SERIOUS FIRE IN DUNEDIN.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVI, Issue 1692, 10 December 1861, Page 5

SERIOUS FIRE IN DUNEDIN.

DESTRUCTION OFBUILDINGS AND A LARGE AMOUNT 01' PROPERTY. THE " WITNESS " AND " DAILY TIMES* OFFICE DESTROYED. We regret to have to reoord the most serious fire that ever ooourred in Dunedin, by whioh properly to a large amount has been destroyed, inoluding, we are sorry to say, the office aud part' of the plant of the ' Otago Witness ' and of the « Patty Tiaies. 1 The first alarm ..of; the

fire was given by Constable 'G~renan/1# half-past 2 o'clock on Sunday, in the stone store belonging to Mr. Cargill, and in the back premises of Mr. Shand'« bakery k To which of the two it broke out is a disputed question. Mr. Inspector Branigan and a number of constables and private individuals were speedily on the spot. After some difficulty in obtaining it, the little fire-engine, — the only one the town boasts of, was got out and fixed on the bay beach, and the hose connected on. Meanwhile the flames spread in such a manner that it became evident there was not much chance of saving tire' adjoining houses, whilst the safety of all the buildings between Stafford and IWalker streets seemed imperilled. It was determined to let the 'Witness* office go, and to endeavour, to save l]ie Queen's Arms, Instant steps were taken to empty the printing office of its. type and material! and in an incredibly short space of time the major portion \6( its contents were handed out into the street. The printing machine and presses it was found impossible to move, but most of the frames and nearly all the type were saved. Every exertion was now direoted tosay,e the Queen's Arm's hotel, although, the near proximity of the flames Wthe ' Witness •' offic^lseemed to" makeVifc ail' almost impossible task. The eng'&3 hose and two chains of. buckets were brought to bear on the hotel, and portions of the ' Witness' offioe wereknooked down. At about half-past three, the fire was sufficiently overcome to remove all fears for the safety of-the hotel On theother side the fire coutinued to' burn fiercely in the large stone store of, Cargill and Co. ; Shand's wooden buildings were completely burnt sdown,< and the fire communicated to Pollock's butcher, shop. It was hopeless to attempt to save it, and as a precautionary measure, the, next, building (Simpson's boot and shoe store) was pulled down. By this time, the breeze had died away, and beyond destroying another building, occupied as a store by Paterson the baker, the fire did no further damage* It is impossible to eulogise in too high terms the conduct of most of the persons present, who lent their aid in subduing' the fire and saving the propeity. The descent from the spot to the bay is almost precipitous, yet three or four files of mem succeeded in obtaining footing and passing the buckets, nearly a quarter ol . a mile to the burning buildings. The hose was worked with unremitting energy. The police, under Mr. Inspector Branigan, effected wouders; and the soldiers, who arrived rather late, contributed all the assistance in their power. The officers made themselves particularly conspicuous ; one of them for upwards of an hour continued to pass buckets to and from the fire and the beach. To show how unlikely it seemed that the ' Queen's Arms' would be saved, the next store further away was commenced to. be 1 ' demolished, and was half knocked down,. before it was considered safe to leave it stand. It is impossible to estimate obr« rectly the value of the property destroyed but we believe about £ 10,000 would he the near estimate. We are sorry to say> little or none of this was insured. Two of the sufferers 1 by the fire Were' negotiating for insurances, and the terms were to have been agreed on, on Saturday, but were postponed till Monday. A difference of opinion exists as to where the fire broke out; some inoline to think in Cargill's store, whilst others, assert it to have been in Shand's. bakery. The latter seems the more probable, as unless it were spontaneous oombustion or the work of an inoendiary, the fire, oould not have originated in Cargill's. The fire was not completely extinguished' up to yesterday afternoon, though it was sufficiently subdued to remove all fears of danger. We must postpone further particulars till next issue, when we will also mention the names of those who rendered themselves most conspicuous by the assistance they rendered during the fire. One exception, however, we must make, iv that of Mr. Pullen, who" with the instinctive power that experience always commands, assumed from the first the direotion of the engine and the hose. We understand he has had great experience, in California, and certainly he rendered good service, INCIDENTS OF THE FIRE. Two forms, in type, of the ' Witness/ that remained on the machine, were melted completely,, so intense was the heat. Even tumblers were fused into shapejes^ masses. ' , J ■,'»,"*** ; The fire engine was itu the Town Halt, and as no one was there to give it upi the police had to break open the door ta prooure \t^ , ; - , , - : . The police found a cash box in Messrs. Cargill and Co.'s store, in whioh was a solid nugget of gold, the produce of sovereigns and other ooins melted up. It was by no means easy to put the, engine to work at first, and. the. decent down the steep bank was made with difficulty. For its size the engine is a splendid one. , . Mr. Jones, of the Provincial, placed di the disposal of all those employed in extinguishing tb.e five, any refreshments that his house afforded.— Daily Tim^ Deo. 2.