A beast of a fire in July 1901
On the 10th of July 1901, people were astonished to read in their afternoon newspaper edition that a massive fire had broken out at the Hordern's Palace Emporium Haymarket. The main buildings had been destroyed with damages estimated at £1,000,000. The tragic news received was that 5 employees had lost their lives. *Warning: graphic details are contained herein* THE HORDERN PALACE EMPORIUM FIRE OF 1901 Before I expand on the tragic incident, let me quickly touch on the origins of the firm. It began as a drapery business of Mrs. Ann (Anthony) Hordern in 1823 which eventually moved to Melbourne in 1839 but their sons Anthony II and Lebbeus returned in 1844 to set up their own drapery firm in George Street. The business moved to larger premises in the Haymarket in 1856 and by the time Anthony II's sons, Anthony III and Samuel joined the business in 1869 the firm was called Anthony Hordern & Sons. During the 1870's the company purchased several surrounding buildings and r...