FURNACE HEAT

Wairarapa Times-Age, 16 January 1939, Page 5

FURNACE HEAT

PHENOMENAL TEMPERATURE IN SYDNEY NUMBER OF DEATHS REPORTED MANY CALLS FOR HELP. BUSH FIRES SPREADING. By Telegraph—Press Association— Copyright. SYDNEY, January 15. Following the record high reading at 9 o’clock on Saturday morning of 104.4 degrees, the thermometer in Sydney rose relentlessly till it reached 113.6 degrees during the afternoon, the highest ever recorded. It then gradually receded, but remained over the century mark for several hours. In the suburbs, away from the sea, even higher temperatures were recorded.

The beaches were not as crowded as might have been expected, as the sand was too hot to sit upon. Most people waited indoors till the late afternoon and evening when the beaches were crowded. Bathers remained in the water till a late hour. The atmosphere in the open was like a furnace-blast, and more than 100 cases of collapse are reported by the ambulance officers.

Saturday’s record heat caused 13 people to lose their lives, one being killed in a bush fire at Nowra and two burnt to death near Liverpool. Five died from heatstroke in country districts and five from the same cause in the city. In one week heat and fire have killed more than 170 persons in Australia.

Friday night was the most oppressive ever experienced in Sydney. At midnight the temperature was 93 degrees, with a very high degree of humidity. People in the outlying suburbs sweltered in a temperature exceeding 100 degrees throughout the night.

Bush fires round Sydney caused considerable damage. More than 100 houses were destroyed or badly damaged. The fires were practically subdued by the evening when the wind suddenly changed to the south and caused them to break out again with renewed fury, endangering hundreds of firefighters. All police leave has been cancelled and those on leave have been ordered to return to duty immediately. Fires isolated many districts and there were desperate calls for help, which could not be sent.

Fifty suburban homes and weekend houses were demolished around Sydney, the most extensive damage being done in the Port Hacking district, where 45 buildings were either gutted or half destroyed. Thirty-five homes and a church were damaged at Moss Vale and 35 more at Castle Hill. At Thirlmere 50 inmates of a sanatorium fled for their lives, but the building was saved. Mittagong was saved only by the sterling efforts of volunteers. Spreading a trail of devastation over a scattered front from Glenbrook to Blackheath, the bush fires raged fiercely in the Blue Mountains area. A serious fire swept the valley and heights on the main western road, and for several hours a little township faced the grim prospect of complete annihilation. However, a change of wind saved it. A fire burned on a halfmile front at Glenbrook, but last night the town was reported to be out of danger. Despite industrial trouble, south coast police and more than 300 industrial workers laboured side by side to quell the bush fires that raged from Nowra to Dapto. Seven houses were burned at Yalwal, the damage being estimated at £6OOO. Three hundred sheep were burnt io death at Heriot Hill, west of Dapto.

Four persons were trapped on the Moss Vale railway line, but sought refuge in a tunnel till rescued. Three houses were burnt down at Parma, a house and church at Beaumont, three houses at Kangaroo Valley and two houses near Unanderra.

Bishop Moyes, Armidale, and the Minister of Education, Mr Drummond, headed a body of volunteers assisting firemen in dealing with fires from Harbord to Narrabeen. DEATHS IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright. ADELAIDE, January 14. Two lives were lost in South Australian bush fires, which have caused damage amounting to nearly £750.000. FIRES IN FEDERAL TERRITORY. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright. CANBERRA, January 14. Because the city is still enveloped in a pall of smoko, members of the Science Congress at Canberra were forced to abandon their excursions. Major bush fires are raging in the Federal capital territory.