Additional Australian News

Auckland Star, Volume VI, Issue 1669, 24 June 1875, Page 2

Additional Australian News

A MYSTERIOUS OCCURRENCE.

The Maryborough Standard states that an occurrence which took place at Alma formed the subject of an enquiry by Dr. Laidman and a jury on Friday, The inquest disclosed the following facts :—The deceased, a young girl of 14, named Ellen Heron, described as a fine child of healthy constitution, was playine with her younger sister half - an - hour before her death, and went out of the house, leaving her sister in the bedroom with her mother. Ths former diroc'ly afterwards—a very little time having elapsed—opened the front door, nnd there saw, on the verandah, the deceased in a stooping position upon her kneos, with a strap under her throat, dead. The strap was loose under the girl's throat, but the latter bore a mark, evidently from the pressure of th* strap up>n it. Tho strap was suspended upon a nail upon one of the verandah p:sfs at the same height as the girl herself—s feet 4 inches. Deceased had her head in the loop, her back was towards the post, and the nail had be^n pulled down against the post. The evidence was given principally by the little sister, an intelligent child. It was proven, further, th<vt there had been no disturbance in the family, and deceased had not been subjected to re. roof. Dr. Julian had made a partial postmortem examination of tho body, bub had not arrived at the real cause of death, and under the circumstances the investigation ■was adjourned until one o'clock on Saturday. The Standard cives the following explanation of the child's death :-Deceased placed her h«ad in the bop on the strap, which turned or twisted and caused asphyxia. She then struggled, and in pulling on the strap ben* down the nail, but the strap not giving way she was found loose, her throat simply resting upon it ; but the mavk found by Dr. Julian shows that it must have pressed tiahtlv to cause death.

BURNING OF THE VICTORIA SUGAR

WORKS.

The following are the particulars of the destruction of the above works, by which i=; stited in last night's Star, New Zealand offices are serimislosera :—Shortly after balfpast one o'clock this morninc (says Tuesday's Arqits) the Victoria Sugar Works, Sandridge, caught fire. The fire commenced in the top story, or loaf floor of what is known as the sngar-house, apart from, but connected with the factory. The goods stored in the house, hewever, were of such an inflammable character that the flames spread with almost", inconceivable rapidity. They speedily enveloped the entire bmldinsr, and threw a lurid glare over the whole of Sandridge, Emerald-hill, and Melbourne. In fact, the light from the flames was so great that in many parts of Sandridge it was easy to see to read in the streets. The Sandridge Brigade was on the spot and at work in a few minutes, and. it was quickly followed by the Melbourne and the various suburban brigades. All their efforts were, however, unavailing to stop the fire. For an hour and a-balf after the fire commenced, the liquid suguv and spirit could bo seen flowing from the mats and other vessels, and feeding the flames, which roared around and over the whole of the work. All that the brigades could accomplish was to prevent the spread of the conflagration to the adjoining buildings, and great efforts had to be made to secure them, as the wind carried and scattered masses of burning material for hundreds of yards. About 150 persons will be thrown out of employment by the sad occurrence. It is expected that sugar will advance £3 a to^n in consequence of the large quantity destroyed.