Since its opening in November 1899, Addington Raceway, Christchurch, New Zealand has been the scene of four significant on course fires. Each of them had ramifications for the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club (NZMTC) and its patrons. Three of the major fires occurred during Cup Week Meetings, the first on Cup Day 1916 and the latter two on Show Days 1953 and 1961. On each occasion a strong Nor’ Westerly wind had been blowing.
Cup Day 1916 –
On New Zealand Trotting Cup Day (7 November 1916), the new Stewards Stand, only eighteen months old and costing £8,000 caught fire and was completely destroyed. The stand of brick and rough cast was completed at Easter 1915 and stood fifty yards to the north of the open grandstand and eighty yards to the north-west of the totalisator building.
Christchurch’s morning paper ‘The Press’ reporting on the fire in its 8 November edition commented that “the concrete staircase and landings built at the back of the building, made the top available for the members of the club, and it provided seating accommodation for nearly 900 people.
The erection of the massive staircase, with its wide landings, giving three approaches to the top storey, gave the stewards’ stand a very handsome appearance, and it may be safely said that there was no building so well-equipped in all details anywhere in the Dominion.
The main doors opened on to a very handsome entrance hall, which with its tiled floor, polished desks and massive furniture, seemed quite like a banking chamber. The comfort of those who took part in the sport was carefully studied, and the dressing-room for riders and drivers was very well fitted with lockers and all other conveniences, including hot and cold shower baths.”
Naturally on Cup day the Stewards Stand was crowded, with most congregating on the first floor and the balcony. Everything was going along perfectly when after the second race it was discovered that the steward’s stand, the finest building of its kind in the Dominion was on fire.
The Press report continued “About 1:15 pm, a gentleman upstairs in the stand remarked to a friend that it seemed to be getting warm, and, being of an enquiring nature, he prodded the floor with his walking stick in several places, ceasing his inquisitiveness when his stick went through the floor and smoke and flames were seen through the hole made. The officials were notified, and several got to work with a small hose and a lead of water provided in the building for emergencies, and also with buckets. Those persons still in the stand were quietly notified to leave, and they did so without any undue excitement
More drastic measures were then taken, the flooring being torn up with the idea of getting at the seat of the fire more effectively, and a call was also sent to the Christchurch Fire Brigade, who however, did not turn up at once, owing to the course being outside the fire district. Superintendent Warner, the Fire Chief, was on the course, and, when he became aware of the seriousness of the situation, he called the brigade on his own responsibility.
The well-meant efforts of those who had started to take up the flooring, apparently gave a chance to the strong draught spread the flames, more rapidly even than if nothing had been done, and fanned by the nor-‘wester, the fire soon had a very strong hold of the building, tearing across from corner to corner.
The heat was intense in the enclosure, and it was not long before the great panes of plate-glass which enclosed the grandstand at its northern end began to crack and fall. Some people got to work and punched the panes out with sticks and pieces of wood. By this time the brigade had several leads of water on to the burning building. A piece of the falling plate-glass unfortunately came down on a lead of hose and gashed it severely, rendering it useless for a few minutes until fresh hose had been brought up to replenish the damaged portion.
To effect a save was quite hopeless so strong a hold had the fire got on the stand, but the firemen did what they could, and probably prevented the grandstand and the totalisator buildings from getting damaged. The first-named only received a scorching but the totalisator house, an inflammable structure, apparently received no damage at all”.
It seems obvious that the Stewards Stand could have been saved had the Fire Boards regulations permitted the brigade to be sent earlier. Their services could not be obtained until the position was hopeless with the stand destroyed. The roof and all the big iron girders had fallen in with only the lower storey shell left, though the back and the concrete staircase giving access to the top of the building was more or less intact as regards the bottom section. The cause of the fire was the fusing of an electric cable in the building. Insurance for the stand of £8,500 was held with a number of organisations.
Throughout this period the crowd took (as active) an interest in the fire as police and officials would permit. Their real interest being a resumption of racing, but with the stand still burning fiercely the horses went out on the track for the NZ Trotting Cup (race three) set down for 1:50pm, the race was then postponed until 3.15pm by which time the fire had largely burnt itself out. The delay in proceedings meant the last race was run at about 6.45pm (race 8). Although the majority of the crowd remained, the tote intake was down with £37k invested as against £40k the previous year. The business of Cup Day was somewhat disorganised with officials disadvantaged by having to carry out their duties in the weighing room.
J Bruce Thompson, an Invercargill based merchant and owner of Gore bred NZ Cup winner Cathedral Chimes, returned home to find his own large warehouse had also burned to the ground like the Addington stand. Not a pleasant Cup bonus.
The stands original architects Luttrell Brothers drew up plans for its replacement in February 1917 with the stand being ready for use at the commencement of the new season just six months later.
It was not unusual for small fires to occur in the grandstands, one example was in 1923 when a patron claimed £6/6/- for his suit damaged in a small fire in the Stewards Stand.
September 1926 –
The second of Addington’s fires and the only one not to occur during NZ Cup week happened in September 1926. It did however have ramifications for the “Met” with the upcoming three day NZ Cup Meeting in November and Canterbury Park Trotting Club’s (CPTC) New Year meeting, their major fixture of the 1926/7 season. General opinion was that the public would be greatly inconvenienced especially if the weather was foul during the two clubs major meetings.
On this occasion it was the outside Public Grandstand that burnt down with the fires origin being a mystery. The fire was first noticed around 5am with the course caretaker and fire brigade quickly on the scene although the brigade was delayed by five minutes while a goods train progressed over the Lincoln Road crossing. Once the fire had taken hold there was little that could be done the building being reduced to rubble a couple of hours later.
Officials from NZMTC and CPTC considered what could be done to replace the stand and accommodate the public in the outer area. In August 1928 a tender for £8,000 submitted by Hammett and Sons was accepted for the construction of an outside Public Grandstand which was constructed in 1929.
Show Day 1953 –
Friday 13 November 1953 ‘Show Day’, witnessed the third of Addington’s four major fires which occurred a quarter of an hour after the final race. This time it was the newest grandstand (built 1929, designed by Mr JS Guthrie) on the outside enclosure nearest the A&P Showgrounds that erupted into flames so violently that at 6.37pm the roof collapsed with a great roar. To its west side the Leger Stand also caught fire sustaining damage only to its east end wall. Radiated heat caused loose boxes in the Showgrounds to catch fire with eight destroyed while eight others were seriously damaged and the open stalls opposite were badly scorched.
With hundreds of people at tote payout windows and hundreds at the Showgrounds where jumping events had just concluded, the fire was first noticed and the brigade called at 6.09pm. Earlier in the day a fire in the Leger Stand started by a cigarette butt discovered on the flooring was extinguished by ground staff and the police. Although another call was made to the brigade at 3:45pm this time there was no damage. The last call for the day was made after smoke was seen in the grandstand resulting in one unit each from Christchurch Headquarters and Sydenham Stations being dispatched. At 6:20pm a radio message for assistance brought another Headquarters engine and the new Land Rover unit.
Flames were already breaking through the roof before the fire appliances arrived, the fire being centered in the cafeteria located in the middle of the building. The large semi-cantilevered roof construction of the grandstand with few pillars received the full force of the Nor’ West wind gusting to fifty three miles an hour across the course. By 6.25pm no one was closer than fifty yards from the building as the flames engulfing it were so hot. The roof collapsed at 6.37pm bringing down the remaining super structures falling within the shell formed by the reinforced concrete base.
Aside from the stand, damage was confined to shattered glass, the small canteen behind the stand which sold pies, soft drinks and other items was badly scorched and the women’s cloakroom of concrete construction backing onto the Showgrounds loose boxes escaped damage.
An interesting aside was provided by well-known scribe Ron Bisman who advised that Maurice Gerard, the Christchurch Star’s trotting journalist received a call in the press room from his chief reporter back in the office requesting some details of the fire for the late edition. “I’m here to cover the trots – not bloody fires” was his pointed response!!
The meeting of Club Committee and the Directors of Addington Trotting Course Limited, owners of the property, held on Saturday 14th November 1953 agreed to immediately claim the full amount of the extra cost replacement cover insurance. Cover had fortunately been extended to a replacement basis only recently with the stands previously insured for a fraction of their replacement value only. The extra cost replacement value of the stand was £65,400; indemnity cover £25,000; replacement value £47,025, Architects fees £3,750 and demolition £3,000 (1953 NZ Cup worth £7,500). Architect Allan Matson’s valuations caused disagreement with the club who refused to pay his account until it was justified. Matson was replaced and his claims were never settled. Note – Canterbury A&P Association’s loss resulting from the fire was estimated at £1,000.
A further pressing issue was NZMTC was due to host a Royal Meeting on 21st January 1954 when H M Queen Elizabeth and H R H The Duke of Edinburgh would be in attendance. The provision of temporary accommodation was considered and while no definite decision about rebuilding the grandstand was reached, the intention was to erect an up-to-date concrete stand in the outside enclosure ASAP and no temporary stand would be erected before building operations commenced.
Mr L R Osmond, Superintendent of the Fire Brigade, reported to the Directors that the courses water supply was insufficient and required fire hydrants within 200 feet of the fire to be effective. His suggestions for improvements included installation of ring main and long overdue sprinkler systems in any new stand. Mr W J Taylor, the Fire Boards Inspecting Officer, took charge of fire patrols at all the Club’s Meetings from December 1953.
Show Day 1961 –
The fourth and final major fire at Addington Raceway took place on Show Day, 10th November 1961. This stand built in 1910 seated 3,000 and according to then President of the NZMTC, Mr J K Davidson, would cost at least £150,000 to replace.
At 5pm, twenty minutes prior to the final race of the day, NZFFA, fire took hold in the southwest corner of the main Public Grandstand. An estimated 1,000 patrons were in the stand when the warning was given. A newspaper report said the first notice of the fire given to the public was a laconic announcement over the course loud speaker system “Please evacuate the stand”.
The fire broke out in the kitchen in the area between the ceiling and the top floor under the seating. Smoke seen trailing from the kitchen window of the stand was the first external indicator of the fire. The fire tender used by the Club on race days arrived at the stand soon after the smoke was noticed but with smoke thickening it was obvious the fire had a very strong hold. The fire tender crew, racecourse staff and members of the public, ran a hose from the fire hydrant near the corner of the stand to the front and played water on the fire from above until the first engine arrived about five minutes later.
Many patrons commented on the length of time it took the Fire Brigade to arrive. Mr W R Campbell, Chairman of the Fire Board, advised “I have checked with the Chief Fire Officer and found that there was positively no delay. The first call was registered from the sprinkler system at 5:01pm and the first machine from Headquarters reached the fire six minutes later. Taking into account the amount of traffic on the route at the time it can be fairly said that this represented a smart response”.
Thick smoke was pouring out of the stand by 5:30pm as firemen battled the blaze with the crowd spilling out onto the racetrack and gathering on the grass embankment at the top of the straight. Many of the estimated crowd of 20,000 moved to the inside of the track and the birdcage to view the fire’s progress. Having been requested to stay away from the fire to let the firemen do their job, the crowd were informed that the timing for running of the Free-for-all would be delayed.
Within an hour the stand was alight from end to end, being fanned by a typically strong Show Day ‘nor westerly’ wind. Part of the side of the stand fell in and a little after six the roof collapsed with two firemen who had been under the roof playing a hose upwards onto the flames just jumping clear in time. One of the firemen was kept under observation in the ambulance room before returning to his duties.
Controlling the crowd had not caused the police any problems according to Inspector J G J Fitzpatrick who stated that the crowd behaved excellently. The crowd were kept well away from the Stand on the lawns in front and behind. They soon moved as the smoke thickened and the lawns and the concrete area in front of the totes were covered in water from the firemen’s efforts to contain the fire. Use of an extension ladder proved futile due to the dense smoke blinding those operating it.
At 6:30pm the stand was gutted and by 7:00pm only part of the end wall near the Stewards Stand and the big chimney at the other end of the building were standing. Some two hours after the fire had started the stand was a smoldering ruin with flames licking through the wreckage at 7:30pm, Mr L R Osmond, Chief Fire Officer predicted they would still be smoldering the following morning.
The fire at first thought to have started in the kitchen occurred after two earlier outbreaks in the Stand and one in the Tea Kiosk had been extinguished. The majority of the caterer’s equipment was destroyed. The Chief Fire Officer said the fire took hold on the centre floor well inside the building and the expensive sprinkler system which was installed after fire destroyed the outside Public Stand eight years previously (1953) was rendered useless as the fire established itself in the ceiling above the sprinkler system. Mr Osmond said that the wind and the cavity nature of the construction of the building (stand design made detection difficult) made the firemen’s efforts ineffectual and because of the nature of the construction it was almost impossible to play water onto the seat of the fire.
While all this drama was occurring, the New Zealand Free-For-All, the last race on the programme was run at 6:00pm, forty minutes after its scheduled timing and at the height of the fire. Cardigan Bay won with Scottish Command second and the omen bet Smokeaway placing third. The race could not be run until several hundred patrons were cleared from the track and at its completion the horses were driven back down the home straight and led off through a small gate near the mile and five furlong barrier (top of home straight).
Loss of the main public grandstand left the club with greatly reduced accommodation and catering facilities for the public on the third and fourth days of the NZ Cup carnival. The Committee held an emergency meeting at which they decided that limited seating for the public would be available in the Members Stand and in front of that stand but no stand accommodation would be provided for visitors. The Canterbury Jockey Club and the New Brighton Trotting Club came to the club’s assistance resulting in additional seating being provided on the banks in front of the stands. Like 2011 onwards, marquees became the order of the day for catering – marquee located near the Showgrounds used on Cup and Show Days was retained for use as a public cafeteria with the Tea Kiosk split in two providing a cafeteria and a buffet luncheon area for the public. Behind the burnt out stand another marquee provided a public bar facility with a tent nearby used as a pie stall.
Further investigation revealed that the fire did not begin in the kitchen but underneath the seating about three rows from the front at the Western end of the stand, a cigarette butt being the likely cause. The Directors later held a meeting with representatives of Wormald Brothers seeking an explanation why the sprinkler system had not protected the stand from fire. While the sprinkler system that had been installed conformed to the underwriter’s requirements, they would need to be amended to include sprinkler heads in the small areas directly under seating as was eventually installed in the Members Stand.
An insurance payout of approximately £175,000 was received with the new public stand built at a cost of £200,000 being opened in time for the 1963 Cup carnival which was a considerable achievement. Following this latest fire, only two roofed stands remained on the Addington course until the new public stand was completed – they were the steward’s stand behind the birdcage and the new members stand officially opened at the 1960 Cup meeting at a cost of £160,000.
The replacement public stand was first utilized during the 1963 NZ Cup carnival where Cardigan Bay won all four feature pacing races (NZ Cup, NZFFA, Ollivier Hcp, Allan Matson FFA) over the two day and two night meeting (first night trotting meetings at Addington – Wednesday 20th/Saturday 23rd November 1963). The public had the full use of seating and the ground floor amenities in the new public grandstand on NZ Cup day, Tuesday 12 November. The only amenities not available on the first two days of the Cup meeting were those on the mezzanine floor. They were ready in time for the opening of night trotting at Addington on 20 November.
This stand survived almost fifty years before the Christchurch earthquakes of 4 September 2010 and 22 February 2011 in particular destroyed this stand rather than yet another fire at Addington Raceway. The public stand suffered such damage that its demolition was required, being replaced with marquees and portable seating each year for Cup and Show Days. Replacement value was around $12 million although the amount received was considerably less seeing the stand was not being replaced.
Note – some of the information contained in this article has been sourced from NZMTC: Historical Notes compiled by Des (D C) Parker, NZMTC Secretary/Manager 1952 – 1979 and involved in Addington Raceway Administration for close on fifty years.
Peter Craig
15 November 2018
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