Up In Smoke: 119 years of migration history
Friday 8 February 2002

A fire described by one witness as starting with an explosion razed a 119-year old heritage-listed building at North Head Quarantine Station, a site earmarked for development.

Fire investigators and police have begun the task of sifting through the ashes and charred timber beams to determine the cause of the fire, an investigation expected to take some time because of the presence of asbestos in the building.

The two-level Hospital Ward H1 was one of the larger structures on the historic Quarantine Station site and was built in 1883. Its loss comes less than four months after a fire reportedly lit by arsonists severely damaged another building on the site, which has been earmarked for development by hoteliers the Mawland Group.

The destruction of the building which played an important part in Australia's immigration history was described by one Manly MP as a "bloody disgrace".

Fire brigade spokesman superintendent Ian Krimmer said the department received notification of the fire shortly after 3pm yesterday afternoon when smoke was spotted coming from the building by a National Parks ranger.

By the time members of the Manly fire unit arrived seven minutes later, the weathered timber building was so far gone there was not much that could be done to save it.

"There was a strong sea breeze blowing, fanning flames towards other nearby buildings and little water available" he said. "The officer in charge made the very sensible logistical decision to use what little water he had to save the other building."

Forty firefighters from eight stations attended the blaze and used water pumped by an fire engine from the harbour to fight the flames.

National Parks ranger Julie Bourne said there had been a blackout on North Head for most of the day and the fire had been spotted shortly after the power came back on.

Superintendent Krimmer said the power problem in the area was being confirmed and would be taken into account by the investigation.

Fairlight solicitor Jonathon Anton was working in his office which overlooks North Head when the fire took hold.

"I was on the phone talking to a client and I said Jesus Christ, I'm watching an explosion," he said.

"It was no little fire, it was a bomb with 100-foot flames and they just destroyed this huge building."

The destruction of the building comes just days before a Commission of Inquiry into the proposed lease of the site to the Mawland hotel group begins.

David Barr, the Independent MP for Manly who was on the site, blamed the loss squarely on the Government's failure to adequately protect the important site.

"It's utter devastation, there is nothing left but the chimneys," he said. "It's a bloody disgrace. The Government should pull out of the lease process now, take the site out of National Parks' hands and appoint trustees until the best way of dealing with the future of Quarantine Station can be decided. The way it's going now, there will be no Quarantine Station left."

He said inadequate funding had left the place vulnerable and in poor condition and that the National Parks and Wildlife Service did not have sufficient expertise in managing built heritage. "The Government has fiddled while this place has burnt."

An "absolutely furious" Sue Sacker, a Manly councillor and member of the Friends of Quarantine Station, blamed the destruction on "Government neglect since 1984".

"The Government has refused to look after it and has refused to fund National Parks to properly maintain it and has just looked on it as a development site, a money-making proposition," she said.

National Parks director general Brian Gilligan defended his organisation and said: "The reality is the service manages several thousand major built heritage assets across NSW. We are in the business of managing historic buildings."

Superintendent Krimmer said he thought it was inappropriate for anybody to make comments about the cause of the fire at this stage.