MELBOURNE GOSSIP.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 2760, 22 March 1890, Page 6 (Supplement)

MELBOURNE GOSSIP.

(Klto.ll OUll OWN' OOIIUKSt'ONDBNT).

Mkijiohunk, February 17. Tan inhabitant* of the quiet suburb of Hawthorn, wore treated to a grand speotaolo on Sunrl iv (yesterday) morning at t.he early hour of 2 o'clock. Tho sleeting rink at St. James' Park was on fire, and owing to the combustible nature of'tho materials the scone, from an artistic point of view, was very fine. The commercial aspect was probably gloomy enough Tho building was 300 ft. in length by TOOrt; in width, constructed of wood, the sides and roof covered with corrugated iron, and the raised wooden floor covered with a very thick layer of patent asphaltum. The front and the offices wero constructed entirely of wood. No one yet kuowß how the building got on fire; but the flames having onoe taken hold the united efforts of tho nine brigades prosent were powerless to oheck them. There was a strong southerly broeze blowing. The burning timber soon set fire to the asphalt, and then the flames spread from end to end, and from side to side, the flames shooting upwards from a base 300 by 100 feet, the molten asphalt sending forth a light bright green flame—tho smoke, and the darker glow of the burning wood—the largo sheets of corrugated iron thrown upward and away like sheets of paper—tho whole neighbourhood brilliantly illuminated for half a mile around—then the surrounding darkness rising up like walls—all theso combined to form a picture not easily paralleled nor forgotten. No one in the immediate neighbourhood regrets the occurrence, however much they may sympathise with the pecuniary loss of the owner. The establishment, with its noise and racket, was a great nuisance in a quiet and rather seloct neighbourhood, ancl the surprise is how it ever came to be erected there. However, there is no chance of its being re-built, as it, like many" other rinks, has not been a paying concern for a good while. A party, living at Massey-street, Richmond, turned out to look at the illumination from a distance, and, when tired, returned home to bed- They had not been there very long when they were aroused with the information that their own h mso was on fire. They made their escape with no other dress than their night ulothes. The yachtsmen, some of them owning more cockleshells, are highly indignant because they have been assigned a mooring ground other than that they have been occupying for some years past. The ground is required for trading craft, and the Harbour Trust are practical enough to recognise that boats devoted to pleasure must make room for vessels devoted to business. The yachtsmen don't seem to see it; nevertheless they will have to go. The largely-increasing wool operations iu Melbourne, the leading Wool Exchange in Australia renders the fact more manifest every year that a considerable change will have to be made in the present method of haudling and dealing with wool itself. The accommodation at Spencer-street railway station has not, from various causes, been extended to meet the great development which ha 3 been made iu the wool traffic, and it is no uncommon thing during the season, for different brands of wool, and indeed the bales consigned to different brokers, to get inextricably "mixed," and, for a tiiae, to slip out of sight altogether. Wool-growors know what is the ultimate outcome of these perplexing and irritating delays, which are thus inevitable; it "spells loss" in seme shape or other. To wool-brokers it means that, if they are to do full justice to this rapidly-growing trade, they will have to shift their quarters ; and, indeed, there are signs that the migration has already begun. One leading house, the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company (Limited) has disposed of its city wharehouses, and secured a magnificent site for new premises close to the city, and exactly in the fork, at tho junction of tho main line to Sydney with that to Adelaide and Williamstown. The • new buildings, which are already well advanced, are to contain the finest show-room in tho colonies, will be directly connected with the main lines of railway by " sidings" to tho very doors, and are to be ready for next season ; and thus wool will pass direct from tho railway trucks to the storing floors. This means a considerable saving of both time and labour to a company that handles over £1,000,000 worth of wools during tho sales of a season. They sold 70,000 bales in Melbourne during tho season just closed—an increase on 21,000 bales on last year's operations. A glanco at theso figures show that a great saving must be effected through having these large wool warehouses " connected up " to a lino of railway. There is a remarkably fine display of several tons of tin oro on vioiv in the window of Mr John Lang, 435 Bourkestreet. The ore is from a mine situated in a valloy formed by tho Pilot Mountain, tho Baron-bogie, aud the Skeleton Ranges, and is about three milos from Cbiltern, The lead has been proved for three-quarters of a mile by a series of five shafts, 30 to 00 feet doep, all of whioh bavo bottomed on good wash, containing yold and tin, and, as far as pt;osperited, is oo feet wido. Assays show lewt. 3gr. 221b. of tin ore per load of wash dirt, and assayed -1-1 A per cent, of metallic tin, and lun, r Jdwt. lfiirr. of pure gold per ton. A company, to ho ualLd tho Pilot Tin and Golrlmining Company, is being formed to work this mine. Tho capital is to bo £10,000, in 5s shares, and, if the whole of the property —181 acres—be as rich as that already proved, it should be a profitable venture to tho proprietors.