On 13 August 1966, a fire caused by an overturned electric heater in the Salvation Army’s William Booth Memorial hostel in Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne killed 30 men, the majority being long time boarders at the hostel. Approximately 150 other men were evacuated and rehoused.
Twenty five lost their lives in the fire and five died later as a result of their injuries. 15 of the bodies were never claimed by family. It is Australia’s deadliest urban structure fire.
The Age | Carolyn Webb, June 3, 2016 article 1966 Melbourne Salvation Army hostel fire that killed 30 a 'horrific moment' in history
Melbourne, Fires, July 2008, website viewed 21 September 2011
Miller J, Australia’s greatest disasters: the tragedies that have defined the nation. 1st edn. Wollombi, New South Wales: Exisle Publishing Limited, 2007, p 62. Plunkett G, Let the Bums Burn, 1st ed, Berowra Heights, New South Wales, Leech Cup Books
Last updated: November 2026
