Funeral Pyre Lit by Swanson Farmer

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 829, 25 November 1929, Page 1

Funeral Pyre Lit by Swanson Farmer

WANTED CREMATION SHOT-GUN BESIDE BOD’l Preparing his own funeral pyre by setting fire to hjs house before shooting himself. George Frederick Thurgood carried out the intentions expressed in a letter he left for the police. An inquest was held on Saturday at Swanson, the scene of the tragedy. A I’ll. THURGOOD. a poultry farmer, -*■ aged 70, lived at Cemetery Road. Swanson. He was said to be dispirited through ill-health. The inquest was held before Mi. F. K. Hunt, coroner. Edward Sydney McFadden, who had been visiting in the locality, said that lie saw Mr. Tliurgood's house on fire at 11.30 a.m. on Friday. He went across and forced a door to make an attempt ;o save some of the furniture. He could not enter the house owing to the density of the smoke. Witness and residents who had been attracted to the lire made an attempt to save the building, but the fire had too great a hold. When the walls collapsed the remains of a body could be seen among the still burning debris. There were two gun barrels and a trigger guard, the remains of a double-barrelled shotgun, beside the body. Witness, after going into the fowlhouse to give the chickens water, found a letter left by Mr. Thurgood underneath a chisel. Henry Wanklin, also living in Cemetery, Road, said that he had known Mr. Thurgood for some time. He had lately complained of stomach pains and feared that he had symptoms of cancer. Witness had visited him on Thursday evening when he had said: “A man might as well be dead as suffer like I am suffering/* Witness corroborated the evidence relating to the discovery of the bods', remarking that he had no doubt it was Mr. Thurgood. The note left in the fowlhouse was in Mr. Tliurgood's handwriting. The man was seperaled from his wife and had two sons living in the country. Constable Rushton said that in one of the gun barrels found by the body were the remains of a cartridge. One trigger was released. The constable produced a letter left addressed to the police—“l am just a broke old man—broke with poultry farming. . . . The only thing is to make an end of it. If there is any insurance pay ii out to my crippled son.” A postscript read: “I am trying to cremate myself.” A verdict of suicide was returned