Destruction of the "New Zealander" at Portland:

We have the painful duty to record the total destruction by fire of the emigrant ship ‘New Zealander’ last Friday. About 4 o’clock that morning numbers of our townspeople, in the streets and on the jetty were beholding this large ship of 1300 tons, in one vast flame from stem to stern. She was fortunateIy anchored outside the other ships and what little breeze there was, was off-shore, so that there was no immediate apprehensions for the other shipping in the Bay. The scene was awfully grand. The flames and immense volume of smoke were mounting up the masts and about 5 o’clock the main mast fell over the side with a crash like a peal of thunder.

The harbour master, the customs house officers, the police magistrate and a deputy sherriff were early on the jetty, but it was obviously hopeless to attempt to save the vessel. The fire continued raging the whole day, by the afternoon of which the harbour master and his party succeeded in cutting the chain cable, and towing the burning wreck to the point at the northern bluff out of the way of the other shipping, and where, when sunk, she will be no detriment to the anchorage. Her hull is still burning aIthough it is consumed to the water edge. The night the fire broke out, there were on board the three mates, four sailors and a boy. Eighteen of her sailors were in the jail undergoing their sentence for refusal to do duty. Eighteen supernumerary hands had been discharged at the Custom House about noon the day before The immigrants had all left the ship some days before and she was ready for sea, and to have sailed for Valparaisio on the same day the fire broke out. She had on board about 500 tons of coal and about 300 tons of stone ballast. The discharged supernumeraries and the men and boy an board when the fire broke out were immediately taken in custody by Sargeant Major South and a long investigation took place at the Police-Office on Saturday. The Captain of the ‘Wellington’ from which vessel the fire was discovered as soon as it broke out, and who had promptly afforded, with his crew and boats, all the assistance in his power, gave whatever evidence he could as well as Captain Brown, Master of the burnt ship, and his officers. Nothing however could be enlisted as to the origin of the fire and the men were discharged. All that could be ascertained was, that smoke was discoved from the fore and after holds, by the watch on deck at about 3.00 a.m. when the mates and all hands were called up and immediate application to the pumps was made, but in a very few minutes flames broke out fore and aft, and it was as much as the hands could do to get into the boats and effect their escape. With the exception of the chronometer and a trifling article or two of dress nothing was saved. The boats with the burning ship’s hands, amongst whom one was disabled at the time by a broken leg, were towed by the Wellington’s boats to that vessel. Captain Brown who was on shore was taken off by one of the Wellington’s boats, which had been sent immediately upon the discovery of the burning vessel disaster, but he could do nothing to his burning ship. He and those on board at the time have lost all they had on board. So suddenly did the fire breakout. The only cause that can be suppposed is that the fire originated from spontaneous combustion among the coal; and it is a mercy that it did not breakout at sea or when the immigrants were on board. The loss of life in that case would have bean appalling. – “Portland Guardian”