In Queensland, Australia, fire destroys much of the colony's main town of Brisbane

In the early evening, fire was discovered in the Queen Street store of Stewart and Hemmant in the central area of Brisbane, the main town of the Queensland Colony. Despite largely disorganized but energetic efforts to fight the blaze, it spread quickly and in the next three hours destroyed much of the business district, including banks, hotels, and more than fifty large houses. No fatalities were reported but four peole fighting the fire were admitted to hospital with burns.  (By John Osborne)