Two years later (January 18th, 1865) another big fire broke out in Queen Street, in premises occupied by Mr. J. S. Macfarlane, known as Henderson and Macfarlane's Buildings. Luckily, the outbreak was confined to the two upper storeys, which were, however, completely gutted. The fire was both brilliant and spectacular, and attracted enormous crowds, which had to be kept back from the building by soldiers with fixed bayonets.
Queen Street was again the scene of a fire which fills the annals of 1866. This conflagration commenced about 10 p.m. on August 28th in Lower Queen Street, on the western side, almost on the waterfront, and in less than fifteen minutes from the alarm being given twelve buildings were in flames. The fire was noticed first in the premises occupied by Messrs. Malcolm, sail makers, but so swift was its progress that in the short period mentioned it had obtained a hold of so many buildings. The flames ignited the buildings on the eastern side of Queen Street, but this incipient outbreak was rapidly suppressed. The damage was estimated at £20,000. The newspapers of the time give praise to the Volunteer Fire Brigade, whose engines and equipment had become improved.
On 31st March of the same year a gale, accompanied by heavy rains, which caused floods, did a very great amount of damage, estimated also at £20,000. It was the severest gale which the town of Auckland had experienced. Nine vessels and a coal hulk were sunk in the harbour, and many others were severely damaged, or caused injury to the wharves. The heavy seas which broke on the waterfront destroyed property, particularly at Mr. Stone's shipbuilding yard at the Strand. The town suffered from the rain, which, gaining entrance to stores and cellars, damaged merchandise and stores.
On April 15th, 1865, lighting by gas was introduced into Auckland. It was an event of great importance to the citizens of the time. The _New Zealand Herald_ describes how the innovation was received:--"A large proportion of the city population had assembled in the streets to welcome the advent of the 'New Light,' and the _début_ of the much-longed-for novelty may be considered to have been quite as _brilliant_ as that of any star that has appeared among us for a long time. In fact, Queen Street was thronged until an advanced hour of the evening with moving crowds of gazers, who seemed never to weary of staring at the unwonted spectacle presented to them, while there were occasional 'rushes' into some of the other streets, as the report spread of some particularly effective illumination or of some establishment whose meter had come to grief, and left it in sudden and ignoble obscurity."