Fire destroys Teviot woolshed

A fire broke out in the woolshed on the Teviot Station at 5.30am yesterday, with the result that the huge building was completely gutted. General shearing had been commenced on the stud Corriedale flock, and was completed about a week ago, and the wool baled and stored in the woolshed. It is understood that it was among this wool that the fire originated, probably owing to spontaneous combustion. In the absence of fire-fighting appliances the attempts to extinguish the blaze were fruitless, and the contents of the building, which included about £600 worth of wool, 800 bags of chaff, wool presses, a large stand of shearing machines and an oil engine were totally destroyed. The structure was at one time the largest shearing shed under one roof in Australia or New Zealand. It may be mentioned that there are modern sheds in Australia capable of holding more sheep, and accordingly a greater number of shearers. The building at Teviot was 450 feet long and 155ft wide, and on more than one occasion is known to have accommodated 8000 sheep. The walls were built of stone, and the roof was of corrugated galvanised iron, with steel girders, and was semicircular in shape. It was the property of the Government, which took over the Teviot property from Mr Roberts for soldier settlement purposes about five years ago. The building was constructed by Messrs Cargill and Anderson in the late sixties, when that firm shore over 150,000 sheep annually. The girders and roofing iron were purchased in Great Britain by Messrs Cargill and Anderson, and it is understood that they were originally intended for one of London’s railway stations, but before being put in place were found to be unsuitable. General shearing was to have commenced next Tuesday at the Teviot Station, but it is possible that it will now be carried out at Messrs Pannett and Wilson’s “Hillsprings”, the adjoining property.

 

Every falling leaf carries with it to its grave on the ground a mystery which those who delight in discovering Nature’s ways would give much to penetrate. Needless to say, the material contained in the fallen leaves is not wholly lost. As the leaves decay, much of their substance is converted again into the simple compounds from which that substance was manufactured; but some leaves decay only partially and give rise to humus from which fungi and non-green plants derive sustenance and from which also the tree from which the leaves fell does not disdain to draw upon for its further nutriment. Knowing this, the gardener takes care to collect all available fallen leaves and to compost them, for in these days of shortage of stable manure leaf mould — always precious to the cultivator — has become of very great value in the garden. It is a mistaken practice to burn the waste vegetable debris of the garden. All of it, if properly composted, helps to maintain the fertility of the soil; entering once again into the bodies of new generations of plants it continues the endless migration from the inorganic to the organic and back again to the inorganic world.

 

This year Christmas Day falls on a Thursday, and therefore Thursday and Friday will be holidays, and it was decided by the retailers yesterday that shops should be closed during part of Christmas and New Year weeks. This will mean that retail premises will be closed from Wednesday, December 24, until the following Monday morning, giving employees four clear days to themselves. The same applies to the New Year time, when retail premises will be closed from Wednesday, December 31, until Monday, January 5. — ODT, 15.1.1924