The Grand Hotel

The gathered crowd watched in horror as three little girls stood near the roof of Auckland’s posh Grand Hotel as it burned.
Below, their father, in his pyjamas yelled for help. But it wasn’t to be.
The Grand Hotel had been built in 1881 and was considered the pinnacle of fashionable hotels of the time. So much so that the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall were due to stay there as part of their Royal Tour.
On May 30, 1901, there were actually fewer guests than normal, only the staff, the owner and his family and a few guests.
The night porter Henry Jones had been cleaning a guest's shoes when he saw smoke.
He woke the owner Alexander Johnston who quickly got his wife and baby son out but when he and Henry tried to go back in, the smoke drove them back.
Neighbours by now could see the smoke and fire and the call had gone up for help.
But while Auckland was a quickly growing city, a fire brigade was not the biggest priority.
The bell at the firehouse on Albert St rang out and the men could see the glow of the fire in the sky. They scrambled to get there, but back then that involved getting the horse set up and the trip, and with some men pulling a handcart with more equipment. Firemen from other suburbs also set off.
By the time they arrived the fire was engulfing the hotel.
No one knew how many were still inside, although Alexander knew his three young daughters were. Some of the maids had managed to leap from their bedroom windows into the street. One, Dora Wallace, died trying to jump to safety.
Despite what was then a desperate fight to put the fire out, the fire swept through the hotel and by the end the bodies of the three girls and a bank inspector Fred Ayres were found in the charred remains.
It led to a discussion about fire escapes on buildings that improved the public buildings in Auckland in the event of fire as well an upgrades for the fire brigades.
All three girls, Leonore, aged 14, Eva, 12, and Nina, 6 are buried at the Purewa Cemetery.​