard earning-; th<i neatest establishment of its kind in the to** n It cannot be replaced under at least £300 or £400, and when consumed its O' lamentation had not been altogether com leted. Mr White, chemist, next door, has an equally pl iable tale to relate. Everyone knows what it is to" attempt to save a druggist's stock on ten minutes' nc'is'-e. r l he chemica s got so mixed that they ignited before the fire reached the piemi- ls, and, except a piano, very little im eed was saved belonging to Mr White. Fro.n the Prince of Wales Hotel, next d or, there was nothing saved, from the circumstance of the proprietress, Mm Biv.itbwaite, being from home, and the phce b-ing cl.ised up. There w.ts some £,-'A) worth of stock on the premises, besides furniture. Mr Slmllioff, the tobaccoDisf, ln^t no time in clearing his premises of his stock of tobaccos, cigars, pipes, &c , but ah loss, even from the rough and tn;nb'e way in which goods had to be ta ren o-s: or thrown out, must have amounted to many pounds, independent of the loss of premises and business. The

•nost rapil aiul hrgot clerian c al ng the who'e l»l*c'c was liiar of Mr JMnnhern, '"i per, w'.o m;uv\^ec! to get out \ early ill his ;;oorls before the I'.anies reacheJ the haild.n.; but though eiHy attention had been given to the saving of the I much had to be left to perish The books, paper" V' 1 documents were left in a la ' o --'fe on Hie premiers, and though ' ■: *<?e was ro'l hot durin; the fire, o's o ning it mxt morning they were f'ou ' i.. i legible cond.tion. The leather cove s "'"ebooks were doubled up and blist. r- . but the paper was only darkened in color A larg<portion of the crouds were safely placed in the ( a«inn de Venice, but when the alarm was given that Air White's shop had caught, the balance was thrust out " higirledy piggledy" anywhere and everywhere, and only a few seconds before ihe building became one ma«s of flames. Mr Southern's books were placed safely in the Bank of New Zealand, the cash box was taken to the Union Bank, the drape y ■ lividel between the Casino and tht pui lie •treef, or temporary places of safety, and j Hie blanket- (160 pairs) distributed anto-ig j the neighboring dwellings to prevent any extension of the fire. The ruinous volume "f flame still spread, and Messrs Freeth and Greig's premises, in Freeman-street, \v« re the next seized. The last on the list of the unfort-uv.ite sufferers was Mr George Falla, whose lai ire 'torewa-sfil'ed with iinmoveable goods, such as hogshead*, quarter-casks, a ■■! botl.d beer. Up to the last moment the most strenuous attempts were made to clear the picnic.* '' <>"'•*.;'.. •. „i jj(.ij imjl had to be k.. t a., a i.. fU.. Over £200 worth of bottled ak a^l porter was on the premises in addition tc hogsbeidsof beer, spirits, and provisions, and the work of removing was carried on until the whole buil'Mnjr was i > a blaze. The store behind comple'cd the list of •mieleei! of the principal places of business in town all completely d stroyed, with s O(.Ls more or le<s damaged or lost. It is »omewhat difficult to approach even a ri»n«rh estimate of 'he total los*, but, from the limited means of obtaining e\ui an approximari nat i o early a date after f'c fire. it cannot be slated at le-s than £10,000 to £12,000. At several stag s of the progress of the the fire the disaster seemed lifcelv to extend much beyond the block which nad been destroyed, and indeed beyond the street in which tht fi e originated. The saving ot the opposite side of ' ;!:iustono-stm!", and of Kennedy-street, wl.ich mu->t inevitably have followed, w;.s mainly owing to the successful ex rtion* made in saving the Post Office Hotel. How that t v ldinji <:scap d is truly marvellous The appearance of the budding now after the fire is an index of what the hi at must have been. It is oco ched from top to botom, blackened and blistend, and scarcely a whiJc pane of jrlas* is left in the windows Jamie of those wh<> strove so hard to save this building (!e-erve the greatest credit. D iring one period no o- c thought there was the slightest possibility of its escaping, as one of the saturated blankets over tlie windows went off in a blaze. The heat was so intense on the roof that hands, elothee, and I o' ts were burnt, yet one or two p rsevering fellows remained manfully to their posts on the outer parapet on the roof, and kept pouring down buckets of water as i.st as they could be lrmd d up. After the fire had abated sli htly in the the north end of th* street, nearly all hands mustered at the Albion Hotel. where theseco •(! danger became imminent It then became more evident that in o der to protect the lower end of thestre- 1 some better or»anis si v should be attempted ; a strong li:.e of men was formed from the river, and buckets were passed from one to another with rcgu'ar and praiseworf y ranidiv; and to this the saving of the Albion Hotel and the whole bock adjoining was attributable. '1 he saving of this corner was also assi ted by a sudden chance in the wind, which had, during the first hour of the fire, been blowing from the north-west, but which seemed to sudpenly chop round t'» the south, at the particular moment when Mr Southern's roof was giving forth the greatest strength of flame. Half an hour af cr, when the fire had partly abated, there came ;■ gus f of wind from the wes' .vhich carried the sparks over tht- tops of the buildin ■ oppo^it' , but berore that time al! danger stcnied to be past. To specially notice the credit a')le activity of any man or body of men during the fire would be a difficult selection to make, as all worked well. Many wh^se shirt <-!eo\v had perhaps not seen d.iy'i:j w t f<>- mon.bs previously, if ever, might be seen divtsted of their upper garments and, with bucket in hand, actively at work. The miner-: who happened to be in town deserv« more th n a pa-sing word, as to their indefatigable and, in some instances, daring exertions much has now so be emu iterated with the li^t of saved which would otherwipe have been lost. The few poice, S.tu'eant Kiily. Constables Wil iams and O'Mara, diil their utmost in the saving ah well as ju-oteeting. Inspector Frauklvn happened to be at the li ne on a visit to the Brighton station. The olHiers of he gaol, who turned tl.eir keys on die inmate of their establishment, previous to tumi g their attention to the flre, wrought equally well. Th members of the Fire Brigade, n> t as a fire brigade, but as indhi'.lual citizens, did each oi.e his part. From the Chief Magistrate to the mot humble townsman, all seemed anxious to lend a willing hand, and by their combined exertion*, there can be no doubt much proceity was saved, and thextension of the fire on all sides prevented The drapers «avu out their blanket 1 ad libitum Mr Corr, Mr Patterson, Mr field, and others supplied innumerable buckets. The hotcli.'ei'ptTs stood '* fixe drinks," a.d everybody ooened their tank*, and did their ye y utmost to assii-t their neighbors. It is difficult, as we have said, to arrive nt am thing ike an iipproxiiiititiou of the tot-d !os», or indeed of individual losses, but the following, in rou^h figures, is as near an estimate of the value of the buil iiv^s arid goods L>st and destroyed as we are able to glean so soon after the fire : — Cowley, AnsWs sh- p £200 Anslow, stock, total 'oss 1000 Golden Aye hotel, Isl'Cole, owner ... 200 Do df) Cato's stock and fiirniturp, total lo*-s -CO Fleming and Murray, properties ... StiO Do do stock, parlia'ly lost and destroyed ... ... ••• 1500 Pirr, solicitor, office ami furniture, &c. 250 Tramway Hotel, ? my rk, hotel, fuinitui c, a'iid stock 500 Hons.tolm-conistj two shops and part of stork '.. 1010 Sportsman's Arms, Mrs Austin, hotel, furniture, and s ock 300 Imperial Hold, Tusk r, owner ... 300 Do. Stock, &<•., DeruiifS..." 200 White, chemist, shop an^l &lock ... 600 Prince Alfred Hotel, Taskcr 150 Do. do. stock and furniture, Mrs Braithwaite ... 70 Shulloff, toba-conist, part stock „, 150

.i Souther.], jurt stuck, destroyed ... 500 Smith and M'Dowell, ilniper's shop ... 800 Do. t!o. tobacconist's shop 200 Geo. J.-irvis, Fieuh and Falla's stores 550 liVeeth and Grcig, stores, &c 200 '}. F:ilhi, htock 400 !)r. Hcukftrow, hotise, furniture, &c... 300 Roberts and Simpson, new shop and part of stouk 500 Total £11,420 The above may be deemed the principal losers. There were many minor loses, as broken glas^, torn down fences, and other properties l.orrowed and not returned, but the above list comprises the chief losers on the block in which the fire occurred. In the space of two hours, the whole nineteen buildings wei'e consumed. No accident of any serious nriture 0' curred, though there were a large number of bruises and slight fcalds. Mr M'Kinley, tailor fell from the roof of his shop in attempting to secure it from the scorch of :iie opposite burning premises, but the injury sustiinul was, fortunately, slight. So far as we have been able to ascertain, there was n-t a penny of' insurance on any of the buildings or stocks.