#52Ancestors, Fire

An open fire on a cold winter night invokes thoughts of cosiness, comfort food, a book to read snuggled under a blanket. An outdoor campfire brings back memories of fun times at camp or at the beach with friends.

But fire, was much more of a necessity to our ancestors than it is to us today with electricity or gas connected right to our homes. There have been several instances of fire wreaking havoc on the lives of my own ancestors.

I mentioned one in a previous post which I had only recently learned of. A fire in Kaikoura in 1935 which destroyed three cottages in the night. Something left on a cooker ? An ember that landed on some fabric or a wooden floor ? A bird’s nest in or on top of the chimney ? No-one appeared to have been harmed in that fire, but two people lost not only their cottage but also their belongings.[1]

In Wellington on 22 August 1869 my 3 x great grandmother Elizabeth Cooper (nee Hill) died aged 70. The cause of death is given as “Accidentally burnt”.[2] Was she cooking a meal ? Did her shawl drop into the flame ? Did her skirt brush lightly across the fireplace ? Did a sudden gust of wind or breeze force the flames without warning in a different direction to where she was expecting ?

In Nelson in the early hours of 7 August 1866 there was a great fire.[3] Twenty buildings were burned at the four corners of Bridge and Collingwood Streets. The fire was discovered at the Nelson Hotel, one of three hotels on or near that intersection to be burnt. Ironically the Temperance Hall was also burnt and the YMCA rooms as well as some dwelling houses and shops. It was later established to have started in a bedroom of the Nelson Hotel.[4]

One of the shops destroyed was the bakery of Edward Laney, my 3 x great grandfather, which was adjacent to the Royal Hotel. He had been in business for twenty four years with premises in Richmond, on Nile Street East and on Bridge Street throughout that time.[5] On the night of the fire there was a strong south westerly wind which caused the flames to take hold on all corners of the intersection. This was the first great fire to occur in Nelson since the arrival of the first English settlers in 1842.[6] No lives were lost, but many lost all their belongings. Later in the day an inquest was held to determine the cause of the fire.[7] A meeting was held in the evening of the same day to raise subscriptions or pledges from the townsfolk to assist those who had suffered in the fire.[8]

The fire, which by sheer luck was the first of its size since settlement began was also the impetus for organising a Volunteer Fire Brigade.[9] The Nelson Evening Mail ran a series of editorials in the days after the fire lobbying for action and responsibility to be taken. This had been attempted once before, and the town even had two fire engines available.[10] But the disorganisation, delay and lack of available men on the night of the fire, meant that it was at least 20 minutes after the alarm had been raised that the smaller engine had been pulled to the scene of the fire.[11] Time which may have saved some of the premises which were lost.

1866 had been quite a year for the Laney family. William, the eldest child, who like Edward was also a baker, had died in April of Bilious Fever aged 24, leaving a widow and two young children.[12] In June, Edward’s wife Mary passed away.[13] Around this time it is possible that, Ann, Edward’s step-daughter returned to live with the family. Ann was a widow with three young children; in early June she was living in Hope Street when she placed an advertisement advertising a business premise in Trafalgar Street to let.[14] Before her marriage Ann had also worked in the bakery, running her own business since the age of 15 at the premises in Bridge Street.[15] After the fire Ann placed a thank you notice in the Nelson Evening Mail, thanking the “Ladies and the Public generally” for the kindness shown by them by supplying clothes for herself and her sisters since the fire.[16] Those sisters were Edward’s youngest children Sarah and Mary, whether his younger son Edwin was also there is unknown.

Edward’s premises were insured and by October 1866 he had rebuilt on the same site – in a slightly more expansive manner.[17] Just a few short years later he closed up shop and removed to the Wairau Valley.[18]

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[1] ‘Three Houses Burnt’, The Press, 28 June 1935, p.18.

[2] ‘An Old Woman Burnt to Death’, Taranaki Herald, 4 September 1869, p.3.

[3] ‘Serious Fire Eighteen Houses Destroyed’, Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, 7 August 1866, p.2.

[4] ‘Inquiry into the Cause of the Fire’, Nelson Evening Mail, 8 August 1866, p.3.

[5] ‘Old Established Bakery’, Nelson Evening Mail, 17 October 1866, p.4.

[6] ‘Serious Fire Eighteen Houses Destroyed, Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, p.2.

[7] ‘Inquiry into the Cause of the Fire’, Nelson Evening Mail, p.3.

[8] ‘A Public Meeting’, Nelson Evening Mail. 7 August 1866, p.3.

[9] ‘Meeting of Committee Appointed to Organize Fire Brigade”, Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, 16 August 1866, p.3.

[10] John Wilson, Thematic Historical Overview of Nelson City for the Nelson City Council as part of the Nelson Heritage Inventory Project – Final Draft, October 2011, J Wilson, Christchurch, pp. 40-41. http://www.nelsoncitycouncil.co.nz/assets/About-nelson/downloads/1176312-thematic-historical-overview-of-nelson-city-OCT2011.pdf

[11] ‘Disastrous Fire’, Nelson Evening Mail, 7 August 1866, p.2.

[12] ‘Deaths’, Colonist, 17 April 1866, p.2.

[13] ‘Died’, Nelson Evening Mail, 1 June 1866, p.2.

[14] ‘Desirable Business Premises’, Nelson Evening Mail, 4 June 1866, p.1.

[15] ‘Established Eighteen Years’, Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, 23 February 1861, p.4.

[16] ‘The Undersigned’, Nelson Evening Mail, 21 August 1866, p.3.

[17] ‘Local Improvements’, Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, 14 December 1866, p.4.; ‘Old Established Bakery’, Nelson Evening Mail, p.4.

[18] ‘News has been received in Nelson’, Nelson Evening Mail, 21 August 1882, p.2.