THE DESTRUCTION OF THE RESULT BY FIRE.

Grey River Argus, Issue 121, 20 October 1866, Page 2

THE DESTRUCTION OF THE RESULT BY FIRE.

The fine Blackwall-liner Result has been destroyed by fire in Hobson's Bay. Unfortunately our files of Melbourne papers are minus the number in which the particulars are reported. The Argus, of the I.3th, contains th,e fpllowing subsequent particulars : The calamitous fire which broke out on board the ship, Result on Thursday morning, and which subsequently end.pd in her all bu,t complete destruction. h.ad not burnt itself out when the Argus went to press yesterday morning, but continued tp bjaze away un|iil daybreak. At an early hour yesterday morning, Mr Campbell of the Harbor Department went, with a boat's crew tp have an inspection of tho burning vessel, which had loosened her hold on the bank considerably, and would soon have been adrift. Fresh attempts to scuttle her were then made, and with success for she was settling down again with a lurch inshore, when the water had rushed in to some extent. This in a great measure subdued the fire amidships ; and in the course of the forenoon Mr King, of W. P. White and Co. (agents of the ship), with a number of hands, putp.ffto her, and through a breach in the side were enabled to pull right in. Mr D. W. Gossett was also present, and with his boat's crew did gpod service iv securing several casks of rum and wine which had floated out of the lower hold. The men also made further efforts to put out the fire aft, and at considerable risk, managed to do this in a great degree. At a later hour in the day Mr Siddeley, managing partner in the firm of W. P. White and Co. ; Captain B. R. Matthews, agent for Lloyds ; with Captain Duthie, and other gentlemen, went out to the ship, or rather what was left of her, to hold a special examination and survey. A close inspection was made, but their decision as to th u -'ultimate course to be taken with regard to the devastated vessel will not be given until torflay o.r Monday. While the Resolute was alongside, the hose was kept playing, and the lire in the after part was all but extinguished. It was impossible, however, ~to make much impression on it forward, in consequenceof the quantity of coal — some twenty ton. —under the forecastle, which formed a compact mass of fire, on whicli the water at that time seemed to have but faint effect. Until a late hour last night, the fire was I burning away at the stem, but apparently j with much less intensity. The scorched and blackened interior of the wreck presented a ghastly aspect, and showed how mercilessly the fire |jad done its work, while the smouldering and hissing timbers indicated its extreme unwillingness to lelinquish its prey. A very large quantity of iron -work, consisting of belts, plates, capstan a.nd windlass gear, and knees, is collected in the bottom of the vessel, having fallen in as the woodwork was consumed. There are also about 150 tons of copper ore, together with about 142 cases of bolts and screws, imported for the Government railways, and over 40 bundles of wire, the property of a private firm. In addition to the 13,000 boards and 2SO tons of bark, which, as a matter of course, were utterly consumed, there were on board when the fire broke out, about 150 hhds and qrcasks of wine and 30 casks of rum, a portion of which was saved yesterday and taken charge of by the Customs authorities ; and there were also on board thirty-three casks of soda, together with many packages of miscellaneous goods. A lighter has been moored alongside the hull, with a watchman to keep a look-out for any who m.ay have an inclination to snap up unconsidered trifles. The masts, spars, and rigging, are floating alongside curiously interlaced, .and evidently very much damaged. The crew will be paid off this morning at the Government Shipping Office, and the officers will probably proceed to London in one pf tj^e Blackwall ships.