Lyttelton's Great Fire of 1870

On October 24th, 1870, around 9 PM, Lyttelton was decimated by fire. It's thought to have started in some packing cases filled with straw behind the Queen’s Hotel, which was on the corner of London and Oxford Streets. The fire spread really fast because most of the town's buildings were made of timber.

People here tried to fight it. There was a local 'hook and ladder' brigade, and even prisoners from the Gaol helped out. Seamen, organized by the publican of the Mitre Hotel, bucketed beer from barrels, trying to protect shingled roofs. Eventually, frantic messages were sent via the telegraph office, and a Fire Brigade with a steam engine arrived by train from Christchurch. The Mayor of Christchurch and several City Councillors came too.

A reporter from the Christchurch Press also came on that train, and what he saw was awful. He described the scene as "terrifically grand," with the whole block, about three acres, being "one solid mass of fire." It lit up the harbor and the surrounding hills. On the reclaimed land, he saw women and children "huddled together on heaps of furniture, utterly homeless, and only partially clothed."

The fire was finally contained in the early hours of the morning. By daylight, the consequences were clear: about two-thirds, or five acres, of the township had been razed. Thirty local businesses and many private residences were left with only their chimneys standing. Even though a lot of people lost their homes and livelihoods, it's remarkable that there were no serious injuries or deaths.

At the time, this was New Zealand's worst urban fire. It wasn't the only time Lyttelton faced such damage; there was another large blaze on Christmas Eve in 1942, which started in Rhinds store on Norwich Quay and, fanned by a strong wind, caused significant damage on Norwich Quay and Canterbury Street. This Great Fire of 1870 led to the establishment of the Lyttelton Volunteer Fire Brigade in 1873.