File:John Hodgson's description of Parliament Fire of 1907 (22987820674).jpg

On December 11 1907 duty constable John Hodgson was patrolling Sydney Street when he heard a loud explosion and then saw flames burst through the roof of Parliament. In the ensuing fire Parliament was destroyed while fire fighters fought desperately to save thousands of books and other treasures. Their efforts – together with the presence of a metal fire door and brick walls between Parliament and the library – were successful. The library was saved and the books survived to form the nucleus of what is now the National Library of New Zealand. Shown here is Hodgson’s description of the fire and the desperate attempts to save the building. The dry timber burnt easily and there was a limited supply of water so the building was doomed from the first. The ensuing enquiry found that the fire, which had probably started in the Interpreters’ Room, was most likely to have been caused by an electrical fault. This drew an angry response from an electrician whose anonymous letter was published in the newspaper a few days later. He wrote that the theory of “fusion of electric wires” would do great harm to the electricity iindustry as people would believe it was dangerous when it was, in fact, the safest form of lighting. Reference: R24761200 www.archway.archives.govt.nz/ViewFullItem.do?code=24761200 For more information email Research.Archives@dia.govt.nz For updates on our On This Day series and news from Archives New Zealand, follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/ArchivesNZ Material supplied by Archives New Zealand