THE PORT CHALMERS TRAGEDY.
THE HUSBAND'S SAD STORY.
(FROM PRESS ASSOCIATION.] Dunedin, July 8. William Haberfield supplies the following narrative:— "I came from the Bluff about three weeks ago to work at the new graving dock at the port. My poor wife only arrived last Thursday, and we only took the house for the time being. I came back from stone-breaking at the dock at 9 o'clock on Saturday night and went to bed, after putting out the fire, and with my wife talked about our prospects till about midnight. We had no light burning, and I fell off to sleep. I remember nothing more till I was awakened by a loud crackling and saw a volume of suffocating smoke coming in at the bedroom door. On jumping out of bed I found a great column of fire roaring up the staircase, writhing round the banisters and licking the paper on the walls. Our escape was cut off, and as the smoke was suffocating, I ran to the window, and, smashing the glass, looked out. There was not a soul in sight.
"Tongues of flames were darting in at the door, there was not a moment to be lost, and shouting to my wife to throw the children down to me, and then follow herself, I jumped out of the window. I was crazed with agony, and do not remember reaching the ground. All the windows glowed red with the fire that raged within, and I kept crying out: 'Oh, my wife and child,' but no one seemed to hear me. I shouted up to her to make haste with the children, but there was no reply, only smoke rolling heavily through the broken glass. Then I scaled the side of the house. How I managed it I can not tell. I was mad with grief and fear for my wife and children.
"I reached the sill and beat in the sash with my fists. Choking and blinded, I staggered into the room and trod right on the prostrate body I of my sister-in-law. My head seemed bursting, and I could not breathe. I thought I heard voices in the street below, so, seizing the child, I threw her out of the window, in the hope that someone might be waiting below to catch her. There were no signs of my wife or little baby. I was on the point of suffocating, and reeling to the window fell out of it and remembered no more.
"It was the oldest house in Port Chalmers. There was no fire escape, and it was infested with rats from , top to bottom and they might have caused the fire by dragging away the loose matches. We had made such plans, and this was the end of it." -Fielding Star, 9/7/1907.
THE PORT CHALMERS FIRE.
As previously reported by telegram, a most distressing catastrophe took place at Port Chalmers at an early hour on Sunday, when a fire broke out in a twostorey wooden house in George street, and, having-blazed with unrestrained fury, left nothing but a black gap where the building had stood, and the partially incinerated bodies of a woman and a child to tell its dreadful tale.
THE FATHER'S STORY
With his face hidden by a mask of lint, and evidently suffering: from grief and pain, William Haberfield lay in the Hospital on Sunday evening, and in reply to an inquiry from a nurse, said, feebly, that he felt well enough to talk.
"I came from the Bluff about three weeks ago," he said, "to work at the new graving dock at the Port. My poor wife only arrived last Thursday, and we only took that house for the time being. I came back from stone-crushing at the dock at 9 o'clock on Saturday night. The wife and the little son had gone to bed; so I made myself a cup of tea, and having carefully extinguished the fire — I am always most careful about fire — I went up to bed at about 10. I and the wife talked about our prospects till about midnight. We had no light burning, and I fell off to sleep.
"I remember nothing more till I was awakened by a loud crackling, and saw a volume of suffocating smoke coming in at the bedroom door. Jumping out of bed, I found a great column of fire roaring up the staircase, writhing round the banisters and licking the paper on the walls. Our escape was cut off. and as the smoke was suffocating I ran to the window, land, smashing the glass, looked out.
"There was not a soul in sight. Tongues of flame were darting in at the door. There was not a moment to be lost, and, shouting to the wife to throw the children down to me and then follow herself. I jumped out of the window. I was crazed with agony, and do not remember reaching the ground.
"All the windows glowed red with the fire that raged within, and I kept crying out 'Oh, my wife and child,' but no one seemed to hear me. I shouted up to her to make haste with the children, but there was no reply: only the smoke rolling heavily through the broken glass.
"Then I scaled the side of the house. How I managed it I cannot tell. I was mad with grief and fear for my wife and the children. I readied the sill, and beat in the sash with my fists, and as I did so felt something wet and warm spurt from my wrists into my face. I have since found it was a severed artery.
"Choking and blinded, I staggered into the room, and trod right on the prostrate body of my sister-in-law. My head seemed bursting, and I could not breathe. I thought I heard voices in the street below, so, seizing the child, I threw her out of the window in the hope that someone might be waiting below to catch her.
"There were no signs of my wife or the little boy. I was on the point of suffocating and reeling to the window I fell out of it and remember no more. Oh, my poor wife and child! Burnt to death. It is too horrible, and will drive me crazy."
Here the nurse reappeared with some milk, which was given to the unfortunate man.
"It was an old house," Haberfield resumed, "the oldest house in Port Chalmers, I believe. There was no fire escape. It was infested with rats from top to bottom, and they might have caused the fire by dragging away loose matches. That's the only reason I can give for it; for, as I said before, I am always specially careful about fire. We had made such plans, and this is the end of it. The wife and boy will not be feeling the pain that I am in; that's one good thing. She came from Moeraki, poor girl, and she and the boy will go back there to be buried. I am in the Druids' Lodge, I'm thankful to say."
THE GIRL'S DEATH.
When interviewed, Haberfield seemed in great bodily pain from burns, cuts, and bruises, and broken-hearted by the terrible death of his wife and her child. He had not, for very pity's sake, yet been told of the death of his little sister-in-law, Kathleen Rehu, to whom he was greatly attached. She was brought into the Hospital with Haberfield yesterday, but her injuries were so shocking that her recovery was hopeless from the first, and she died at 6.4.5 last evening, all witnesses agreeing that it was a merciful release.
William Haberfield is 27 years old. His grandfather arrived at Moeraki in 1836 and married a Maori woman. Haberfield is a respectable, hard-working man, and was devoted to his wife and family. His condition is grave, but not absolutely dangerous. Since being admitted to this Hospital his temperature has risen from 96 to 101 degrees. Haberfield's parents reside at Green Hills, near the Bluff. Mrs. Haberfield was a Miss Ruby Rehu, of Moeraki, and her little sister, Kathleen Rehu, was staying with the Haberfields on a visit. Mrs. Haberfield had been married before, and the child that was burnt with her yesterday morning was the youngest child of her first husband. -Wanganui Chronicle, 11/7/1907.
William Haberfield's case will be property brought before the public. At a meeting of the Otago Maori Association last night it was decided to play a benefit match with the Alhambra Club, in aid of their comrade Haberfield. A sub-committee consisting of Dr Wi Repa, Messrs. H. D. Dansey, T. Overton, Wm. Burnett, and W. T. Parata was elected to approach the Rugby Union as to a suitable date and ground. A strong representative Maori team will be available. That is one of the ways in which the public will be able to assist. Another will be the benefit concert. In connection with this the Haberfield Benefit Committee have arranged for a stand for the sale of the concert tickets in Dowling street to-night. It is not the intention of the Committee to appeal to the public for donations, but they feel assured that very few will refuse to spend a shilling in aid of such a deserving cause. The stand will be in charge of Bro. J. H. S. Dixon, who will have a staff of about a dozen Druids assisting him, each wearing a badge. -Evening Star, 13/7/1907.
William Haberfield, one of the victims of the recent fire at Port Chalmers, possesses a splendid constitution, and is making a rapid recovery, His head and face are still swathed in bandages, however. The Maori Association is taking steps to raise a fund for the unfortunate man, and with that end in view approached the Otago Rugby Union last night and suggested that a match should be got up for his benefit. The match will probably take place in September. The amount collected in Princes street for Mr Haberfield on Saturday evening totalled £28. -Otago Daily Times, 16/7/1907.
William Haberfield, who was so badly injured in the fire at Port Chalmers on July 7, is still confined to the Hospital (says the Daily Times of yesterday.). He is doing well and looking well, but it.is not expected that he will be able to leave the institution for another week. -North Otago Times, 24/7/1907.
Mr William Haberfield, who was so severely injured in the disastrous fire at Port Chalmers on July 7, was discharged from the Hospital on the 17th inst. The inquest on the victims will be resumed this afternoon at 3 o'clock. -Otago Witness, 28/8/1907.
William's family (Ruby, aged 25; Kathleen, aged 12; Tahupuriri, aged 4) were buried in the urupa at Moeraki. He remarried in 1920 and had two children with his wife, Caroline.
ACCIDENTS & FATALITIES
MAN’S SUDDEN DEATH.
William Isaac Haberfield, a waterside worker, residing at Greenhills, collapsed and died in Esk street, Invercargill, yesterday afternoon. He was crossing the street when he suddenly fell, and when passers-by reached him he was dead. An inquest was opened before Mr W. H. Freeman as coroner, and adjourned after evidence of identification had been taken. Mr Haberfield, who was an elderly man, was married. -Southland Times, 3/9/1936.
William's son, Lieutenant (A) John Kerle Tipahu Haberfield, took off in a Fleet Air Arm Grumman Hellcat fighter, as part of a raid on a Japanese-held oil refinery, from the carrier HMS Indomitable on January 4, 1945. His aircraft was seen to be damaged over the target and being steered to a nearby lake which was a pre-arranged pickup point for a FAA flying boat. The flying boat landed but there was nobody waiting for it.
The raid was a relatively large one (four carriers, 244 planes) and relatively costly, with 46 planes lost. But the results were decisive - removing the source of aviation fuel for the Japanese forces of South-east Asia.
John was taken prisoner with eight or more others and sent to a jail in Singapore. Around July 31 (and possibly after the Japanese surrender in August) John and eight others were taken to a nearby beach and beheaded. The bodies were weighted, taken out to sea, and dropped into the water.
The two Japanese officers involved committed suicide at the end of 1945.
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