The Christ College Fire of 1867

The headmaster, Henry Jacobs, founded Christ College back in 1850. It was a private boys’ boarding school, and the building we're talking about, the Headmaster's House, was central to it all. It was about ten years old at the time of the fire, one of the older buildings in Christchurch. It housed the Headmaster’s living quarters, servant’s quarters, a dining hall, a schoolroom, and some dorms.

On November 5th, 1867, a fire broke out here at the Headmaster's House. Christchurch itself was a relatively new city, founded in the 1840s, and much of it was built from wood, just like this building.

Now, the Christchurch Fire Brigade was established in 1860, but it wasn't exactly top-notch. They had 30 volunteers and two pieces of equipment called the Dreadnought and the Extinguisher. The Extinguisher was a big, heavy pump that needed horses to move it, but they didn't have the money for horses, making it pretty useless. Their hoses were often too short and prone to kinks. They also had a fire bell, but it was reportedly so quiet that hitting cymbals together made more noise. That eventually got fixed after public backlash, but the brigade was a bit of an embarrassment.

In fact, the entire brigade resigned in mid-1867. So, when this fire happened, they had just hired a new leader, Captain G.H. Wilson. He was a ship's captain, broad-shouldered, with an incredible beard. But he was also known as an extreme quack, offering electrical treatments and vapor baths at his home.