Fire And Feast

Memories of a Tongan Brigade o[?] 50 Years Ago

By J. W. Whitcombe

IT was recently reported in PIM that fir had destroyed the Tongan Pictur Theatre, and that the Tongan Gov ernment should take note of the fact tha “there were no fire extinguishers, no fir escapes and not even a tub of water wit; a hose available.”

It may be of interest to Tongan reader to know that 55 years ago Tonga was th proud possessor of a fire brigade, a re* with full length of hose, pump, hatchet, brass helmets, etc., and a full uniforn The King’s Guards, and members of th police force, formed the brigade.

This very smart —and in those days, up to-date outfit—was imported under th Baker Government; and a big fire, one c the largest in Tonga’s history—Forsyth Schultz & Co.—gave the lads their firs chance to use the machine.

As soon as it was discovered, the brigac raced to the seat of the fire, and the hos was rushed out to the shore so that sa water could be pumped up from the se; But the tide was out, and the hose ws too short to reach the water, and th brigade was helpless. So the brigade ju; sat down and had a great feast of sa. vaged tins of beef, fish and biscuits; an when I visited the scene of the fire, wit my brother, the next morning, the plao was crowded with natives and they sti were eating Hellaby’s tinned meats, tin of fish, and cabin biscuits.

That fire occurred on February 8, 189 and it totally destroyed the wholesale ar retail stores of Forsythe, Schultz and C Little or nothing was saved. Only tU little office at the end and the copra sheo escaped. Mr. Jackson (accountant) ar Mr. Green were at Mua, Mr. Williams ws at his home and Mr. Schultz (manage! was spending the evening at a friend place. All the staff were absent, and r keys were available. Even when M Schultz arrived, he had no keys. Not eve fresh water was available, because tB keys of the tank taps were locked in tM office. They had to knock the taps a the tanks before they could get wate Mr. Schultz tried to dip a bucket of watx from a tank, but the water was at boilia point, and he scalded his arm.

Later, an enquiry was held at ti British Consular court. At the request the local agents of the insurance con pany, the Tongan Government appoint* my father, the late Mr. C. D. Whitcomb a special magistrate (in the absence the British Vice-Consul, Mr. H. B. Leel who was on holiday in New Zealand The court sat accordingly on Februaj 14, 1896, with Mr. Hanslip and Mr. Bat nard as assessors and decided there w\ no evidence to show how the fir originated.

Tonga, in those early days, also hadj Bank, called the Bank of Tonga andJ still have a cheque book, at the front which are the words: “Koe Banike Fakar Buleaga O Toga (the Bank of the Goc ernment of Tonga).

Mrs. Olga Page, who has been a reside; of Sydney for many years, and who w; one of the founders of the Pacific Islanr Society, will leave Sydney at the end this month on a long visit to friends au relations in Nukualofa (Tonga) and An (Western Samoa). She expects to spe:s at least five months in Samoa. Mrs. Pae is noted for her kindness and hospitalii and has been the confidante and fries of many residents of Samoa and Tonr who have visited Sydney.