EIGHT PEOPLE BURNED TO DEATH.

Shannon News, 10 September 1929, Page 4

EIGHT PEOPLE BURNED TO DEATH.

Terrible Tragedy Near Himitangi. House a Death Trap With Only One Exit. Four Adults and Four Children Perish. A farm house situated in the centre of a 10,000-acre block of land near Rangiotu and completely obscured from view by , high sandhills which surround it/was the scene of an almost unparallelled tragedy earlr qn Saturday morning, when a fire which demolished the structure, also took toll of the lives of its eight inhabitants. The dead are:— JOHN BROWN WESTLAKE, farmer, of Pahiatua, and owner of the property, aged about- 67 years,, THOMAS WRIGHT, sharemilker, late of Rongotea, aged 47 ( years. CATHERINE MARY FRANCIS WRIGHT, his wife, aged 36 years. JOYCE WRIGHT, aged 11 years. BRYAN WRIGHT, aged 8 years. ANNIE WRIGHT, aged 6 years. PRUDENCE WRIGHT, aged 3 years. , SAMUEL EWART THOMSON, farm labourer, aged 26, son of ' Mr. and Mrs. A. Thomson, of 221 Ruahine street, Palmerston North. ' »

Neighbour's Discovery.

The tragic happening was first discovered by a Maori shepherd named Kauri, employed by Mr W. Renton, who is manager for the Barber estate. In a statement to the police, Kauri said that in the course of his duties as shepherd, he passed the cottage at about four o 'clock on Friday afternoon, when everything appeared to be all right. lie had again to pass the place at about 10 o'clock on Saturday morning when ho found that the cottage had been destroyed by fire. There was nobody about the premises and not suspecting that anything was amiss, he did not go near the ruins, but rode on. When he again 'passed the place at about noon, however, he noticed the cows all grouped about the milking shed, so he rode over. There was still no sign of anybody about the place so he decided to ride across to Mr Cadogan's house, about a mile and a-half distant. There he inquired for Mr Wright, but as Mr Cadogan had not | seen him, they both rode back to the scene of the fire and it was only then, after viewing the ruins closely, that they realised'a tragedy, had, occurred. The police were informed and Detective Russell (Palmerston North), Constables Owen and Well (Foxton) and Dr. Wyllie (Foxton) proceeded to the locality. They discovered the embers s till smoulder)j j. , A search was commenced amongst the ruins and the charred bones of seven of the inmates were . located. Mr and Mrs Wright were found lying in the wreckage of a double bed, while in the same room was discovered the remains of their infant daughter,! lying in what had evidently been its j cot. A hurricane lamp, was also found nearby. Lying in a heap in what appeared to be the doorway of the next bedroom, fragments of bones of the other three children were located. Inside the kitchen but close to his bedroom, were discovered the remains of Mr Westlake. The position of the body was such as to lead one to believe that he hud endeavoured to force his way out of the building before being overcome, or it may have been precipitated from the bedroom into the' kitchen as the building collapsed. Eight Dead. Darkness then prevented further search, but yesterday, Inspector J. K. Simpson, Senior-Detective T. Quirke, Detective Russell and Constable Owen returned to the scene to ascertain if the young man Thomson had also been a victim of the calamity. It was his custom, it is stated, to sleep in an enclosure on the verandah. His charred bones were located in the kitchen portion of the house. Only One Exit. The Wright residence was a veritable death trap. Originally, it consisted of a two-roomed whare to which Mr Westlake had added lean-tos on one side and back. There was only one entrance and it is believed Mr Westlake, I through nervousness, kept all the windows nailed down. From the verandah, one entered the kitchen and access to the farthest bedroom, occupied by Mr and Mrs Writo j was gained only by passing through the bathroom and the other two bedrooms. The three older children slept in the middle bedroom, and Mr Westlake in the first. The livinj room contained a Dover stove, with the iron flue passing

through the wall. The dwelling was situated about 3J miles, towards the Manawatu river, from the main Palmerston North'-Foxton highway " and was approached only by means of a rough track over sand hills, , across swamps and through scrub. It is only visible from the tops of the surrounding sand dunes and from the spot where twisted roofing iron now marks the scene of a ghastly tragedy, there is no sign of habitation. The gaze meets sandhills in every direction, the distant tops of the Tararua's to the east and the sky above. The nearest neighbouring farmhouse is one and ahalf miles away.

Melted portions of a separator and milk can that stood under the tank stand, testify to the intensity of the heat which made the cremation of the eight inmates of the home practically complete. What was left of their bodies could have been packed "in a portmanteau. - The piles of the building Avere even burnt below the level of the sand, while the glass of tho windows was picked up in lumps into which it had been melted. A saddle and coat, belonging to Thomson, were the only personal belongings that escaped destruction.

Mr Westlake, who was a Justice of the. Peace, was very well known in the Pahiatua district. He is survived by a wife, son and daughter, Mrs Judd. Mrs Wright was a daughter of Mr W. Remnant, of Te Awe Awe street, Palmerston North. She was married to Mr Wright 12 years ago, and thee went to live in the Eongotea district, their farm being situated on Hickford's road. Mr Wright hailed from England and had no relatives in the Dominion. The family moved to Eangiotu two months ago and the two elder children were pupils at the Eangiotu school. The late Samuel Ewart Thomson was

26 years of age and a son of Mr and Mrs Alexander Thomson, of 221 Buahine street, Palmerston North. He was educated at the Terrace End school and worked in town for a period before accepting employuent with the Wrights at Bongotea and accompanied > the family to Eangiotu. He last visited his parents just on two months ago, nothing having been heard from him since. They . did not know whether he was still with tho Wrights. A Complete Mystery. At present, it is impossible to form a theory as to the cause of. the tragedy beyond the fact that the house was a death-trap and that the occupants, with the promptest of warnings, would proDa Diy nave naa aimcmty in escaping from the flames, and with a strong westerly wind blowing at the time the house would be enveloped in a very short space of time.