Resource | Text: Article | |
---|---|---|
Title | BURNING OF THE THEATRE ROYAL, MELBOURNE. (1872, March 27). | |
Related Contributors | ||
Related Venues |
|
|
Source | The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), Davies Brothers Pty Ltd, Hobart Town, Tas, 1860 | |
Item URL | ||
Page | 3 | |
Date Issued | 27 March 1872 | |
Language | English | |
Citation | BURNING OF THE THEATRE ROYAL, MELBOURNE. (1872, March 27)., The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), 27 March 1872, 3 | |
Exhibitions | ||
Resource Identifier | 65315 |
Provide feedback on BURNING OF THE THEATRE ROYAL, MELBOURNE. (1872, March 27).
At last the building so long known to Melbourne citizens as the theatre par excellence of the city has gone, following closely in the wake of the Haymarket. At half-past 12 this (Wednesday) morning the warning notes of the fire-bell rang out, and the word soon spread, first that the conflagration was in the heart of the city, and next that the Theatre Royal was the scene of the disaster. The announcement was only too true. The edifice built by Mr. Black nearly twenty years ago, and in which nearly every actor of eminence who has visited Australia has appeared, from Brooke to Carden, was soon seen to be hopelessly committed to the flames. St Georges-hall, it was feared at first, would be involved in the destruction. In the hurry and rush of the sudden tumult it was no easy matter to glean any information as to the how and the where of the commencement of the fire. The only thing certain was that the body of the Theatre Royal was in flames; that pit, stalls, and dress circle were blazing in a fire about which there was no sensational effect beyond that furnished by stern reality. It appears, from what we can hear, that shortly after 12 o’clock Mr Pitt, the lessee of the Café, was sitting with his wife in Mr M’Donalds, the photographer’s when he was informed that the theatre was on fire at the back. Previously to this smoke had been noticed by some passers-by, and warning had been given to the brigade. But when Mr. Pitt reached the spot he found that the back portion of the stage, between the paint-frame and the dressing rooms, was on fire. The painters labourer, Kenneth Douglas, was at work with the hose, which is always kept on the premises, and Mr Pitt at first felt confident of keeping the fire under or at least in the rear of the paint frame. It was found, however, impossible to do this, and both Mr. Pitt and his assistants had to retreat, the flames rapidly catching the flies, and, subsequently, the body of the house. By this time the brigade were on the ground, the full force of the water was played on to the blazing mass, and all Melbourne knew that the Theatre Royal was on fire. The scene of the burning house was being played out in earnest. Seen from the street the effect was perhaps, not quite so gorgeously terrible as was the burning of the Haymarket. The fire was confined entirely to the theatre itself, and the vestibule being comparatively closed in, there was not the seething, boiling sea of fire shut in by red-hot iron gates, which was visible to the crowd in the case of the Haymarket. The continuous and active exertions of the firemen enabled them to keep down the fire, and by 2 o’clock it became evident that beyond the body of the theatre itself no damage would be done. St Georges hall was uninjured, the front of the Café was untouched, and though Mr Pain’s collection had to be carried out into the street, no damage was done to any property in the neighbouring buildings. But the old theatre itself has gone. The stage to which so many favourites have been recalled to receive warm applause was at 1 o’clock this morning a raging mass of flames and falling timber, the roaring and the crackling of burning wood, and the hissing of the rapidly played out water, taking the place of applause or encore. Independently of being deluged with water, the Café itself was not injured, and we believe also that Mr Pitt is fully insured. Of the origin of the fire nothing is as yet known, but it is believed to have originated in the property-room, which, with the dressing-room, is just behind the paint-frame on which Hennings prepared so many of his masterpieces. How the mischief began no one can tell. – telegraph.