AUCKLAND

Thames Star, Volume XII, Issue 3832, 9 April 1881, Page 2

AUCKLAND

;;■: ; ; ; .This day. The Great Fire at Panmure.

Further Particulars.

The first intimation given of the fire in Auckland was.by..the'fire alarms. It was then shortly after one o'clock in the moming, but notwithstanding the unseasonable hour, a considerable number of citizens, whose peaceful slumbers had been disturbed, turned out in order to witness the conflagation or lend assistance. The fire brigade mustered speedily at <he engine house, and the fire apparatus was brought out, ready for use. The cause of the alarm was a very bright and ominous reflection of fire in the south-eastern sty. It was thought by some that the fire was in Newmarket or Bemuera, and a few venturous individuals proceeded out in that direction; The general opinion, and the one which obtained most support amongst experienced people, was that the fire was further out in the country, and consequently it was not considered advisable to send the !Fire Brigade so far. It believed, moreover, that it was merely a bush fire, and the probability of anything more serious was scarcely entertained for a moment. Mounted-Constable Kelly was dispatched by the Police authorities to ascertain the cause of the glare, and several other persons also procerded out. Meantime, the crowd had dispersed to their

vaaious homes

The particulars of the Panmure fire furnished by Constable Kelly state that the estimated loss according to information supplied to him by Mr Ireland is £20,000. The total insurance only cover a third of that amount, and should the estimates be correct, Messrs Ireland Bros., must be heavy losers. The whole block of tannery buildings, numbering seven, were swept away by the fire. The space covered by the sheds was about an acre and-a half to two acres. The workmen's cottages, Kay's (foreman) house, and the private residence were not burnt, and a small detached shed, in which was stored about £1000 worth of leather, also "escaped. Ireland's tannery business is said to have been the largest in the Australasian colonies. The out-buildings were therefore large, and, as might have been expected, contained a large quantity of leather and other materials used in tanning. They were constructed of wood, with the exception of one, which was of stone. Only recently some additions and extensions were made to the tannery premises, involving some considerable outlay. Mr Uoger Kay, who has been in the employ of Messrs Ireland as- foreman of the tannery, made the following statement respecting the occurrence :—" A.bout nine last night, I visited The tannery, going into all the different sheds. I found everything correct, and there was no sign of fire. After that I went to bed, and was awakened about midnight when I observed a bright glare through my window, which overlooks the tannery. I immediately got up and without waiting to dress went outside. Seeing one of the buildings to be on fire I rang the firebell which was close to my house.and all bauds turned out at once. My house is about eighty yards from the tannery. When I first observed the tannery on fire, the flames were eigh^ feet above the roof of one of the centre buildings, which contained leather. The flames spread rapidly, and endeavors were made to extinguish them, but the proved futile. Kverything in the building that caught fire was destroyed, with the exception of a few -hides and several office books. I sent some of the men to call Mr Ireland immediately after the outbreak, but he was not informed of it until 130 a.m., or more than an hour afterwards " Nothing has yet been discovered regarding the origin or cause of the fire, and the whole affair is enveloped in mystery. It is not believed that it was accidental, and both Mr Ireland and his foreman give it as their opinion,.that the place was set on fire by some person unknown., This impressiou was stated to the constable in the course of conversation. Mr Ireland, however, stated that he had no grounds for suspecting any personof having committed incendiarism.