FALL OF A HOUSE AT AUCKLAND.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1237, 17 July 1872, Page 3

FALL OF A HOUSE AT AUCKLAND.

A very alarming accident took place to "His Lordship's Larder" (kept by Mr Pulleng) and the adjoining buildiug (a fruit shop kept by Mr Messenger) on the Queen street Wharf, Auckland, about 11 o'clock in the morning, by which both houses came to veiy sudden grief, but, fortunately, without inju; / to life or limb. " His Lordship's Larder is a restaurant and boardinghouse containing two stories, and some twelve or fourteen rooms in all. The building was a double-gabled one, was let as a fruiterer's shop. The whole was situate between Messrs Oxley's block manufactory and the watermen's gridiron. Tb.9 buildings were erected on a number of piles. These piles were not driven into the^ beach, but simply rested on the mud, and were braced together in a vex/ insecure manner. For the last few days the whole affair had been in a very shaky condition, and on this morning Mr Pulleng was fearful that something would happen, and warned his lodgers to that effect, at the same time intending to have something done immediately to secure the building. About eleven o'clock matters jrejre brought to a climax, for the outside piles gave way, the entire front parted from the wharf, to which it apfJßared to have owed a good deal for its support, and fell with a crash, partly to we back, and partly to the side, at an angle of 46 degrees. It was then about half flood tide, and the piles having given way, the lower parts of both buildings wore immersed in water. At the time the structure gave way Miss Messenger was standing on the verandah of the fruit shop, and between that and the wharf. Feeling the verandah cracking, she veiy wisely jumped off on to the wharf, and so saved herself from injury. . But there were several people in the upper rooms of the restaurant, including Mrs Pulleng, the cook of the establishment, and two or three children. Sergeant Carrigan and Constable Walker (of the water police), assisted by Mr Landers, the wharfinger, arid a number of boatmen at once went to their assistance. Carrigan entered one of the uj.per windows, and found the inmates just recovering their scattered senses, after having been jerked from one end of the room to the other. The water j in the immediate vicinity was soon all strewed with furniture, &c., and for the next two hours large numbers of willing hands were rendering all the assistance in their power to nave property. The water supported the fallen building pretty well until about one o'clock, when the tide had ebbed, and the structure then having no support doubled up with an immense crash, and was totally destroyed except the upper part of the building. It is very fortunate the accident did not take piace at night time, for had it done so a considerable loss of life must inevitably have been .the result. The block of Wildings was the property of Mr S. G. EcSajonds, and was worth L7OO or LBOO 'at the least.