Tahiti Fire Destroys Wharf Sheds and Copra

Papeete, Mar. 24.

THE old, many-gabled warehouse, known as the fare maehaa, and which had remained as one of the landmarks of Old Papeete, was destroyed by fire together with the extensive sheds along the wharf and over 4,000 tons of copra on the afternoon of March 22.

The sheds were filled to capacity with copra awaiting shipment. The day was very hot, and it is believed that the heat of the sun on the iron roof raised the temperature of the copra to spontaneous combustion.

The fire started in the copra and the whole length of the sheds was a roaring mass of flame in less than fifteen min utes.

The whole city was in danger. The new Customs House and the Office of the Captain of the Port—at the seaward end of a square, faced on one side by a part of the copra shed, and on another by the gabled warehouse—were the front of a corridor of wooden buildings extending

into the town. Hard by, the building housing the Tahiti Yacht Club, forms the comer of a solid block of wooden struc tures filled with every manner of in flammable merchandise.

To save the city, it was imperative to keep the fire from the buildings. Under the leadership of the Governor, Monsieur Chastenet de Gery, the people of Papeete fought a gallant twelve hours battle. His Excellency stayed in the front line, and

We are advised from Canberra that the Amalgamation Committee (see page 8) will sail for Papua and New Guinea by the “Macdhui” on May 13.

directed and aided the work until the fire was subdued. Every able bodied man was there to do his part.

There was no wind. Had there been even a breeze, such as often sweeps the

water-front, a major part of Papeete would have been overwhelmed. As it was, the Customs House and the Port Office, together with smaller buildings, had to be demolished to prevent the spread of the fire.

The scene of the fire—photograph by simposn taken from the verandah of the Tahiti Yacht Club.