DESTRUCTIVE FIRE AND LOSS OF LIFE AT RENWICK TOWN.

Marlborough Daily Times, Volume II, Issue 138, 16 July 1880, Page 3 (Supplement)

DESTRUCTIVE FIRE AND LOSS OF LIFE AT RENWICK TOWN.

At an early this morning, one of the most dreadful accidents by fire that we have ever had to record, occurred at Renwick Town, by which the Woolpack Inn, has been totally destroyed, one of its inmates burned to c.eath, and five others seriously injured. The landlord of the Hotel, Mr Geo. Stevenson, was in Blenheim yesterday evening, and stayed up to about 11 o’clock, when he rode home, arriving there about midnight, shortly after which time, w . understand, he went to bed, leaving everything apparently in a state of safety. Some two hours afterwards the inmates were aroused from their beds by fire and smoke, and Mr Edward Mason, the barman, who, with others, was in a room on the tipper floor of the house, seeing there was apparently no escape down stairs, jumped out of the upper floor window, and had his hands and arms badly burned, and sustained serious injury to his head by the fall. Another, a lodger, had his arm broken, and the cook, who also slept upstairs, was badly injured, and the young man known as Mr Stevenson’s jockey was severely burned about the neck and other parts of his body ; another lodger was also injured, hut less severely. The worst part of the whole catastrophe, however, is the death of Moses Cartwright, a miner, staying in the house, who was literally burned to a cinder, his charred remains were found in a corner of the room from which it is supposed he was trying to effect his escape when he fell suffocated. The fire evidently spread very rapidly and gave little warning to the unfortunate people who were all sound asleep apparently at the time it broke out. The house was of wood, was some years old, and of a very hifiammable description. Mr and Mrs Stevenson and family, who slept in another part of the house, fortunately saved their lives hut lost everything except clothes and a few trifling article!. The hotel building, the billiard room, Jstahle, and all the furniture, are totally] destroyed, hut this a small matter compared with the terrible loss of life and limb wpich has occurred. As soon as possible after the occurrence medical aid was procured from Blenheim, and Dr Horne was soon in attendance, (Dr Clegliorn had been called to the Upper Wairau to attend a serious accident case, referred to in another portion of our columns), and the usual remedies were applied. In the meantime several c f the neighbours had done all they could to relieve the sufferings of the injured men, who were in great pain, by applying oil and lime-water to their burns and bandiging up their wounded limbs, and affording such relief to them as was possible, hand this was done with a kindness |,nd intelligence which will be gratefully fflemembcied by the recipients. An inquaßt will be held to-morrow on the rlnnains of the unfortunate deceased M. Cartfright, and we presume there will be also im enquiry into the cause of the fire, which is supposed to have been purely accidentil. It is conjectured that it arose from a cai die left burning by' one of the lodgeas, whohad been sitting up reading until a late hour. The hotel was the property of Mr MclVor, of whom Mr Stevenson was the tenait. The insurances were as follow : On tie building, L3OO in the Union, LIOO in til) National, L 250 in the New Zealand ; furniiure, L2OO in the Union, LSO in the New Zealand; stock-in-trade, LIOO in the Unioi; stable, LIOO in the same office; billiard fal le, Ll2O in the Victoria. The loss therefore, assuming it to be d total one will be, Uiujn L7OO, New Zealand L2OO, Victoria Ll?i}, National LIOO. Three of the suffers wr/’e brought into this afternoon to the Hcspi al where everything has been done to make them as comfortable as possible, and when we hope they will soon recover fromthc injures sustained. Mr Mason, at his own request was not brought into town. Hisfappears to be the most critical case, but he u a young man of good constitution (by

trade a printer and well known at the Thames and other parts of the Colony), and it is hoped that he and his fellow r sufferers, for whom the deepest sympathy is felt throughout the community, will shortly be restored to health, but undoubtedly they have all had a narrow escape of sharing the same fate as that unfortunate man Cartwright. The man above referred to as having had his arm broken is named Brown, and is well known on the Wakamarina Diggings.