Fire claims last dairy in town

ON THE SCENE: Fire crews from Featherston surround the Signal Box Dairy, dousing the interior and roof cavity.

When Barbara Kirkland contemplated the fire damage to her Signal Box Dairy her words echoed a Lancashire ethic: "We'll get by."

Fire gutted the historic dairy on Revans St in Featherston about 7.30pm on Sunday, melting the sweets for which the store was renowned.

Featherston Volunteer Fire Brigade doused the fire as it was taking hold in the roof. It is believed a still-warm pie warmer set the timber underneath alight.

Passerby Hirini Tamihana saw smoke and fire in the window and flagged down a car to raise the alarm.

"When I first saw the smoke, I thought it was a chimney, then, nah, it's a fire."

Mrs Kirkland and her husband John, live in a house on the same property and have owned the dairy for 14 years.

Comforted by her daughter and granddaughter, Mrs Kirkland stayed calm as she took her first look at the fire and water damaged interior, but sighed as a scorched historic railway photograph - part of a treasured collection - was passed out to her.

The Kirklands had only just decided to retire from their much-loved pastime of running the sweetshop and had put it on the market.

Mrs Kirkland said she had let the insurance lapse.

"We're fine, we've been around for a long time. It's just one of those things. We're well-liked, we will get there."

Besides the loss of her historic photos, the most upsetting was the loss of a large consignment of raspberry balls, which had arrived that day due to popular demand.

Her family went back nearly a century in sweet shops.

"My grandmother had a sweet shop in Lancashire."

But it was time for it to finish, although they kept putting it off because they loved the customers - particularly sweet-loving children.

"We're retiring, dearie - I'm 76, he's 80, it was time to let it go.

"It was the kids keeping us going - they're special, always have been with me."

According to Wairarapa Archives historian Gareth Winter, Jim Foss and Cliff Lea constructed the Signal Box Dairy in 1956 from the dismantled signal box at the Summit Station on the Rimutaka Incline.

Featherston historian Pat Flynn said Mr Lea told her it was originally built in 1903.

The pair bought it for 25 pounds and trucked it down to Featherston.

It had been a dairy ever since.

She said Mr Lea, who was now living in a rest home in Greytown, was saddened to hear about the fire.

With the conversion of Featherston's Kia Ora dairy into a bottle store, there is now no dairy operating in Featherston.