Adelaide - Fires and the Fire Brigade

The Fire Brigade

(Taken from Geoffrey H. Manning's A Colonial Experience)

Introduction

Whether in the dead of night or in the light of day, the firebell's clang is a vibrant note that never fails to stir the pulses for, since men began to build, the cry of 'Fire!' has echoed, precursor of terror, confusion and loss. Today, any suburb of importance has its own appliances, less pretentious than those at headquarters, but adequate for all ordinary demands. In the larger country towns, too, the days of bucket and garden hose have gone. Permanent, trained part-time firemen, supported by a local auxiliary, can be summoned instantly with fire-fighting equipment.

Fire was the terror of the country's infancy, for the tall, dry grass near Holdfast Bay burned like tinder when the Aborigines, unwitting of the jeopardy they placed their new-found friends cum interlopers, fired the Cowandilla plains to drive kangaroos from their hiding places and snakes from their holes. Part of Adelaide's earliest history was written in fingers of flame which seized avidly on reed hut and wooden wall

Fires in Early Adelaide

January of 1839 was the blackest month. When a spark lodged in the thatched roof of the Land Office, the fire ran like magic before the wind. In ten minutes the office was an inferno, which leapt at the Survey Office and, in half an hour, not a wall, or a post, was standing. An iron safe set in solid masonry preserved, except for charring, most of the important documents in the Land Office, while draftsmen saved original maps of town acres from the Survey Office, but Hurtle Fisher and Colonel Light lost everything, including the journal the latter had kept diligently for 30 years.

Scarcely had the flames died down before an alarm was raised again, this time at Government House. Its reed roof and wooden partitions burned like tinder and, in an hour, with its store of valuable documents, it was a heap of ashes and smouldering beams. Before the year was out the home of John Brown, Emigration Agent, was similarly destroyed, again with papers and documents.

I recall, vividly, a fire of the early 1840s. On the alarm being raised a fire bell at the police station was rung violently in a special and well-recognised manner and, at the dead of night, it could be heard all over the city. At the first clang, the water carriers, who were compelled to leave their barrels full at night against such an emergency, manned their carts without delay, harnessed their horses and urged full speed with whip and word.

The carts raced and rattled down the street, scattering to left and right men, women and children, out for the excitement of the chase, for the corporation and insurance societies offered a bonus for the first to reach the fire. Some sort of a barrel or tank was provided into which the carriers would run water from their barrels and from this the liquid was dipped out into buckets and passed from hand to hand along a line of volunteer helpers, the last person throwing it on the flames. In later and more progressive times, a double action pump, towed from fire to fire by the police, was provided, with a long, horizontal handle on either side. In the meantime the water carriers were at work, hurrying down to the ford, refilling barrels and galloping back as fast as Pegasus could fly and, when their loads were discharged, they bolted back to the river for another supply. There was real excitement in a city conflagration in those days!

The Role of Insurance Companies

With the erection of more costly buildings Adelaide developed a mind for insurance, the agents, in their enthusiasm, undertaking the maintenance of a fire brigade. Its amateur members were bravely attired in scarlet and ran up the street at an alarm, putting on their uniforms as they progressed. Often they arrived when a building was long past salvation and it was no novelty for them to be greeted with hisses and groans by a long-gathered crowd.

Things reached such a pass that when the police engine took nearly two hours to reach the burning Union Bank at Port Adelaide in 1851, Peter Warburton, the Commissioner, was asked for a report which concluded with the comment that 'the police have more police duties than they can well get through and it [was] not to be expected that they can, while numerically so weak, do firemen's and police duties.'

Having drawn too many blanks in the lottery, the fire assurers became restive of maintaining reels and hoses unassisted. Assistance was forthcoming in the 1850s when the Adelaide corporation provided 'an admirable engine' in the form of a corrugated iron tank and cistern mounted on a cart body with a force pump to which was attached a long leather hose and a ladder.

The assurers protested against the use of calico, canvas and paper partitions in buildings and wooden roofs and, when Adelaide awoke on a morning in February 1858 to a huge fire in D.& W. Murray's drapery emporium in King William Street, there were grave fears for the shingle roof on the Napoleon Bonaparte Hotel just across the lane, and a row of miserable shanties in the rear. Though the fire raged with 'surpassing fierceness' they were saved.

There were spry fellows in those days who recognised the value of publicity. In a conspicuous place on every house that was insured, the company affixed its metal plaque, resplendent with a crown or rising sun. The burnished plate, gleaming in the flames, was a cogent reminder of the value of insurance and a guide to the insurance man who rushed to the scene. If his plate was on the building he could work with a will to save it. If it were not the matter was of no concern to him.

Late in the 1870s the companies, further disgruntled at paying for the protection, not only of property in which they might be interested, insured or uninsured, approached the government, which had valuable property at stake, for aid, and the modern arrangements by which the companies, the government and the municipalities each pay a moiety was inaugurated.

General Notes

An article on the ravages of fire in Adelaide over 100 years is in the Advertiser (special edition),
1 September 1936, page 71.

"The Government Fire Engine" is in the Observer,
26 November 1853, page 2c (supp.).

"City Fires" is in the Observer,
10 November 1855, page 6h,
"Destructive Fire in Hindley Street" on
8 December 1855, page 3a.

"Destructive Fire in Currie Street" is in the Register,
6, 7 and 9 February 1855, pages 3f, 2c and 3a and
in Hindley Street on
3 December 1855, page 3h.

"The Prevention of Fire" is in the Register,
10 February 1855, page 2e.

"City Fires" is in the Register,
19 April 1855, page 2d,
5 November 1855, page 2d.

"The Fire" in Hindley Street and aftermath are discussed in the Register,
17, 18 and 26 November 1856, pages 2d, 2f and 2b,
1 December 1856, page 3b.

"Fire and Water" is in the Register,
7 January 1857, page 2c.

Information on a fire engine is in the Register,
8 June 1857, page 2h.

"Insurance Against Fire" is in the Register,
3, 7 and 9 April 1858, pages 2f, 2f and 2e-3h,
16 June 1858, page 2c.

Protection against fires is discussed in the Register,
16 February 1859, page 2c,
29 December 1859, page 2f.

"The Police Fire Engine" is in the Register,
21 January 1859, page 2h,
7 February 1859, page 2g,
4 March 1859, page 2f,
"Danger From Fire" on
23 November 1860, page 2g,
"Protection from Fire" in the Observer,
15 March 1862, page 6c.

"The Fire Engines" is in the Register,
24 and 30 December 1859, pages 2h and 2d,
4, 5 and 6 January 1860, pages 3a, 2g and 2h.

"The Fire Bell" is in the Register,
15 March 1860, page 2f,
"The Fire Brigades" on
8 May 1860, page 2g.

"The Fire Brigade" is in the Register,
7 March 1862, page 3a,
9 June 1862, page 3c.

"Protection from Fire" is in the Register,
10 March 1862, page 2f,
Observer,
15 March 1862, page 6c.

The trial of a new fire bell is reported in the Register,
7 October 1862, page 2g,
Observer,
11 October 1862, page 4c.

An obituary of John Platt, "a fire brigade member", is in the Register,
30 March 1866, page 2f.

The trial of a "patent fire extinguisher" is reported in the Register,
23 and 24 August 1866, pages 2g and 2f.
"Sensitive Automatic Fire Extinguisher" is in the Register,
20 November 1884, page 4h.
Information on a Grinnell fire extinguisher is in the Register,
28 June 1888, page 3f.
"Our Fire Extinguishing System" is in the Register,
7 April 1888, page 6d,
Observer,
14 April 1888, page 32a; also see
Express,
21 February 1889, page 2c,
Register,
7 July 1890, page 4f,
10 January 1891, page 6f,
23 March 1891, page 4f,
15 December 1899, page 11g.
Bett's fire extinguisher is reported upon in the Observer,
18 March 1899, page 46c.
"A New Fire Extinguisher" is in the Express,
11 September 1901, page 4c.

Information on a fire brigade is in the Register,
23 January 1867, page 2d,
Observer,
26 January 1867, page 5f.

A fire at J. Hance's on North Terrace is reported in the Register,
28 January 1867, page 2e,
at William Langsford's premises on
1 February 1867, page 2g.

A presentation to members of the brigade is reported in the Register,
27 November 1867, page 2h,
Observer,
30 November 1867, page 2h.

The presentation of Fire Brigade long service medals is reported in the Register,
13 June 1904, page 8e.

"Our Increasing Danger From Fire" is in the Register,
10 and 25 February 1868, pages 2c and 2c; also see
Express,
18 February 1868, page 2a,
Chronicle,
22 February 1868, page 6f,
Observer,
7 March 1868, page 12g.

Fire brigade practice is reported in the Register,
9 September 1869, page 2h,
Observer,
11 September 1869, page 7f.

An editorial about Fire Brigades is in the Express,
29 June 1869, page 2b,
Chronicle,
3 July 1869, page 12e,
Register,
13 December 1870, page 5b,
Chronicle,
31 December 1870, page 12d; also see
Register,
13 December 1870, page 4e,
Observer,
31 December 1870, page 12a.

"The Fire in King William Street" is in the Register,
10 and 14 December 1870, pages 5b and 5c,
Observer,
4 November 1871, page 3c,
"Fires and Firemen" on
16 March 1872, page 10g,
4 January 1873, page 13f,
"The Adelaide Fire Brigade" on
8 February 1873, page 8a,
Register,
12 and 13 March 1872, pages 4f and 5d.

Biographical details of G. Barlow are in the Register,
16 March 1872, page 5b.

"The Adelaide Fire Brigade" is in the Chronicle,
25 October 1873, page 5d,
Observer,
13 September 1879, page 14e.

The first annual dinner of the brigade is reported in the Express,
17 October 1873, page 3f.
An ex-firemen's dinner is reported in the Express,
10 July 1885, page 3e.

"Inquest on Fires" is in the Chronicle,
1 May 1875, page 11e,
"The Fire Brigade" on
11 December 1875, page 15d; also see
Express,
1 November 1875, page 2b,
13 December 1875, page 2e,
Register,
14 December 1875, pages 4f-7b.

"Fire Brigades" is in the Register,
28 June 1875, page 4e.

"Maintenance of the Fire Brigade" is in the Observer,
18 December 1875, page 12c,
23 March 1878, page 24b.

"The Corporation and the Fire Brigade" is in the Register,
8 February 1876, page 5a.

Fire brigade practice is discussed in the Register,
20 April 1876, page 5d; also see
31 May 1877, page 7a,
25 August 1877, page 5c,
14 March 1878, page 5a.

A fire at the old West Terrace steam flour mill is reported in the Register,
20 April 1876, page 5d.

"Fire in Boddington's Row" is in the Register,
6 February 1878, pages 5b-1e (supp.).

A fire at Ford & Co's vinegar factory is reported in the Register,
15 August 1878, page 5d.

"Great Fire in Adelaide" is in the Observer,
8 February 1879, page 4f.

A fire brigade drill is reported in the Register,
26 May 1879, page 4f,
Advertiser,
9 September 1879, page 7a; also see
Observer,
13 September 1879, page 14e
10 and 24 January 1880, pages 70d and 146a,
Express,
6 January 1880, page 2c,
13 September 1881, page 3b.

"The City Fire Brigade" is in the Register,
18 November 1879, page 4c,
"Precautions Against Fire in the City" on
4 December 1879, page 4e; also see
21 and 22 March 1882, pages 4d and 5a,
20 April 1882, pages 4f-5a.

Information on the Adelaide Fire Insurers' Association is in the Register,
10 April 1880, pages 4f-6b.

"Fires in the City" is in the Register,
28 and 29 December 1880, pages 4e and 4f.

"Fires in Adelaide" is in the Register,
20 and 23 August 1881, pages 4e and 4g,
13 September 1881, page 1a (supp.).

"Protection Against Fire" is in the Register,
6 December 1881, page 4g,
19 January 1882, page 4c,
17 May 1882, page 4c.

The disbandment of the fire brigade is discussed in the Register,
14 and 24 January 1882, pages 5c and 6f; also see
1 and 9 February 1882, pages 4g and 5b.

"Prevention of Fire" is in the Observer,
25 March 1882, page 24d.

"Fires and Fire Insurance" is in the Register,
4, 12 and 14 April 1883, pages 4g, 6d and 5a.
"The Fire Panic and Insurance Companies" on,
28 November 1884, page 5d,
Observer,
29 November 1884, page 31a; also see
6 December 1884, page 35d.

The fire at Marshall & Co's is reported in the Observer,
18 and 25 March 1882, pages 20d and 24d,
"The Late Fire at Government House" on
17 February 1883, pages 29d-33c and
at the Academy of Music on
10 January 1885, page 34d,
1 January 1887, pages 12-13.
A sketch is in the Pictorial Australian in
January 1884, page 197.

A sketch of a fire in Rundle Street Street is in the Pictorial Australian in March 1882, page 37.

Anti-fire precautions at theatres are discussed in the Chronicle,
13 May 1882, page 6a,
Register, 19 January 1882, pages 4g-5g.
"Adelaide's Amusement Halls - Are They Safe?" is in the Register,
2 January 1904, page 6h.

"The Fire Brigade Bill" is in the Chronicle,
27 May 1882, page 4e,
Register,
6 October 1882, page 4e; also see
Register,
12 February 1883, page 6g.

"Fire at the GPO" is in the Chronicle,
6 January 1883, page 11d.

"Fires in the City" is in the Register,
17 February 1883, page 4d.

"Burial of a Fireman" is in the Register,
20 November 1883, page 5b.

"The Fire Epidemic" is in the Observer,
15 March 1884, page 31b,
"The Fire Fiend" in the Express,
19, 26 and 28 November 1884, pages 3d, 6a and 2c,
"Incendiarism" on
12 June 1885, page 2b.

A fire at the Academy of Music is reported in the Chronicle,
19 January 1884, page 9f; also see
10 January 1885, page 7d.

"Fireproof Buildings" is in the Register,
10 January 1884, page 4d.

"Another Destructive Fire" is in the Register,
7 March 1884, page 7d.

"The Fire Brigade Board" is in the Register,
7 June 1884, page 4g.

A fire at Ehmcke and Gaetjen's timber yard is reported in the Register,
27 October 1884, page 6d,
8 November 1884, page 2h (supp.),
at the Paris Photographic Company in Rundle Street on
14 November 1884, page 6f.

"Rampant Incendiarism" is in the Register,
17 November 1884, pages 4e-5h,
"How to Prevent Fires" on
19 November 1884, page 4e.

A fire at Messrs Pulsford's timber factory is reported in the Observer,
24 May 1884, page 29d and
at Tannert's basket factory in the Chronicle,
17 January 1885, page 9c.

A fire at Pulsford's timber yard is reported in the Register,
23, 28 and 31 May 1884, pages 7a, 6h and 7e,
at Harris's brush factory on
12 December 1884, page 7c.

"Fires in the Suburbs" is in the Register,
6 and 8 March 1884, pages 4f and 4f-6c.

"The Fire Epedemic" is in the Observer,
15 March 1884, page 31b,
"The Fire Fiend" in the Express,
19, 26 and 28 November 1884, pages 3d, 6a and 2c,
"Incendiarism" on
12 June 1885, page 2b.

"Volunteer Fire Brigades" is in the Register,
14 and 27 March 1884, pages 4f and 4g,
28 August 1893, page 3g.

"The Fire at Gay's" is in the Chronicle,
22 November 1884, pages 5e-7b.
A sketch is in the Pictorial Australian in
December 1884, page 188.

A photograph of the fire station in Flinders Street in 1885 is in the Chronicle,
16 January 1926, page 38.

"Inquest on Fires" is in the Register,
31 December 1885, page 4h.

"Fires and the Fire Brigade" is in the Register,
16 January 1885, page 4f.

"Fire Fiend" is in the Chronicle,
10 January 1885, page 5b,
"Fires" on
2 January 1886, page 4e.

An editorial on the inquests into fires is in the Advertiser,
7 March 1885, page 4d; also see
31 December 1885, page 4d,
9 January 1886, page 5a.

"Fire in Hindley Street" is in the Register,
14 and 18 April 1885, pages 7c and 7c.

A presentation to R. Moore is reported in the Register,
22 April 1885, page 5a.

"Fire Brigade Banquet" is in the Register,
10 July 1885, pages 5a; also see
13 July 1885, page 4f.

"The Reconstruction of the Brigade" is in the Register,
13 July 1885, page 6c; also see
14, 17 and 20 August 1885, pages 3h, 6c and 3f.

"The Grenfell Street Fire" is in the Register,
17, 18 and 21 December 1885, pages 4h-6a, 6f and 5d.

"The New Fire Brigade" is in the Register,
28 April 1886, page 4h.

"Disastrous Fires" is in the Register,
27 December 1886, page 6a,
Observer,
1 January 1887, page 12a.

A poem titled "The Fireman" is in The Lantern,
8 January 1887, page 19.

"A Steam Fire Engine" is in the Register,
11 January 1887, page 5a.

A steam fire engine is discussed in the Observer,
19 March 1887, page 56a,
"Fire Appliances" on,
2 July 1887, page 33c.

"How to Stop Fires" is in the Register,
12 and 18 January 1887, pages 4f-6d and 5b.

"Fires and How to Fight Them" is in the Observer,
15 January 1887, page 35e.

"Memorial to the Late Fireman Gardner" is in the Register,
1 and 22 February 1887, pages 5c and 5c,
11 October 1887, page 7a,
6 December 1887, page 5c.
Reference to a memorial for Albert Clark is in the Register,
5 April 1887, page 5b.

The resignation of the Fire Brigade Board is reported in the Register,
8, 9, 11, 12 and 15 April 1887, pages 5a-b, 5a-6g, 7d, 7c and 7h,
Observer,
9 April 1887, page 30b.

The trial of a fire engine is reported in the Register,
13 June 1887, page 5c.

"A Novel Fire-Escape" is in the Register,
12 August 1887, page 5c.

"The Dispute in the Fire Brigade" is in the Register,
23, 26 and 27 September 1887, pages 5d, 4f and 7f,
6 October 1887, page 3h.

A fire at Burford's Soap Factory is reported in the Chronicle,
3 December 1887, page 6a.

"Our Fire Extinguishing System" is in the Observer,
14 April 1888, page 32a; also see
Express,
21 February 1889, page 2c.

An obituary of H.C. Salter is in the Register,
5 March 1888, page 5b.

"City Fire Brigade" is in the Register,
21 and 23 February 1889, pages 5a and 4g,
6 May 1890, page 3g.

The destruction of the Adelaide Coffee Palace is reported in the Observer,
23 and 30 March 1889, pages 32 and 30a.

A cartoon on the fire brigade is in The Lantern,
19 April 1890, page 28.

"A New Fire Station for Adelaide" is in the Register,
4 October 1890, page 5a,
23 May 1891, page 6a,
28 April 1892, page 7a,
1 October 1892, pages 4h-6e.

"The Fire Brigades Bill" is in the Register,
1 October 1890, page 4f.

"The Adelaide Fire Brigade - Its Efficiencies and Its Drawbacks" is in the Register,
9 and 30 January 1892, pages 6c and 4g.

"The Adelaide Fire Brigade - Its Effect and its Drawbacks" is in the Register,
9 January 1892, page 6c; also see
1 October 1892, page 6e,
31 January 1903, page 3i,
6 September 1910, page 9e; also see
Express,
27 and 28 April 1892, pages 7b and 3g,
9 January 1903, page 4f,
26 March 1909, page 1e.

"A Powerful Fire Engine" is in the Register,
8 April 1892, page 7f.
The trial of a new engine is reported in the Advertiser,
17 February 1894, page 6e.

"Fire Alarms in the Suburbs" is in the Register,
27 April 1892, page 3g,
"The Fire Brigades - A Trip Round the Suburbs" on
3 February 1899, page 6f,
"The Suburban Fire Brigades" on
13 February 1902, page 3h.

"Lindstrom's Fire Escape" is in the Register,
22 November 1892, page 5d.

Information on the brigade is in the Register,
17 February 1894, pages 5a-7e.

"A New Fire Engine" is in the Register,
20 September 1894, page 7e.

A "novel" telephone apparatus devised by the superintendent of the brigade is discussed in the Observer,
16 November 1895, page 33e.

"All the Firemen Resign" is in the Express,
30 September 1896, page 2g; also see
4 February 1897, page 2c,
"Strike of Firemen" is in the Register,
1 and 5 October 1896, pages 3g and 4f.

"Protection From Fire" is in the Register,
27 November 1897, page 7c.

"The Fire Brigade" is in the Advertiser,
1 February 1898, page 4f; also see
Weekly Herald,
20 May 1899, page 10a.

An interview with the Chairman of the Fire Brigade is in the Advertiser,
22 June 1898, page 5h.

"The Trocadero Fire" is in the Register,
13 and 14 March 1899, pages 6g and 7g.

"Our Fire Brigades" is in the Register,
1 February 1900, page 3a.

An obituary of Arthur J. Baker is in the Express,
5 July 1900, page 2f.

"Wanted - Better Protection From Fire" is in the Register,
20 April 1901, page 4e,
"Fire Brigades Inspection" on
23 May 1901, page 7c.

"Our Fire Fighters" is in the Advertiser,
31 January 1902, page 4c.
A presentation of long service medals is reported on
13 June 1904, page 5g.

A photograph is in The Critic,
8 March 1902, page 26.

"Our Fire Fighters" is in the Register,
23 February 1909, page 4f.

"The Fire Brigades" is in the Chronicle,
9 February 1901, page 37d.
Photographs are in the Chronicle,
8 March 1902, page 39,
Observer,
18 June 1904, page 23,
Chronicle,
3 June 1905, page 28,
20 January 1906, page 30,
25 December 1909, page 34,
19 February 1910, page 43,
6 May 1911, page 29,
Observer,
24 February 1912, page 31,
Chronicle,
23 January 1926, page 39 and 53,
23 January 1930, page 35,
22 May 1930, page 47,
30 May 1935, page 33.

The destruction of J.W. Grasby's warehouse by fire is reported in the Chronicle,
23 March 1901, page 35d,
of Pritchard's Building in the Observer,
24 May 1902, page 33a and
of Holden and Frost's on
14 February 1903, page 34a.

A fire at John Martins is reported in the Observer,
13 April 1901, pages 41-42.

"A New Fire Extinguisher" is in the Express,
11 September 1901, page 4c.

"Killed by a Fire Reel" is in the Observer,
1 February 1902, page 35b.

Biographical details of George Booker, Superintendent of Fire Brigades, are in the Register,
24 June 1902, page 4h,
Observer,
26 July 1902, page 26a.
"Why Mr Booker Resigned" is in the Express,
20 August 1907, page 4g,
Register,
20 August 1907, pages 4d-7a,
15 march 1924, page 12c,
Observer,
24 August 1907, page 52a,
21 September 1907, page 48e,
29 March 1924, page 19a.

A photograph of Nellie Melba at the fire station is in The Critic,
22 November 1902, page 4.

"A Day With the Brigades" is in the Register,
31 January 1903, page 3i,
2 February 1903, page 4c.

"Fire Prevention - Lack of Precautions at Public Institutions" is in the Express,
2 February 1903, page 4f.

"Fire Brigades Report for 1903" is in the Register,
30 January 1904, page 4d.

Photographs, etc., are in The Critic,
30 March 1904, pages 12 and 13.

"Around the Fire Stations" is in the Register,
10 March 1904, page 7a.

"City Fire Calls" is in the Register,
20 April 1904, page 6e.

The presentation of Fire Brigade long service medals is reported in the Register,
13 June 1904, page 8e. Fire prevention is discussed in the Advertiser,
29 September 1904, page 4d.
"Protection Against Fires - An Invaluable System" is in the Express,
21 December 1904, page 1f.

"Fires and Inquests" is in the Register,
27 October 1904, page 4d.

"Fire Brigades" is in the Register,
8 November 1904, page 4d.

"Purchasing New Appliances" is in the Express,
28 January 1905, page 1f.

"The New Steam Fire Engine" is in the Register,
10 January 1906, page 4h.

A fire at Charlick Brothers is reported in the Express,
9 April 1906, page 4d,
at Harrold, Colton & Co. in the Observer,
9 February 1907, page 44,
at Henry Berry & Co on
18 January 1908, page 10e,
at W.T. Flint & Son Ltd on
21 November 1914, page 23a.

Photographs of the testing of extinguishers are in The Critic,
15 July 1909, page 19.

"How Firemen are Educated" is in the Advertiser,
21 July 1909, page 8f,
"A Public Demonstration" on
11 December 1909, page 16e,
"Equipment and Appliances" on
14 May 1910, page 16d.

"Firemen's Demonstration" is in the Register,
11 December 1909, page 15c.

A fire at Gilles Arcade is reported in the Express,
19 May 1910, page 1e.

The jubilee of the fire brigade is reported in the Register on
25 June 1910, page 8c; also see
Advertiser,
25 March 1911, page 7,
Chronicle,
2 December 1911, page 29,
Advertiser,
26 February 1912, pages 8c-9e,
Register,
8 January 1916, page 9d,
"Fighting the Flames" on
30 December 1921, page 5d.

"Fire Brigade Station" is in the Register,
6 September 1910, page 9e.
A photograph is in The Critic,
14 December 1919, page 49.

"Fire Heroes" is in the Register,
7 September 1910, page 10a.

"City Corner [Grenfell Street] Destroyed" is in the Register,
17 November 1910, page 8d.

"New Fire Fighting Appliance" is in the Register,
24 November 1910, page 6f.

"Motor Fire Brigade" is in the Register,
5 January 1911, page 6f.

"Fire Brigades' Conference" is in the Register,
2 May 1911, page 9a.

"Fire Fighters' Problems" is in the Express,
2 May 1911, page 4h.

"Fire Brigade's Crisis" is in the Register,
24, 26, 27 and 29 February 1912, pages 15d, 7h, 4c and 5b.

"Firemen on Strike" is in the Observer,
2 March 1912, page 40a.

"Firemen at Play" is in the Register,
4 October 1913, page 14h.

A fire at the Royal Exchange Hotel is reported in the Observer,
13 December 1913, page 34d,
at Burford's factory on
8 February 1919, page 11a and
at Duncan & Fraser's on
24 February 1923, page 34.

"The Adelaide Brigade" is in the Observer,
10 January 1914, page 40d.

An obituary of Superintendent Rickwood is in the Register,
17 March 1914, page 7c,
Express,
16 March 1914, page 1g,
of James Sinclair in the Observer,
13 June 1914, page 39a.

Biographical details of Mr Rickwood's successor, J.E. Dickie, are in the Register,
28 March 1914, page 10c.

Firemen's "fine work" at Flint's warehouse is reported in the Observer,
21 November 1914, page 23a.

"Our Firefighters" is in the Register,
8 January 1916, page 9d.
A photograph is in The Critic,
28 February 1917, page 3.

"Discontent in Service" is in the Express,
3 May 1920, page 2f.

"Fighting the Flames - A Successful Year's Work" is in the Register,
30 December 1921, page 5d,
Observer,
7 January 1922, page 4a,
"Our Firefighters" on
6 and 20 January 1923, pages 15d and 53c,
"Fighting Fires" on
3 March 1923, page 43b; also see
Express,
12 March 1923, page 4e.

A fire at the United Service Club Hotel is reported in the Observer,
29 April 1922, page 7d.

"Our Fire Brigades" is in the Register,
16 January 1923, page 9a,
"Fighting Fires" on
24 and 28 February 1923, pages 9d and 10e.

"The Fire Brigade - Further Criticism" is in the Advertiser,
13 March 1923, page 10c.

"Fire Brigade Affairs" is in the Register,
26 and 27 March 1923, pages 8c and 15b.

"A Watchman That Never Sleeps - An Automatic Fire Alarm" is in the Advertiser,
6 September 1924, pages 15c-18a.

Information on the Fire Brigade is in Observer,
20 January 1923, page 53c,
The Mail,
1 October 1927, page 1a.

"Fire! - The Year's Ravages" is in the Register,
22 December 1923, page 9d.

"Firemen's Busy Year" is in the Register,
31 December 1924, page 11a.

"Fire and Fatality at Penno's Bag Store" is in the Register,
18 June 1925, page 9a.

"Fire Peril - Brigades Answer 701 Calls" is in the Observer,
8 January 1927, page 17c.

"Firefighters - How Brave Men Work" is in The Mail,
30 June 1928, page 12d.
Photographs are in the Observer,
1 March 1930, page 33.

"Volunteer Firemen" is in the Register,
19 and 29 April 1929, pages 7c and 7c.

A fire at Flavel & Sons is reported in the Observer,
1 January 1931, page 39a.

"Things Firemen Have to Do - Heroism - and Humor" is in the Advertiser,
14 May 1932, page 8e.