Adelaide Fires Act 1857 (SA)

ANNO VICESIMO PRIM0

VICTORIB REGINB.

No. 17.

An Act 80 regulate certain Bzrildinys, and for preventing Mischiefs by

Fire in the City of Adclaide. -4

[Assented to, 27th Jaimary, 1858.1

HEREAS it is expedient, for the safety, health, and comfort of I'rcamble.

the inhabitants of the City of hdelnidc, and thc security of property therein, that provision should br: made for the better regu- lation of buildings, and for the prevention of mischiefs by fire in the said City: BC it therefore Enacted, by the Governor-in-Chief

of the Province of South Australia, with the advice a d consent of

the Legislative Council and House of Asscmbly of the said Province,

in this present Parliament assernblcd, as follows-

1. No building having its sides, ends, roof, or other part of Erection of er den and othcr dangerous

its exterior covered wholly or in part with wood, canvas, thatch, or b uildings probibitd.

othcr inflammable material, shall be crected in the City af Adelaide,

nor shall the partitions or ceilings of any building hereafter to be

erected, or any part thereof respectively, be of calico, canvas, paper,

or other inflaxurnable material whatsoever.

2. In case any person or persons shall erect within the said City ~; ~; ~; ;; ~ ~ r,

any building with its sides, ends, roof, or othcr exterior part covered buildings. of any building, of calico, canvas, paper, or other equally or more in- gammable material--every such person shall be liable to a fine of

wholly or in part with wood, straw, grass? or thatch, or any other

inflammable material, of whatsoever deacnption; or shall put up or

continue in use, in any building in the said City, for three months after

he shall have been required by writing under the hand of the Town

1 3 not

not lees than Five Pounds, or more than Fifty Pounds, to be re* covered in a summary way before any two Justices of the Peace; and the objectionable parts of any building, and in respect to which

any such penalty shall have been inflicted, shall forthwith be re-

moved, by and at the expense of the person or persons erecting or using the same respectively; and in default of his, her, or their

so doing, then by any person d ~ ~ l y authorized by the Mayor of the

said City for that purpose; and t l ~ e costs of such removal shall be re- coverable, if not previously paid, upon the, order of the Council of the said City, under the hand of the Mayor or Town Clerk, and it shall be lawful for any Justice of the Peace to order the same to be levied by distress and sale of the goods and cllattelii of' the person mentioned in such order, or in default of such distress, to cornnlit such person to the Common Gaol at Adelaide, for any period not exceeding three calendar months.

Dan,vpr~~usbllildin~g 3. It shall be lawful for any two or more .Justfices of the Peace,

ni:ly be ordr~red to be

rrsmovrd, arldcornpen.

at any time, on con~plttint made to them, after notice under the h n d

ration

of the Mayor or Town Clerk s l d l have been duly served upon the owner or person beneficially interested tllerein, t l ~ t any building ns I~ereinbefore described, is dangerous in the event of accident by fire, to order the reruoval of such building, or the parts thereof which re~lder it dangerous, within such time, as to such Justices shall seem meet, and on sucll terms as to cor~~pensation for injury

- to be done in rebuilding the same, as may be fixed by a reference to arbitration in the usual way, each party appointing a referee, and the referees an umpire, the award of m y two to be final; and in case of refusal to obey such order, then to direct the removal tlmcof'by the persons duly appointed by the Mayor and Corporation, at the espense of the owncr or pcrson aforesaid, after seven days' further mtice shnll have been served upon him or them, or upon his or their agent, the costs of such renloval to be recovcrnblc, in manner llercinbefore provided in respcct of the expenses of removal of buildings mentioned in the second section of tl~is Act: Provided that in all cases of buildings held by lessees having tenures of less than three years to run, and on whom the rebuilding or reinstating of such budding would fall, and not on the owner thereof, it shall be

lawful for such referees, in conjunction with one referee to be

appointed by the owner (if such owner shall within fourteen days make such appointment), to fix what portion of the cost of' rebuilding the same building shall be boruc or contributed by the owncr, and what proportion of the compensation shall be paid to such owner.

T V O O ~ W b l i ld in~a to

be removed within	4. All buildings, uow erected in the said City, baviu6 their sides, ends, roof, or other exterior part covered wholly or 111 part, with wood, canvas, thatch, or other iriflamnlable material, shall be removed altogether or in part, according as may be necessary to
spPcified pcl.iods.
get rid of all the inflammable materials forming part of the exterior
of any such building, but so far as regards anv such building situate at a less distance than thirty feet from any adjoining building, on or before the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred

and

and sixty-three; and so far as regards all other such buildings, on or before the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and seventy, under p i n of being declared, by any two or more Magis- trates, a nuisance; and, in either of such cases, shall be removed

by the said Council, upon compensation being given under an

award by arbitrators, in the usual manner: Provided always, that this clause shall only be applicable to such acres, streets, or squares of the City of ~ d e h i d e which sl~sll be placed under the provisions thereof, by any Proclamation to be issued by the Governor, with the advice of the Executive Council, and on application being made by tlle Corporation

5. The Governor, with the advice of the Executive Council, ~ ~ p ~ 6 ~; ~ ~ ~ ~; A c t

may, by Proclamation, extend the provisions of this Act, or any of to other corpor,t,

them, to any Corporatc Town, on being requested so to do by the

Mayor and Corporation of such Town.

6 'I'his -4ct shall commence and take cffect from and after the Co~mencementof Act.

passing thereof.

P-

-- -.

Adelaide : Printed by authority, 'by W. C. Cox, Government Printer, Victoria-square.

tn which it w u ~~qgwtsd

/ (L.L the	bed& oower to oonOlot In that oase when oreAdinn iu a
'A k g capvetWon

bl@&tmte d d

only exemba h*

Gml Ckmtt.

*, stow, 0x1 the part of the prieriaonts gay said s d b

&on tramlog on tbab point wonld leave the men, If dbahwged, liable to be agvin imprisoned by n 8peolal

X ~ t m t o fitting In Lwal Court, or by two Juht lw. It noald ttharfote be better, to xemove the possibility olEhe ulme mm having rgrun to oome hfore tbo Cowl.

Oo decide whether the Conriota Prevention AoL had a

it b their inbntlon to I m bot ro harsh- M the

would mate thb eaaot-

\ oonstmobn matended j met& they +an do W. 1nth.t cwe we will of ~41m

nher h e law 8 but WO 0Whhol bslle~e that It a m at h 1

i~<iiiint.ion'of the LeRidure to pus rn Act making

it nnlaw(ut to remua hew for those rho ormo here law.