INTERPROVINCIAL NEWS.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXVII, Issue 3382, 30 December 1871, Page 3

INTERPROVINCIAL NEWS.

* THE LATE GALE IN OTAGO. The recent heavy gale at Dunedin appears to have exceeded in intensity any similar "visitations during the last seven years. The " Daily Times" gives the following account : — At two o'clock on Saturday morning there was hardly a breath of wind. Soon after there was a slight breeze from the south-west, and in the course of an hour it had increased to a gnle, which, with occasional lulls, continued till early on Sunday morning, when it somewhat abated. We believe that since the gale which occurred on the day of the arrival of the All England Eleven, several years ago, (here has not been a storm here equal in intensity to that of Saturday. Trees were uprooted, and many others denuded of large branches and of leaves. The young fruit in gardens was strewn thickly over the ground, and plants were broken or levelled. One of the results of the gale was the blowing down of the turret and pinnacles that rise perpendicularly from the northwestern corner of the tower of the new First Church, at a height of 90 feet above the ground. We learn that all engaged upon the building, except one, had to cease work at ten o'clock, on account of the force of the wind,- which prevented them from standing on the scaffolding. The exception was Mr Godfrey, sculptor, who was working on the ornaments of the front archway, linger the tower, and who, being pretty well sheltered, continued his occupation. About a quarter to twelve o'clock, a small pinnacle in the space between the turret and the tower, and which was a slender shaft of some 8 or 10 feet high, was lifted out bodily by the force of the gale from where it stood to a distance of at least four or five feet, was carried round the outside of the turret, and fell at the church door, a distance of some ten feet in the opposite direction to the course it first look. It would seem that the wind getting confined in the space between the pinnacle and the tower, forced the former out for a distance of some feet in a direction opposite to the one the gale was blowing from, and when the wind rebounding from the tower had no more effect upon the falling mass, it was then turned in an opposite direction by the gale. No one seems to have seen it fall, but any way, in the fall of 00 feet, it made a voyage of somo 15 feet round a corner. When it reached the ground, it struck with a loud crash, and just grazed the bottom of the ladder leading to the scaffolding. Mr Godfrey then ' thought it prudent to beat a retreat, and did so quickly. However, he determined to collect his scattered tools, and see that he left the scaffold in d firm condidition. He got a workman, who chanced to be passing that part of the building, to watch while he went up. As he was putting his tools together, his watchman called out to him, and he had barely time to get under the archway and cling on by the mouldings of the ceiling, when the north-west turret, and the two pinnacles near it yet standing, came down with a terrific crash. The highest point at which this mass of stone, which weighed about four tons, stood above the ground, was some 115 feet, and the lowest 90 feet. The box on which it stood was carried away and broken, as also was the scaffold on which it was supported, and the projecting part of the lower scaffold was also carried away. The ladder by which he had just ascended was literally crushed into chips. Some pretty large blocks of Oaraaru stone went bounding over a quantity of ashlar on level ground, to a distance of 50 or CO feet beyond the base of tho tower ; but, luckily for Mr Godfrey, none of the material that struck the scaffolding went between it and the roof of tho archway. The part of the turret that was blown down was that portion from which the turret begins to be hollow, and from whence it is carried up for a considerable distance on four corners and a centre support, on which rests a heavy dead weight. We believe that

these four turrets were originally designed to be constructed solid, with a panel slightly recessed, but the plan was after-' wards altered to one of building them on four corners, so that the light could be seen through them, in order to give " depth of shade." Afterwards a fifth support had to be put in the centre of the hollow part of the turret, to assist in supporting the heavy solid part above. After this accident, so happily unattended with any serious result, we^ believe it is more probable that the three turrets standing will bo taken down, than that the one blown down will be built up afresh. The same paper states that workshops, roofs, chimneys, and signboards in many parts of (he town were blown down, and a number of windows were blown in. At Port Chalmers tho shippfng rode it out safely, but had narrow escapes. In the various suburbs great damage was done. Bush fires occurred at several places. In Sawyer's Bay a bush fire on the line of railway spread, as also did some other fires which were observed to break out on the higher lands of the district, euveloping the flat and portions of the hills in dense smoke. About mid-day Park House, formerly occupied by Mr H. D. Gundry, and then in the occupation of Mr Somerville, caught fire, it is supposed from the sparks from the bush, and wns entirely consumed. Mr Somerville only saved a small portion of bedding, clothes. &c. Further up the hill, a small outhouse belonging to Mr Morris, Mount Pleasant, was burned, and Mr Wilson's slaughter and cattle yards on the flat had a narrow escape, as also had the house of Mr N. Y. Wales. The whole of the furniture was taken out of the house by the quarry and railway men, while- the fire was raging in the bush on the hill in front, and the anicles were deposited at some distance in a paddock. The fire here, with ths assistance of the police and others, was got under, and the goods and chattels were removed back to the house. Part of the fencing was burned down, and some out-houses were damaged. The old stumps across the flat, and all dead timber ignited, and spread right across the road to the glebe of Mr Johnston, the minister. Here the stumps caught fire, but by the exertions of some volunteers they were extinguished and the manse made safe. Later in the evening the fire approached the house of Mr Cleminson, and but for the exertions of the police and Mr A. Murrison, it would have have been burned. Off the branch district road, close to the old butts, the fire for some time raged with fury, burning fences and injuring crops. Mr W. Perry's house narrowly escaped. A bush fire a mile in length, and about a quarter of a mile in width, broke out at Portobello, and caused some damage to the settlers. Mr William Warren's house was burned, and with it £50 in bank-notes which he kept in a small box under his bed. He estimates his total loss ut £100. Mr Stephen Barker, a settler living close to Mr Warren, had fencing to the value of £40 destroyed by the fire. Messrs Duckworth and Granger had, between them, 50 cords of firewood burnt. Mr Walter Falle sustained a loss of about £50 in fencing and crops burnt. Mr Cadzow, of the Anderson's Bay Hotel, lost to the extent of £60, through having 150 cords of firewood burned on his property. The fire is supposed to have originated in a gully about a quarter of a mile from Mr Warren's place, through parties who were cutting wood not having properly extinguished a fire they had made there. The residents did all they could to keep the fire from spreading.