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An artist’s depiction of fires in Taranaki in the 1880s shows a horse-drawn coach speeding to escape the flames. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, burn-offs on farmland could easily spread, especially during droughts. Until the advent of rural fire services little could be done to control fires.
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Reference: Australasian Sketcher, 15 March 1879, p. 200
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.