The Colonist, 18 May 1914

BOARDING HOUSE DESTROYED
TWO PERSONS BURNED TO DEATH
A WELLINGTON TRAGEDY.

Wellington, May 17
A fire tragedy occurred in the city this morning, when the boarding-house premises in Courtney place, known as the Manchester Private Hotel (formerly the Eagles), were destroyed, and two lives were lost. The building was a three-storey brick structure, containing 22 rooms, and was occupired by Mr. Harold Pinnock.

About 3.30 a.m. Constable Hardy, on duty in Courtney place, noticed the fire, and gave the alarm. The flames had a strong hold when the brigade arrived, as a fierce gale was blowing, and the building was a long and narrow structure, with the front windows opened.

The fire, which apparently started in the kitchen downstairs, and at the back, or the windward end of the hotel, swept through the interior in an incredibly short space of time.

The place was full of boarders, who made hurried exits by the fire escape. Not all were so fortunate as to get out this way. However, one man, on the second floor, made a rope out of sheets of his bed and by its aid reached the ground at the back. Another man climbed down the spouting from the third floor, and so gained the ground safely at the rear of the building. Others jumped from upstairs windows, and two or three were sent to the hospital with more or less serious injuries.

When the fire had been subdued and a search was made of the ruined interior, a gruesome sight was met in a small room on the second floor. A man, between 30 and 40 years of age, and a woman, between 40 and 50, were found.

Though still recognisable, they were very badly burnt, and there was nothing left in the room to lead to their identification. They had booked the room on Saturday night in the name of Wilson, but nothing was known about them.

The woman's body has been identified as that of Susannah Ackerman, said to have come from Bendigo, Victoria.

Everything appeared safe when the inmates retired at midnight, and how the fire originated is not known.

The furniture and effects were valued at £450, and insured for £350 in the Commercial Union Office. The insurances on the building, which is owned by the Staines Estate, are not available.