Untitled

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 14, Issue 725, 11 October 1869, Page 2

Fire.—On Saturday evening about 10 o'clock a fpe broke out in a large wooden building, situated on the Barrack Hill, which, we believe, was unoccupied. The effect oil the Spit was very striking, the whole district being strongly illuminated by the glare of light shed from the burning mass. It was evident from the first that any attempt to save the building would be hopeless, and its destruction was most complete. The house was formerly used as a shop and residence by the late Mr James Stewart, and was, we believe, uuinsured at the time of its destruction.

Capt. Cook's Centenary.—The Napier Brass Band.—Friday last, Btb October, being the one hundredth anniversary of the landing, on"the shores of New Zealand, of the great circumnavigator Capt. James Cook, the Napier Brass Band, in honor of the occasion, assembled in Olive Square about 8 p.m., and performed, by lamp-light, some very choice and well-selected pieces of music, until about 10.30 p.m., the whole, as usual, appropriately concluding with the National Anthem. The music may not, perhaps, have been considered so good as the Napier public have been fortunate enough to hear on several previous occasions, but this may be amply accounted for, partly from the fact that several member* were absent, and partly from the indifference of the light (or, rather, the manner in which the lamps were held by certain juveniles), and other causes. The programme, as we ha\ T e mentioned, was a highly attractive one $ including "Sweet Spirit hear my Prayer," "British Grenadiers," " Home, Sweet Home," and other favorite airs ; several waltzes, quadrilles, &c, were also played, and a few of the votaries qf Terpsichore took advantage of the opportunity thus afforded to "trip the light fantastic toe" on the beautiful green grass with which the "Square," after the late refreshing rains, is covered. The number of people present, we should imagine, could not have been less than 200, among whom we were pleased to notice a goodly proportion of the fair sex. The scene was particularly picturesque; and the musical treat seemed to give very general satisfaction, nothing having occurred, so far as we know, to mar the enjoyment of a very pleasant eyening, though we could have wished that the rowdy element, particularly observable among the rising generation, had not been so dominant. The weather was beautifully fine, though, as the hours advanced, the night began to get very cold. Beyond the above musical melangt, for which the thanks of the public are due to our spirited fellow townsmen of the Band, the centenary of the landing on these shores of the moyj) adventurous navigator the world ever saw was, we regret to say, allowed to pass away without any effort being made to commemorate the day.