1905 - Disastrous Fire at Tumut. - TUMUT, Tuesday .- The house of Mr. William J. Shelley (Coroner), of Tumut Plains, together with its contents, was last night completely destroyed by fire, and his grandchild, Amy Bird Croft, aged 15 months, was burned to death in bed. No opportunity was afforded of saving anything. As the building was rather old, and mostly of wood, it burned like match head and in a few minutes nothing was left standing.

Mrs. Croft, the mother of the child, rushed into the burning building, making frantical attempts to rescue her baby, but she was not successful in reaching the bedroom. Her own clothes caught fire, and she was seriously burned before the flames were extinguished.

The whole of the property was uninsured. The fire apparently originated in the childs bedroom, where a lamp had been left burning.;

Mr. and Mrs. Croft are residents of Sydney and were on a holiday at Tumut. - (Ref- Australian Town and Country Journal (NSW : 1870 - 1907)(about) Previous issue Wednesday 27 September 1905).

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