A great fire that boosted our town
The great Labour Day fire in Dannevirke on Monday, October 22, 1917, struck at the business heart of our town, and in two hours destroyed the work of a lifetime.
A year on, showing true country resilience and business courage, helped with an army of workers, Dannevirke was rebuilt.
On October 22, 1918 the then Evening News published a fire anniversary issue, celebrating the reconstruction. But the rebuild didn’t come easy, or cheaply.
Armstrong and Morrison had insurance of £500, but spent £7000 on new premises. But in addition to the reconstruction of fire-damaged premises a very large amount of money was spent by enterprising ratepayers who recognised the future of our town. Among those was the Arcadia Picture Company which completed a huge double-storied building containing shops, offices and a theatre for £10,517 (now The Regent). J B Westlake, formerly of Pahiatua, built a large garage and two shops valued at £2000.
A new Andrews’ Hotel of more than 6000 square feet (557sq m) replaced the building where the great fire started.
The Dannevirke Land Agency of Mr Wickham of Wanganui and Mr Moloney of Dannevirke, was one of the uninsured businesses. The fire melted the partnership but Mr Moloney later started a land agency of his own.
Malcolm McCallum, one of the oldest residents in town, didn’t reopen. He was uninsured and a very heavy loser.
The rebuilds and new buildings were costly 100 years ago, but rather than let Dannevirke stagnate and become a backwater, business owners and townfolk shouldered the burden. Instead of the big fire of 1917 destroying the town, it was converted, by grit and determination, into a town of improvement and advance, the Evening News reported.
The reconstruction drew a large army of workers and contractors, with the influx of wage-earners increasing trade in Dannevirke, resulting in an increased population.
The calamity of the fire meant our town was enormously improved. Instead of a collection of wooden structures, some bearing the marks of age and small windows indicating they belonged to a bygone era, Dannevirke had fine brick buildings. With spirit, pluck, determination and enterprise, Dannevirke rose from the ashes and debris of the great fire.
On October 22, 1918, Dannevirke was a town of bustle and building activities, with motor lorries rushing here and there with loads of bricks and raising above the streets, solid and spacious structures. Our town was congested because of the large number of workmen, attracted by big contracts for the reconstruction. It was almost impossible to find board or lodging. But once High St was again rebuilt, the contractors had time for construction of cottages and dwellings as those workers decided to stay on and become permanent residents.
And while the blow of the fire and the wholesale destruction could have easily ended in a succession of bankruptcies, this wasn’t the case. Residents rallied, showed resilience and instead of shopping out of town for bargains, there was loyal support as people felt it was their duty to help rebuild businesses and the town.
And the Borough Council and Chamber of Commerce recognised the new asset we had, so they acquired the gas works, came up with a scheme for electric lighting, extended the water mains and planned footpaths.
Business people recognised they were in competition with other towns and invested all their energy into supplying all the needs of residents.