18 November 2015 marks the 68th anniversary of New Zealand’s most deadly fire - The Ballantyne’s Department Store fire - it's a date permanently etched in the collective New Zealand psyche.
On the afternoon of Tuesday 18 November, 1947, Ballantynes Department Store was full of shoppers - Show Week had taken place the previous week and the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten was due in two days. It was a fine day and the city was buzzing.
Then, at 3:31pm, disaster struck. One of the store’s salesmen was told by a woman employee that smoke was coming up from the basement. He told her to call the fire brigade and inform the owners, but it wasn't until a quarter-hour later that the Fire Brigade received the call-out.
Most of the store’s 250 customers and retail staff on the ground floor were evacuated from the building, but since it was thought that it was just a cellar fire, staff on the first floor - who had just returned to work after their tea break - were not informed. However, within minutes the building was ablaze, the centre of the store exploded in flames.
200 fire fighters, police and volunteers using 20 appliances fought the fire that day. A large crowd looked on in horror as Dunstable House, which was made up of seven buildings linked together and built of match lining, pinex and bone dry timber, burned to the ground. 41 staff members, trapped by flames and smoke, lost their lives. A memorial was built at the Ruru Lawn Cemetery in honour of them.
See also
- Our heritage resources about the Ballantynes' Fire
- Our collection of images of the Ballantynes Fire
- Photos of the Ballantyne Memorial Rose Garden
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