DISASTROUS FIRE IN WELLINGTON.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXIII, Issue 115, 31 May 1901, Page 3

DISASTROUS FIRE IN WELLINGTON.

THE MOST EXTENSIVE SINCE 1887. TWXNTT-THBKE HOUSES DESTROYED. j FJB FRBSS ASBOOIATIOV. Wellington, May 30. The mO't extensive fire that has occurred in Wellington since 1887 broke oat on Mount Victoria at two o'clock *bi« morning and destroyed virtually the whole residential block fronting Hawker, Shannon, and Moeller-Btiee f s, besides all but two or three houses on the east side of Shannon-street and also several on the west side of Hawker - street. ■*- Twenty-three houses in all, were burnt, covering an area of betwen two and three acres. Amongst them were those of Mr. Devine, solicitor; Mr. Rowe, Public Librarian; Mr. Freyberg, timber expert; tbe Rev. F. Hale 3, Church of Christ; and Mr. Dirrocb, ■choolmrster. ' Mr. Ro<re also lost hi) p ivate library of 5500 volume?, valued at £I3OO. » The house of Mr. Grundy, schoolmaster, wis the only ooe saved cu" of the main block, and this is in a ruined condition. The innntes of the houses lost practically everything.

FURTHER PARTICULARS. Wellington, May 30. .The buildings destroyed by fi r e were—Residences <f 0. Moore, H. Radclffe, W. Andrews, J, Freyberg, T. W. Rowe, R. Darroch, Ciptain Westmpp, Mrs H. Ross-D'x, Herbert Dix, Freeman, J. J. D vine, Hargreavep, Collis, Fethirick (2) M. Fraser, F. Cooper, G. Suiddon, W. Dutch, B. Meyer, Hoghts, Glifford, Rev. F. Hales and Gifiord. The total insurances are £14,185, divided as follows:—Roy-1 £2675, South British £I6OO, Commercial Union £ISOO, Phoeaix £I4OO, Njw Zetland £I3OO, Liverpool London and Globe £I2OO, JCanchestfr LBBO, Alliance L 750, Imperial LSOO, Victoria L4OO, Standard L3BO, Na'ionjtl LISB, North Queensland LI 50, Sun LI 00, Anstralitn Austrian Alliance LSO. Later. The amraded insurances total £15,860. The Royal has £3500 ; Commercial Union, £2100; Phoenix, £1480; New Zeiland, £1500; Matchesier, £9OO.

A MAGNIFICENT SIQHT. During the progress of this morning's fire the sight was truly a magnificent one. Huge columns of shot up into the sky, and, borne alorg by the gal», swept in a rustlers! volume along their course of detruc- , tion, whi'e millions rf eparks and burning fragments formed a pyro'echoic display of a wonderfully effective description. The flames spread with such extraordinary rapidity tba*> people living in the neighbourhood wtre panic stricken, and in nearly ev«ry instance the do s'ruction of t heir homes involved the loss of the who'e of their furniture ar.d personal belongings. The scene of tte fire being on the higher lev !s the brigade men wme practically impotent, the pressure of wa^eravailable being only sufficient t"> throw a jet of water for about twenty feet. S f ill they wo-ked away doggedly for hours under these depressing conditions and finally mcreeded in ch' eking tho furth'r • pread of the flames, F r about thrao hours, the fire was completely beyond control. » Mr. Divine 10-t a vry valuaVe library, es did Mecsrs Giflord and Hales. The greatest loss in this dire tion, however, was that suff red by Mr. Rowe, Chief Librarian of the Pub'ic Library. Mr. Ko-re hid been a bo - k collector for years, and had a library of ov r five thousand volumes, va'u-'d a' £I4OO Tr.is tv»s one of the fir.e»l: private libraries in N*.w Ze-iland, and comprised many rare and v luaM ho'ks. His collection of poetry and drame, and espe iil]y of Engl'sh poptry and drama, wai unique, there being nearly 1300 volumes under those headjßgO.

Nothing was saved from tl'is house but scanty articles of clothing, which the inmates wore wl en driven out by the flamts.