Stricklands Fire (1937)

On the 18th of February 1937, the Stricklands warehouse on Earl Street was gutted by a fierce blaze. The fire provided a huge spectacle as dawn was breaking, and raged fiercely until the warehouse from top to bottom was nothing but roaring furnace within tottering walls. The sky and town were eerily illuminated by the glare of the flames, and many residents from various parts the borough, alarmed the glow, dressed hurriedly and hastened to the scene. The building was stated to contain over 1,000 tons different kinds of meal, oil cake (known as 'cattle cake'), maize, seed potatoes and other commodities, in addition to large tanks oil and molasses. It also contained machinery for the manufacture of oil-cake cattle food. All of the contents were a total loss. The front wall was left in a precarious position which required scaffolding to be erected supporting it prior to demolition.