AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXVIII, Issue 7951, 29 January 1906, Page 5

AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

I THE FIRES ABATING, A BGJSNE 6F DESOLATION 1 . j January 27 i T?h'afires in the interior are uow iiM'tlafi, though a fierce one is raying in #h#,back country around Foster, in- Gippsiaud, which, if a not wind springs up, will devastaae hithjerto&ntoucuod country. The fires have left miles of blackened country, presenting a scone of desolation. A MESSAGE OP SYMPAHY. The Premier, on Friday morning, cabled frond Kaitoke to the Hon. A. Doakiu, Premier of the Ooinninnwealth, and the Hon. T. Bent, Premier of Victoria, expressing t*be sympathy of the colouy with the sufferers iu the disastrous bush fires. He has received the following reply from Mr Bent, on behalf of the people, the Government, and the sufferers by the fire:—"l sincerely thank you for your kindly sympathy." i ' THE ZANITA-COIMBATORE COLLISION. BRISBANE, January 27.' An enquiry has been opened into the collision between the ships Zanita and Ooimbatore, off Cape Leeuwin, by which the latter vessel is supposed to have been sunk. Two seamen gave it as their opinion that if the lifeboat had been launched the two men seen on the Ooimbatore's boat could have been saved. They granted, however, that unless the captain of the Zanita was sure his vessel was safe it would not have been wise to send the lifeboat away. SERIOUS RAILWAY ACCIDENT. MANY PERSONS INJURED. Received' January 29, 1.13 a.m. MELBOURNE, January 28. A serious railway collision is re> ported' to have occurred at brook. A' number of persons were injured, and several seriously. No details are to h'andl ATTACKED' BY A SHARK. A 'BATHER'S 1 TERRIBLE FATE. Received January 29, 12.11 a.m. SYDNEY, January 28. A man, named Dobson, while bathing iu the Georges River, was seized by a shark, and was horribly mangled. He managed to get ashore, but suooumbed. HURRICANE IN THE CAIRNS DISTRICT. Received January 29, 1.13 a.m. BRISBANE, January 28. A hurricane has done a great amount of damage in the Cairns district. Many buildings were unroofed and damaged. SAD HARBOUR ACCIDENT. OIL LAUNCH OUT DOWN BY A STEAMER. Received January 29, 1.13 a.m.' SYDNEY, January 28. A steamer at Manly out down an oil launch, the owner of which, a man named Hemmings, and his wife were killed, but their four children were rescued.