From Napier Westward

Feilding Star, Volume VII, Issue 93, 16 January 1886, Page 3

From Napier Westward

THE RECENT BUSH FIRES. (B* Eambler.) Between Napier and Takapau the country is in a deplorable condition, on account of an exceedingly mild winter and a terribly 1 dry summer, the hind being little better than the roads for grazing purposes, and a large .proportion of the crops are scarcely worth harvesting. The cattle and sheep therefore are suffering very much from 1 scarcity of feed and water. Fire ia also accountable for a great deal of damage in the bush districts of Hawke'sßay. At Waipawa nearly half the township has' been destroyed and from 'Takapau to Danevirke the scene is : very dreary, scarcely anything to be, seen but charred logs with here and there a clump of burning budh. ., . , The whole of the bush land in this district is still in native hands, and the damage caused by the fire has been' very limitedi At one time it was feared the native pah would be destroyed. Had that happenednothing could have saved the .township. The only losers, so far as I could ascertain, are Mrs Drower, whose loss is estimated at about £500, being the value' of a portion of a sawmill plant and gear destroyed ; also several men lose a number/of fencing posts, the results of many weeks' hard labor'j and three married men with families were burnt out,, but lost very little else than their w hares, which were of small value, being, only temporary residences built of dabs. As the bush through which the fire has passed was ; of little value, the best of the timber haying been worked out, and what remained being only suitable for firewood, the fire, therefore, as far as this . district is concerned, will result in great benefit to Mr Hobson (the lessee of the larger portion of the native lands), whose stock will now have a clear run. ASHjaBY-OIJNTOIf. The settlers in this district have suffered slightly in the way of fences, and here and there an outhouse has been burnt down, also a portion of their grass seed crops destroyed ; -but the loss is not very great. In fact, as one settler remarked :— " We have long wanted a good burn, and now we have got it with perhaps a little more than was needed, but we can put up with a little inconvenience for a short time in consideration of the immense benefits we will derive frcm having more cleared land for our stock." MaKARETU AND BLACKBURIf. A settler informed me that a great deal of damage has been done througout the whole of these districts, aud the losses amount to several thousand pounds in value. OEMONDVILLB. This township has had a most lucky escape. At one time a strong gale brought the fire right through the bush from Makatoku to within about three hundred yards of the township, and nearly all the settlers were in readiness to leave, under the impression that nothing could save the place. Providence, however, decreed otherwise, and the wind changing right -round averted all danger. - MAKATOKU. The fire began about 5 p.m. on December 29th in some dead timber lying in paddocks belonging to Messrs Friberyv Benck, Jurgen and Schmidt. Onty one house belonging to R. Cox was burned although the iire travelled rapidl}' even through green bush. On December 30th, about 7 a.m. the 'fire broke out again, within a chain of the Makatoku station yard in the shavings from Mri W. W." {Sundries' plaining machine, and before 10 a.m. the plaining mill and dwelling houses of J; Hobbs, Wi Hobbs. A. Box, J. Pdpowski and J. Harwood were destroyed and the whole of the township was enveloped in a dense smoke which made it almost impossibles to breathe and exceedingly- difficult to ascertain what was burning! or in danger. Two other houses in the township were at one time given up, 1 and although the flames were actually playing on them they did not catch, while the furniture from ; one: of the houses, which had been moved outside, was -totally destroyed. The Napier Fire Brigade and a number of volunteers came through in a special train but could do nothing. Two other sawmills, further back in the bush, have been burned to the ground, and the loss throughout the whole of the bush districts is exceedingly great. The Railway Department deserve great credit for the manner in which the traffic was managed during the fire^ Specials were despatched from Napier to the bush (containing the Fflre/Brigades, Volunteers,, clothing, &c., for the burnt-out settlers) within an hour- of the intelligence reaching town. After leaving :Danevirke travelling westward the country begins to improve greatly as regards feed, and after getting through the Gorge it seems a veritable' paradise compared with the! parched up country of Ha wke' s Bay. TAHORAITE-WOODVILLE RAILWAY. The whole of the formation is underway, and with the exception of one or two large bridges and several heavy cuttings will soon be ready for plate laying. i _