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Who remembers doing this ? - Drawing the fire.
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EventOpen fire
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Category TagHousehold
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Date Created1st December 2020CommentsShawry Shaw
I still do it lol
Annie Smith
Yes.
Rob Southon
Moyna Fleming
Remember doing this years ago it worked pretty good
Marilyn Hill
Yes
Sue Palmer
Yes and set the chimney on fire
Kevin Bell
Sue Palmer Me too.
Heather Newby
I used to do it on the coalrange too
Gareth And-Gill Davies
I remember those days
Jackie Fluerty
My grandmother did in Roa
Lynn Day
Yep !!!
Warren Parkin
Yup
Wendy Buchanan
Greg Mait
For sure. only difference was the papers had something worth reading stated facts and were un biased. however you had to read fast when the fire started roaring.Mary Molloy
Have done
Jenny Adamson
Still do it though now it's with door and not paper.
Bobby Turner
Hell yeah.Bit of a bugger if you got distracted for a minute,which I did once.Nearly set myself alight.
Heather Newby
Bobby Turner ha ha ha.. same with me
Lynn Marley
oh yeah - you had to be quick if it caught.
Lynette Duncan
Yes Mum & Dad did it and I did it too. Best way to get the fire going very quickly
Margaret McMahon
Charlotte May I remember Dad showing me how to do this, setting the kindling and lighting the fire. I used to love doing the job. Something every child should know how to do - back in the day.
Charmaine Nixon
Margaret McMahon I used to do this in Ashburton and up Maruia on the open fires! Worked a treat
Brian Ranger
Did it all the time got the fire going great..
Jacqui Moreton
All good until the paper got sucked in and caught fire
Charlotte May
Always worried the damn paper would catch fire and I'd have to let it go!
Charmaine Nixon
Charlotte May hopefully ya draw going on so it sucked it up the chimney
Charlotte May
lol like the wine box... little sparkly stars coming out da chimney.
June Heslop
Yes
Averil Thorpe
Gavin Whitcombe
and so many times the paper caught fire...
Liz Airns
also done in our house
Linda Calder
Sure do
Alan Mitchell
Had a sheet of hard board cut to the wright size for doing that. quite often made the chimney catch fire
Peter Rosanowski
Me three!
Debbie Groot
I do
Debbie Fraser
Me
Heather Taylor
me
Jocelyn Le Noel
me
Anita Lorraine Barltrop
I did this as long as I had an open fire as it was done while I was a child.
Joy Barr
Me too
Karen McTaggart
yip remember, remember when my father bought 10 pounds of fireworks on Guy Fawkes, drunk as, left them by the chair by the fire, and off they went. Sky rockets, bridal veils, cat shot up the curtains sat on the pelmet, mother filling childs potty with water to throw, old man dancing around in his socks trying to put out the fire on the carpet. A highlight of my childhood. The old man was very generous with his giving, but gave a whole lot of memories with this one
Joy Hill-Cooper
I done it often
Wendy Trish Austin Green
Me
Brian McIntyre
Yep
Heather Newby
Author
Admin
quite a few times the paper caught fire when i did it,
Des Kennedy
Heather Newby , same and then the soot caught fire!!
Peter Creagh
Heather Newby My father used to do it and I was worried it was going to catch fire myself. He was a bit of a risk taker maybe having gone to WW2. Mind you I have done things he would not have risked too.
Lynne Giles
Most definitely! I also remember many times the paper catching fire. Lol
Lisa Armstrong
Jock Armstrong Elizabeth Scott Angela Armstrong Jo Armstrong remember dad doing this
Sandra Arnott
Yip
Denise Eckersley
Yep and setting the paper alight
Maureen McCrimmon
Yep every Winter. I remember trying to imitate Mum when I was about 3ish, unfortunately the paper caught on fire, luckily Mum walked in at the same time. Could've ended badly...
Shawry Shaw
Still do in winter lol
Peter Spence
Yep! - caught fire several times and once the rug in front of the fireplace.
Peter Gray
Yep, used to be standard practice, it certainly worked
Spr SimRacer
Watching it shoot up the chimney was fun. Started using a big wall hanging picture. It lasted longer than newspaper. When it got too hot it got thrown on the lawn to cool down
David Briggs
You'd need a week's worth of newspapers now to get a fire going
Lyn Astin-Hill
Frequently...& freaking out when the paper caught alight & got sucked up the chimney. Lol.
Dennis Thompson
yep
Jillian Morrison
My mum did and yes it caught fire most times. But mum also took hot coals from the kitchen fire place to the lounge fire place on the coal shovel to start it quicker
Barb Kennedy
Yes
Nikita Taylor
A bit before my time unfortunately, only ever had the modern box type fires. Don't even recall knowing anyone with an open fireplace when I was a child
Lyn Thompson
Me
Gwydyon App-Vine
I remember setting the whole chimney alight usin that method. Seems starlings had been busy building a nest in the top of the chimney That’s why it wouldn’t draw in the first place
Ronrangi McMullan
I do. And getting a fright when the paper bursts into flame!
Denise Falloon
My clever husband made a piece of ply wood with a handle to do the same job.
Mark Cleghorn
Yep
Annette Rosanowski
Yes
Clare Marker
Sure do.
Jo Jase Moffat Miller
OMG this brings my childhood and many many great mems for me, yes I remember my Mum doing this and us kids cuddling around the fire, as it was winter in Dunedin, bloody freezing xx thank you for sharing, love these mems xx
Greg Mait
Yes . And then your eye catches an interesting article . next thing the whole paper is up in flames
Eileen Madalaine Agnew
My mum use to do it then I done it it dose work but they have fire starters today.
Dave Bj Henderson
We had a tin propped up by a piece of wood. Lots of burn marks!
Kathryn Cox
Yes
Sharon Adele Renwick
Def doing that
Liz Hay
Of course. Standard practice.
Dorothy Burson
Me
Reply1h
Tom Daly
Nikita Foster thats how we got fire going in the day
Sonia Back
Also bread toasting on the coals with little devil forks as i called them with butter and jam yummy
Lenny Crowe
Used to be tricky after a few beers
Shirley Farrell
Still do it at times with our open fire. The smell of scorched newspaper brings back memories
Lexie Aynsley
Yes we all did
Kevin Bell
Set fire to the chimney doing this when the paper caught alight.
John Clews
yes watched my mum doing this, scared the shit out of me, when it caught fire trying to shove it back into the fire place without getting burnt
Dorothy Wills
Yes I did When we had an open fire
Arlene Hutcheon
My Mum did that. I remembering watching her when I was young
Brett Spurdle
Hell yes
Glenda Jackson
Yes I remember us doing that as well
Lisa Arrandale
Always exciting when the paper caught lol
Annette Buchanan
Yip all the time lol xxx
Michele Caldwell
Me and quite often the paper caught fire
Susan Shanahan
Yep. Mum did. OHS would gasp if that happened now.
Len Gibson
Many times
Mary Cusdin
So did this! We also did the Olympic flaming paper torch run from the ring element to fireplace.
Donald Mason
Yes until the paper caught on fire then it was the mat or a wood sack
John Newton
And it got them fired up quick to Tom
Reply22mColin Lawler
Yes I remember it well
Jenny Jones
Yes when it didn't go up in smoke.
Yvonne Lawson
Yes remember doing that.
I still do it lol
Annie Smith
Yes.
Rob Southon
Moyna Fleming
Remember doing this years ago it worked pretty good
Marilyn Hill
Yes
Sue Palmer
Yes and set the chimney on fire
Kevin Bell
Sue Palmer Me too.
Heather Newby
I used to do it on the coalrange too
Gareth And-Gill Davies
I remember those days
Jackie Fluerty
My grandmother did in Roa
Lynn Day
Yep !!!
Warren Parkin
Yup
Wendy Buchanan
Greg Mait
For sure. only difference was the papers had something worth reading stated facts and were un biased. however you had to read fast when the fire started roaring.Mary Molloy
Have done
Jenny Adamson
Still do it though now it's with door and not paper.
Bobby Turner
Hell yeah.Bit of a bugger if you got distracted for a minute,which I did once.Nearly set myself alight.
Heather Newby
Bobby Turner ha ha ha.. same with me
Lynn Marley
oh yeah - you had to be quick if it caught.
Lynette Duncan
Yes Mum & Dad did it and I did it too. Best way to get the fire going very quickly
Margaret McMahon
Charlotte May I remember Dad showing me how to do this, setting the kindling and lighting the fire. I used to love doing the job. Something every child should know how to do - back in the day.
Charmaine Nixon
Margaret McMahon I used to do this in Ashburton and up Maruia on the open fires! Worked a treat
Brian Ranger
Did it all the time got the fire going great..
Jacqui Moreton
All good until the paper got sucked in and caught fire
Charlotte May
Always worried the damn paper would catch fire and I'd have to let it go!
Charmaine Nixon
Charlotte May hopefully ya draw going on so it sucked it up the chimney
Charlotte May
lol like the wine box... little sparkly stars coming out da chimney.
June Heslop
Yes
Averil Thorpe
Gavin Whitcombe
and so many times the paper caught fire...
Liz Airns
also done in our house
Linda Calder
Sure do
Alan Mitchell
Had a sheet of hard board cut to the wright size for doing that. quite often made the chimney catch fire
Peter Rosanowski
Me three!
Debbie Groot
I do
Debbie Fraser
Me
Heather Taylor
me
Jocelyn Le Noel
me
Anita Lorraine Barltrop
I did this as long as I had an open fire as it was done while I was a child.
Joy Barr
Me too
Karen McTaggart
yip remember, remember when my father bought 10 pounds of fireworks on Guy Fawkes, drunk as, left them by the chair by the fire, and off they went. Sky rockets, bridal veils, cat shot up the curtains sat on the pelmet, mother filling childs potty with water to throw, old man dancing around in his socks trying to put out the fire on the carpet. A highlight of my childhood. The old man was very generous with his giving, but gave a whole lot of memories with this one
Joy Hill-Cooper
I done it often
Wendy Trish Austin Green
Me
Brian McIntyre
Yep
Heather Newby
Author
Admin
quite a few times the paper caught fire when i did it,
Des Kennedy
Heather Newby , same and then the soot caught fire!!
Peter Creagh
Heather Newby My father used to do it and I was worried it was going to catch fire myself. He was a bit of a risk taker maybe having gone to WW2. Mind you I have done things he would not have risked too.
Lynne Giles
Most definitely! I also remember many times the paper catching fire. Lol
Lisa Armstrong
Jock Armstrong Elizabeth Scott Angela Armstrong Jo Armstrong remember dad doing this
Sandra Arnott
Yip
Denise Eckersley
Yep and setting the paper alight
Maureen McCrimmon
Yep every Winter. I remember trying to imitate Mum when I was about 3ish, unfortunately the paper caught on fire, luckily Mum walked in at the same time. Could've ended badly...
Shawry Shaw
Still do in winter lol
Peter Spence
Yep! - caught fire several times and once the rug in front of the fireplace.
Peter Gray
Yep, used to be standard practice, it certainly worked
Spr SimRacer
Watching it shoot up the chimney was fun. Started using a big wall hanging picture. It lasted longer than newspaper. When it got too hot it got thrown on the lawn to cool down
David Briggs
You'd need a week's worth of newspapers now to get a fire going
Lyn Astin-Hill
Frequently...& freaking out when the paper caught alight & got sucked up the chimney. Lol.
Dennis Thompson
yep
Jillian Morrison
My mum did and yes it caught fire most times. But mum also took hot coals from the kitchen fire place to the lounge fire place on the coal shovel to start it quicker
Barb Kennedy
Yes
Nikita Taylor
A bit before my time unfortunately, only ever had the modern box type fires. Don't even recall knowing anyone with an open fireplace when I was a child
Lyn Thompson
Me
Gwydyon App-Vine
I remember setting the whole chimney alight usin that method. Seems starlings had been busy building a nest in the top of the chimney That’s why it wouldn’t draw in the first place
Ronrangi McMullan
I do. And getting a fright when the paper bursts into flame!
Denise Falloon
My clever husband made a piece of ply wood with a handle to do the same job.
Mark Cleghorn
Yep
Annette Rosanowski
Yes
Clare Marker
Sure do.
Jo Jase Moffat Miller
OMG this brings my childhood and many many great mems for me, yes I remember my Mum doing this and us kids cuddling around the fire, as it was winter in Dunedin, bloody freezing xx thank you for sharing, love these mems xx
Greg Mait
Yes . And then your eye catches an interesting article . next thing the whole paper is up in flames
Eileen Madalaine Agnew
My mum use to do it then I done it it dose work but they have fire starters today.
Dave Bj Henderson
We had a tin propped up by a piece of wood. Lots of burn marks!
Kathryn Cox
Yes
Sharon Adele Renwick
Def doing that
Liz Hay
Of course. Standard practice.
Dorothy Burson
Me
Reply1h
Tom Daly
Nikita Foster thats how we got fire going in the day
Sonia Back
Also bread toasting on the coals with little devil forks as i called them with butter and jam yummy
Lenny Crowe
Used to be tricky after a few beers
Shirley Farrell
Still do it at times with our open fire. The smell of scorched newspaper brings back memories
Lexie Aynsley
Yes we all did
Kevin Bell
Set fire to the chimney doing this when the paper caught alight.
John Clews
yes watched my mum doing this, scared the shit out of me, when it caught fire trying to shove it back into the fire place without getting burnt
Dorothy Wills
Yes I did When we had an open fire
Arlene Hutcheon
My Mum did that. I remembering watching her when I was young
Brett Spurdle
Hell yes
Glenda Jackson
Yes I remember us doing that as well
Lisa Arrandale
Always exciting when the paper caught lol
Annette Buchanan
Yip all the time lol xxx
Michele Caldwell
Me and quite often the paper caught fire
Susan Shanahan
Yep. Mum did. OHS would gasp if that happened now.
Len Gibson
Many times
Mary Cusdin
So did this! We also did the Olympic flaming paper torch run from the ring element to fireplace.
Donald Mason
Yes until the paper caught on fire then it was the mat or a wood sack
John Newton
And it got them fired up quick to Tom
Reply22mColin Lawler
Yes I remember it well
Jenny Jones
Yes when it didn't go up in smoke.
Yvonne Lawson
Yes remember doing that.
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West Coast New Zealand History (22nd Apr 2023). Who remembers doing this ? - Drawing the fire.. In Website West Coast New Zealand History. Retrieved 10th Apr 2026 20:52, from https://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/28746