LAST TRIBUTES PAID

Southland Times, Issue 24877, 17 October 1942, Page 4

LAST TRIBUTES PAID

Sir Robert Anderson The widespread commercial and other interests of Sir Robert Anderson and the respect with which he was regarded by all sections of the community were reflected by. the large number of mourners who attended his funeral yesterday. First Presbyterian Church was well filled for the service, and the cortege to the East road cemetery was one of the longest seen in the city for many years. Among those present were members of Sir Robert’s family, the Mayor (Mr A. Wachner) and members of the City Council, representatives of the Bluff Harbour Board, Southland County Council, Southland Hospital Board, Southland Museum Trust Board Southland Agricultural and Pastoral Association. St. John Ambulance Association, Invercargill Boy Scouts’ Association, Jellicoe Sea Scouts, Invercargill Returned Services Association, Invercargill Stock and Wool Brokers’ Association, Invercargill Ministers’ Association, the Plunket Society, trading banks, mercantile firms, the Army Department, the Post and Telegraph Department, the Department of Agriculture, the legal profession and many companies and organizations with which Sir Robert was associated as well as lifelong friends. THE PALL-BEARERS At the church the pall-bearers were drawn from the staff of J. G. Ward and Company, Ltd. They were Messrs G. L. Corbet, James Mackintosh, William Kirk (Gore), N. W. McGorlick (Ocean Beach), J. L. Oughton and Roland Taylor. At the graveside, where the service was conducted by Chaplain Lieutenant-Colonel J. A. Thomson and the Rev. W. J. Robertson, the pall-bearers were Messrs George Anderson, of Invercargill (brother), A. D. Anderson, of Thornbury, and Hugh Anderson, of Hokonui (sons), Basil Anderson, of Hokonui (grandson), and Sir Joseph Ward, Bart., of Christchurch (grandson of the late Sir Joseph Ward). The service in First Presbyterian Church was conducted by Chaplain Lieutenant-Colonel Thomson and the Revs. W. H. Howes and J. H. Thomson (Riversdale). The opening prayer was led by Chaplain LieutenantColonel Thomson, the Scripture reading was given by Mr J. H. Thomson and Mr Howes also led in prayer. Before the service the organist, Mrs A. F. Manning, played appropriate music. “We desire today to pay tribute to the life and service of one who has made a great contribution to the life of this city and Southland,” said Chaplain Lieutenant-Colonel Thomson in a short address. “Those who knew him best know that it would have been his desire that little be said in a service such as this about the service which it was his privilege and duty to give to the community.” CHRISTIAN GENTLEMAN Within the life of the congregation which met in First Church, Sir Robert found opportunity to give his service to the Kingdom of God. Within the walls of the building it was his custom and delight to worship week by week the Living God, and all his acts of service and worship were marked by simplicity, sincerity and deep humility. Sir Robert had lived his life in the community as a successful business man. He was a loyal citizen, an ideal husband, father and friend and a humble Christian gentleman. Through his long and trying illness he had been an inspiration because of his patient endurance and thoughtfulness for those who ministered to him. Even in his death he had given service to the community through his witness to the reality of things unseen and the triumph of a Christian’s going Home. The congregation joined in singing the hymn “Abide With Me,” before the pronouncement of the Benediction. Outside the church the Boy Scouts and Sea Scouts formed a guard of honour. Visitors to Invercargill for the funeral included Sir Joseph Ward, of Christchurch, representing the Belgian Consul-General, Mr R. Duthie, of J. G. Ward and Company, Ltd. (Christchurch), Mr F. E. Tyson, of Dunedin, representing the New Zealand Shipping Company, Ltd,. Mr P. L. . Halstead, of Dunedin, Mr John Chilwell, of Queenstown, and Mr L. Dunn, Dunedin manager of Nestle and AngloSwiss Condensed Milk Company (Australasia), Ltd. OLD FRIEND’S TRIBUTE Referring to the death of Sir Robert Anderson at the annual meeting of the Farmers’ Dairy Federation, Ltd., yesterday, the chairman (Mr John Fisher) said that outside Sir Robert’s own family he believed he was Sir Robert’s oldest friend. They had first met when Sir Robert was 12 years old and started work in the same office. For 18 years in different offices they worked together, and it was during that period that Sir Robert developed his extraordinary ability and capacity to grasp big things. Mr Fisher said he looked back with the greatest pleasure on his friendship with Sir Robert, who had benefited himself and the country and was one of the finest commercial men Southland had ever had. A motion of sympathy with the family was passed. On behalf of the residents of the Southland County Mr L. A. Niederer, chairman of the Southland County Council yesterday paid a tribute to the memory of Sir Robert Anderson. Sir Robert was not directly associated with the Southland County Council, but he was a citizen of the province and had set a splendid example in publicspiritedness, he said. His interests were wide and varied and he had lived a useful life; his philanthropy would be missed, but it would not be forgotten. Members of the council stood in silence as a mark of respect to his memory and the council decided to send a letter of sympathy to Lady Anderson. REFERENCE IN PARLIAMENT (Special) WELLINGTON, October 16. Reference to the death of Sir Robert Anderson, who gave an area of land to the Crown for the settlement of returned soldiers of this war, was made in the House of Representatives tonight during the third reading of the Reserves and Other Lands Disposal Bill. A former Minister of Lands, Sir Alfred Ransom, spoke of the generous gifts which Sir Robert had made during his lifetime, and said that members would appreciate Sir Robert's thought for the returned men of the Invercargill district. It would be a splendid thing if others were encouraged to emulate the gift and the spirit which prompted it. Associating himself with Sir Alfred Ransom’s remarks, the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. P. Fraser, said Sir Robert Anderson was a very generous-minded man who used his wealth for the benefit of his fellow men. On behalf of the Government he expressed appreciation of Sir Robert’s handsome gift and the regret of the House at his death. NATIONAL PROVIDENT FUND BILL (P.A.) WELLINGTON, October 16. The National Provident Fund Amendment Bill was introduced and read a first time in the House of Representatives today. The Minister of Health, the Hon. A. H. Nordmeyer, said that the Bill was a machinery measure which aimed to correct a number of anomalies which had arisen. It also aimed to improve the working of the department.