On Saturday we had about as disagree able weather as anyone could imagine. The wind was blowing as if it really were the outer edge of the cyclone prophesied by Captain Edwin. Dust was whirled along in blinding clouds that made it really danger ous to be on the roads, as it was impossible to see a few yards ahead. The volumes of smoke arising from many fires —some bush fires, others by no means intentional helped to thicken tho atmosphere and make it difficult to know what was going on. In point of fact, the fires were steadily and insidiously gaining ground. They ran along thistles, dry grass, and logs, and leapt from stump to stump, until fencing, outhouses, haystacks, and even dwelling houses caught fire. In some cases they were destroyed, in others the settlers were successful in fighting tho fires. The Ngaire Factory, Mrs Brown’s sawmill, and Mr Chew Chong’s factory at Eltham were all in grave danger, as were also several dwellinghouses. Settlers were expecting to have to stay up all night, when rain set in pretty heavily, and was heartily welcome. Soon everything was well soaked, and imminent danger averted, but not before considerable damage had been done. Had there been no rain it was considered that there would have been a repetition of the Stratford fire that took place some years ago, only it would have been far more disastrous.
