MOUNT BUNINYONG ON FIRE.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume I, Issue 62, 20 February 1877, Page 3

MOUNT BUNINYONG ON FIRE.

A column of smoke was seen from Ballarat, arising from behind Mount Buninyong, between 9 and 10 o'clock on the morning of the 20th ult, looking, says the Star, as though the old volcano had once awaked its died-out fires. It could easily be seen, however, that" the cause was a bush fire, and as the day grew the fire extended around the base and over the top of the mount, till at night the hill seemed covered with fire at almost every point seen at Ballarat. This prominent landmark in a blaze would have proved an interesting sight to onlookers, had itnotbeen for the thought that the farmers clustered around its base might lose by the fire the result of a year's labour. The fire was gazed at by wondering groups of people at every point in the streets of the town where a good view could be obtained, and the wooded sides of the mount continued to keep up their bright appearance for four or five hours after dark, when they began to pale, till, when morning broke nothing could be seen curling up from the lower portions of the hill. On Sunday night a few trees that remained alight on the top showed out with special brilliancy against the sky. A large number of persons visited the locality on Sunday to see what damage this terriblbe onflagration had caused, but we are glad to say that the fire was entirely confined to the Government reserves, including the mount, and no farms were much damaged. This was the result of the incessant labours of everybody living about the mount, who turned out one and all to keep the fire from touching the crops, which in some places adjoined the reserves. In their endeavours they were successful, the fire, as we have said, doing little damage besides burniug up the underwood and fallen timber covering three-fourths of the mount, a portion of that side facing Ballarat being comparatively untouched. On the other Bide where the fire began, it burned from base to summit, and only stopped for lack of fuel, having burnt in some places right under the fences to the edge of No. 2 Bailway road. It was on the other side, however, that the greatest danger was to be feared, as there the greatest number of farms are situated. In some places the fire came right up to the fences, on the other.side of which were standing crops stacked or lying down. Happily there was very little wind during the progress of the fire, and this was a great point in favour of those who did their utmost to keep the fire from doing any great harm. Some few chains of fencing have been destroyed, but that can soon be remedied, and though the green trees, old and young, on the mount have been severely scorched, a little propitious weather will soon set them right again. As to the cause of the fire, we are sorry to say that it is alleged to have been the work of an incendiary, Joseph Innes, a farrnei living at the bottom of Mount Buninyong. From what we can gather, it seems that Innes had been heard in an hotel to threaten that he would fire the mount, and it is alleged that having fired the grass once, his act was discovered and the fire extinguished, but that soon after he made no fewer than six or seven fires round the far side of the mount, which soon made headway, and did all the damage we have mentioned. When this report became known, the Buninyong police quickly arrested the alleged incendiary, and lodged him in the lock-up there. He was, however, liberated on Sunday afternoon, bail being given in the sum of £1,000.