Fire Destroys Muriwai Hotel

What had been a pleasant, peaceful hotel, just off the main highway, became a decimated ruin within an hour on a recent morning.

From a small fire in a store room, first noticed about 5.30am, the Muriwai Hotel was an uncontrollable furnace within minutes. Although the new Manutuke fire brigade was prompt in arriving at the scene, there was little to be done except to protect the houses nearby.

The proprietor, his wife and those resident in the hotel lost everything in the way of belongings.

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A recent aerial picture of the hotel.

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An ironic left-over. Apart from chimneys, the only thing left standing was the rear fire escape.

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General view of the wreckage, taken about three hours after the fire had first broken out.