AUSTRALIAN BUSH FIRES.

Gisborne Times, Volume XIX, Issue 1663, 1 February 1906, Page 2

AUSTRALIAN BUSH FIRES.

A TOWNSHIP SURROUNDED BY FIRE. 1 THREATENED WITH DESTRUCTION. By telegraph* Press Ass'n, Copyright Bcccivid 1 a.in., Feb. 1. Melbonrne, Jan. 31. The township of Forster is surrounded by bush firos and tbrealfned with deßtruoU °A firo brigado has been sent from Melbourne. GREAT LOSS OF LIFE AND PROPERTY. SENSATIONAL REPORTS.

Melbourne, Jan. ‘23. i Bueb fires ore reported from all directions. Capo Otway is isolated, and it is supposed the telegraph l.ne interruption is caused by bush fi'cs. ' The most sensational reports of all come from Daylrsford. A fire there was the resuit of one last week, which it was hoped had been finally extinguished. It broke out this morning, leaped roads, destroyed farms and pastures, and loss of life is reported in several case?. At GlcnlyoD, the corpse of Mrs O’Neill, who died on Monday, wes in the house upon a farm. The fire swept over the farm, burning the bouse in its track, and the corpse in the coffio had to be removed to a potato field. As it was, the lid of the coffin was damaged ■I by the fire. . I A farmer named Togniu', father of Dafestive Tognini, died it is supposed through fright. Another case occurred where a man was saen by fire-figbtars to come out of his house as the fire was approaching it, and then to return again. His remains were afterwards found in the ashes of the building, charred almost to a cinder. Io the BunniDyong district there is a long list of persons who have sustained losses through the fires. Houses and ! farm buildings, stacks of bay, com in the field and in the sheaf, Bheep and catt'e, are all reported as destroyed, but so far as is known there is no loss of hurnin life. The Buninyong mailman, however, bad his beard and hair burned while trying to release some sheep from a paddock at Ararat. ..... The narrowest escape was that of a man who had his trousers burned oS. Two men have been arrested for causing one of the outbreaks of fire. At Maffca, 800 bags of wheat were destroyed on one farm, also the wheat in a stack, calculated to amount to 1500 bag?, at Foster Bridge. At Foster, half a dozen farmers have been burnt out. At Seymour reports were'' that the district ba3 been swept by bush fires. Here, again, farmers have lost thejr harvests. T. Kerriss, a farmer, had hia house burned. His daughter underwent an operation last week, and he had to carry her from the burning house to a place of safety.' In one case the fire burned to within two feet of one bouse, and was then stopped,' but all outbuildings were destroyed. The Roman Catholic Chapel at Broadford was destroyed. News oi devastation has come from Ferntree Gully to beyond Gembrook. A train running from Yaugher to Barwon Downs passed through fire.

THE GIPPSLAKD TRAGEDIES.

Melbourne, Jan. 24,

News concerning bush fires continues to. come in. A telegram from Foster states that sis children of Mr Lonsdale, Mount Beet, had been suffocated, and that Messrs H. Swan and H. Crisp had died from in« juries received while trying to save their homes.

An invalid named Williamson, living at Turton’s Creek Boad, was burned to death. Settlers in that locality are homeless, and their oattle, pigs, and fowls were roasted alive.

Ssveral people are almost blind from smoke, end soores are rendered homeless.

At Welshpool the public places in the town resemble hospitals, being filled with men with their heads in bandage’s. Many of them bad even the clothes they were wearing burned. Agnes River State School, in the same district, was burned in a few minutes. Mr H. L. Newson, a well known farmer, came into Welshpool this evening with his boots, trousers, and shirt-all the property he could save. His family are safe. In the Daylesford district a dozen houses in Hepburn and a similar number in Spring Creek were burned. A change of wind on Tuesday afternoon placed tbe fire-fighters in imminent' danger, as it gave ei new direction to the flames, and the men were in danger of being surrounded. The fire traversed the thickly-settled country, and scores of settlers were burned out. The State eehool at Hepburn was saved, though part of tbe feDoe surrounding it wob burned. The building last night was occupied by homeless families. At Glenlyon, in tbe Bame district, a settler named Eisee was dangerously ill, and had to be carried from the bouse on a stretcher. Tbe house was burned after he had left it. At Apollo Bay the forest was on fire, and a bridge 400 ft long leading to " the sawmill oompany’s mills was burned. Several settlers are homeless. At Yarram a fßrmer oarried hia two-year-old ohild through half a mile of burning grasß, and saved it, though both father and ohild were badly scorched. At Walhalla, a large Btack of firewood was consumed, and the mines thereby suffer considerable loss. The huts of the wood-splitters and their effects were ell. burned, The Seymour district appears to have been almost swept by fire. It leaped creeks, burned out farms, demolished wood-stacks, and played havoc generally. To-night it had traversed a distance of 12 milis, and was still raging. Seymour also reports that a fire is burnirg in the Tallarook Mountains. Colao also reports a serious fire, but no parti- "7 culars are to hand.

_ Later news from Toora states that the six ohildren of Frank Lonsdale met their death in bush fires on their way home from soboo'. The school teacher, reoognising the danger, dismissed his scholars at noon, and some of them endeavored to reach home. Lonsdale’s ohildren, the ages of whom ranged from 12 to three years old, had evidently been blooked by the fire. Their bodies were found along the road at intervals just as they had fallen when overcome by hest. Their father was the first to disoover them. The march of half a-dozen men for a couple of miles through the fire and burning timber, bearing the corpses, was a heart-' breaking sight. - Other childieu at school took refuge under a large fallen tree.

GREAT DAMAGE DONE.

Germanton, Jan. 28. ■Lhe bush fire which broke out on Friday on Mr J. J. Bowler’s South Annan* dayle station was still-blazing fiercely on Sunday night. Mr Bowler lost 700 acres ! of grass, fencing, and a considerable quant,lyQt wheat in bags. The fire travelled .to E. Culnme’s property. Mr Oulnaue lost 1200 acres of grass. The house was saved with difficulty. A number of sheep are believed to have perished. The fl lines then went through Mr Robert MoLaurin’s Wantagong property and on to Tivertcn.

All the men were away from the station, but Mrs McLaurin and her daughters fought the fire for three hours. They endeavoured to save the homestead by keeping water cons'antly sprinkled on the building, and succeeded in accomplishing that, but wore exhausted when the danger was over. °

The fire reached Messrs MaoLaurin | Brothers Yarra Yarra station, which carries 80,000 sheep, during Saturday, and swept through grass country and ioto the ranges, burning thousands of acres of grass and miles of fencing. The fire covered a depth of six miles by 16 miles in length. A second fire occurred 25 miles distant, at Gorogery, near the Southern railway line. It travelled to Kirndeen and Brae Springp, but yesterday was well in hand, This is the route taken by tho fire which devastated the district 12 months ago.

HOLDINGS COMPLETELY DESTROYED.

Grenfell, Jau. 22. A tremendous bush tiro was burning between Oowra and Grenfoll during Saturday and Sunday. At Mr MoMahon’s Bumbaldiy bolding, the grass, fences, sbods, and outhonses wore burned out. Mr George Bart’s farm and Mr Troth's farm were burnt out. At Mr Dempstor's Yambarra holding everything on the plaoa was burnt out, including the grass, fonoes, stook, hay sbods, 400 bags oi wheat, and 500 aores of standing wheet crop. Messrs J. Q aud P. Wcod. of Bruudah holding, lost 600 bags wheat aud a largo quantity of grass. It is also reported that Messrs Fiedewnstain and Hodgo are losers by the fire. DEVASTATED AREAS.

BURNT-OUT SETTLERS. TWENTY MILES AN HOUR. Culcairo, Jon. 23. On Saturday, after luncb, a dense cloud of Buooko waa soen io a south-wostorly direotion from Culoairo. It appeared to bo about 30 miles distant, but in tbo oourse of an hour it was disoovorod to bo making diraol for Culoairn, driven by a gale at the rate of about 20 miles an hour. Tbo Round Hill Fire Brigade was soon out, and under tbo able management of Mr J. H. Balfour was quiokly at the front of the Sre. It was seen at a glance that it would bo useless to attempt to ohrek the flames with beaters, so it was decided to make a fire trail iu a northerly direction. This was done, with the result that the fire was prevented from crossing the Groat Southern railway. Another gang of men—railway fitters—burnt a trail along the Corowa Hue, and by the time the main firo reached that place the trail had been burnt well baok to meet the coming flames, and the oncoming fire was thus prevented from going further, FLiMES FOUGHT BY WOMEN.

Gundagi, Jno. 23. The town to-day ‘was again enveloped la smoko from the bash fires, particularly of the Wadgegaloog fire, which raosd up the river, and jumped over into Mr Lloyd's Buoderoo property. From this point it again jumped the river, and raoed through Mr Ben Osborne’s Bedbank property, where a grert fight took place to save the woolshed. From this point a branch fire went off towards Bookham, through Mr Cooney’s property, and on to Berremangra. Another branch made towards C0.1.i0. Now the Bookham fire is eoming back, and is close to Mr Love’s hoase. At L. Roche’s Nanangce station the fire came within a couple of yards of the haystacks. The slock were jast saved, and the father and brothers being absent, the women, dressed in men’s clotbes, foogbt the flames. A thousand acres of grass and miles of fencing have gone, but very few stock have perished. HILLY COUNTRY SWEPT.

Tumberumba, Jan. 22. A disastrous bush fire is ragiDg near Tumberumba. It btoko out at noon on Saturday, between Lankey’s Creek and Ooppabella Creek, and travelling eastward, before a high wind, swept a large area clean of grass and fences. At Clear Springs station Messrs Holman Brothers had an exciting fight to save the homestead, and later on the woolshed, which caught alight. Messrs Rial Brothers’ woolshed also only narrowly escaped the flames, and the homestead, was in great daDger on Sunday evening. Both these holdings have lost nearly all their grass, whioh was knee-deep, and a quantity of fencing.

A NARROW ESCAPE. Condobolio, Jan, 24. Mr William Rendon and hia two sons had a thrilling experience in connection with the fire, While riding from Milby to assist neighbors they traversed a plain whioh had been riugbarked two years before. It was heavily cropped with grass. When in the middle the fire suddenly Bwept towards them with hurricane velocity, bearing huge walls of flame with —blinding olouds of smoke. The horsemen galloped furiously ahead until reaching the seven-mile tank, into whioh they pre oipitatsd themselves, while the conflagration raged by. The frightful heat forced llftm to remain in the water five boure, Mr Reardon, who had a similar experience a month ago, says that had they been five minutes .later they would have undoubtedly perished.