Funeral of Dr. W. A. Perston.

Thames Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2871, 29 April 1878, Page 2

Funeral of Dr. W. A. Perston.

If anything were wanting to prove the respect in which Dr. W. A. Porston was held by the people of the Thames district, that want would bo supplied by the attendance at the funeral of the deceased yesterday afternoon, whioh for a private funeral was the largest we have seen for a long time. It had been proposed to give the deceased a military funeral, ho having been honorary surgeon to. the Thames Rifle Bangers ; but this proposal was abandoned, as the friendly societies—* with six of which he had been intimately associated as medical officer, and with one as a full member, for some, y^ars —expressed a wish to be present as societies, aad as their doing so would have materially affected the attendance of volunteers, many of the men belonging to the Istter as well as the former. It was, !, therefore, decided to make the funeral a private one, with the exception of the Friendly Societies appearing in bodies. Three o'clock was the time fixed for the funeral to leave the late residence of the dececscd in Pollen street, and at that hour there was a large number of people assembled, the societies arriving from their respective lodge-rooms immediately after. The masters of the different lodges were appointed to act as pall bearers, and by them the coffin was conveyed from the house to the hearse, the pall bearers then taking up their positions, three on either side of the hearse. The chief niournera were the two young sons of the deceased, with Mr W. McCullough, and the Key. S. J. Neil!, Presbyterian Pastor, of whose church deceased was a member. Sergeant Major Grant undertook the position of Marshal, and arranged Abe procession in good order, the coffin as it came from the house being carried down through the opened ranks, and, the order being reversed, moving off in the following order:—

The hearse containing the coffin. Chief Mourners.

Members of the Hospital Committee. - Protestant kllianct Friendly Society, Prince „ of Wales Lode. . Loyal Charles Bruce Lodge* of Odd Fellowi. Court Pride of Parnell, A.O.F. Court Pride of tat North, A.O.F. Loyal Waikato Lodge Otfd Fellows. Juvenile Foresters.

The procession followed the line of Pollen street to Willoughby street, thence to the Shortland Cemetery, at the gate of which the members of the Prince of Wales Lodge opened out and passed the hearse, taking up a position around the grave. The burial service of the Presbyterian Church was performed by the Key. S. J. Neill, after which the Bey. J. T. Hinton, Chaplain of the Prince of Wales Lodge, read the burial service arranged for members of that order in an impressive manner. Many of the members of the societies were supplied with sprss of acacia, which were reverently deposited on the coffin at the close of the burial services. The coffin bore on a plate the following inscription :—"W. A. Perston, M.D., aged 50 years." Mr Twentyman acted as undertaker, and the hearse used was Mr W. Baker's, who directed the the horses. ILe appointments throughout were most complete. The number of persons at the grave, independently of those forming the procession, must nave been several hundred, including men,, women and children, many of whom are amongst those wao will most poignantly feel the loss of the gentleman whose mortal remains were yesterday committed to their last resting pla-*e.