Barcaldine fire, 1909

About 3.30am on August 10, 1909, a train cleaner saw flames coming from Joseph Dias' store in Oak St in Barcaldine, between Emerald and Longreach in Central Queensland.

Devastation caused by a fire in Barcaldine Queensland, August 1909. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland. Neg 46712

Within minutes the fire quickly took hold and spread to an adjoining saddler's shop. The alarm was quickly raised - "the train alarm whistle, scour whistle, and school bell ... aroused the inhabitants", the Brisbane Courier reported. Residents had the laborious task of quickly removing chattels from surrounding buildings and placing them out on the street.

The fire continued on its destructive path, consuming W. Kemp's Welcome Home Hotel in approximately 20 minutes. According to local paper the Western Champion, "a very large crowd, probably the whole town, was now witnessing the devastating fire". A bucket brigade worked tirelessly to contain the blaze, as there was no civic fire brigade. A council hose was introduced at one point, though its stream was described by the Western Champion as "being only sufficient to ... extinguish a match". The blaze was brought under control by 5am, but not before a total of 18 premises had been destroyed.

Children in the main street after the August fires Barcaldine, Queensland, 1909. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland. Neg 46722

Dawn revealed the full extent of the damage. Stock, furniture and other items rescued from the fire littered the street. Some residents who escaped the fire were still dressed in night apparel. The Western Champion lamented: "What the previous night was a fine line of business places and hotels was one heap of ashes and debris." It also reported, most likely to inject some much-needed levity, that "just at sunrise, Mr Kemp's cockatoo was perched upon the back fence, whistling There's Nae Luck About the House".

Myles Sinnamon - Project Coordinator, State Library of Queensland