Fire

Feilding Star, Volume X, Issue 102, 5 March 1889, Page 2

Fire

On Sunday afternoon another fire was experienced in Feilding. A house owned by Dr Monckton, situated on the bank of the Oroua river, on the property known as The Camp, was totally destroyed. There was a good deal of valuable furniture, plate, &c, in the house the property of Dr Monckton, who had it stored there preparatory to "moving into the new building now in course of construction a few chains away from the one destroyed. Two young friends of the Doctor are also losers. Mr Fetch had about £150 or £200 worth of private effects, and Mr Braddock all his wearing apparel burned. Not a single article was saved as the flames had oomplete possession before any per* sons arrived on the spot to assist. It would appear that some boys had been seen lighting their pipes ,<*rsigaretteß outside thegarden fence, and the conjee, ture is that a burning matdh carelessly dropped set fire to the grass which was dry as tinder. The flamef fan through this until it reached the back of the house. The consequence was that the flames were driven forward so that the heat prevented the persons who had then arrived getting into the building to save the contents. In about half an hour the whole place was level with the ground, nothing standing but the chimneys. By the extreme heat bushels of apples were baked on on the trees, and the youngsters who were attracted to the spot made a tolerably clean sweep of them. The building was insured in the Phoenix for £150. None of the contents were insured.