LAST RITES

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20920, 27 September 1939, Page 9

LAST RITES

FOUR VICTIMS BURIED CEREMONIES AT NGARUAWAHIA IMPRESSIVE FUNERAL CORTEGE (Times Special Reporter) NGARUAWAHIA, Wednesday Another chapter in the drama which struck the Glen Afton colliery during the week-end drew to a close yesterday afternoon with the burial at the Ngaruawahia cemetery of four of the victims of the disaster. Covering a route from Glen Alton, via Huntly, the funeral was one of the most impressive ever seen in the Waikato, for both size and representation. , Comprising over 200 cars and be- i tween 500 and 600 people, the cortege extended over a considerable distance, and the hearses had already reached the cemetery before the last vehicle had left Ngaruawahia. Three hearses were employed, two, carrying the bodies of the late Messrs J. Clark, G. Hunter and J. Marshall, leaving Glen Afton at- 2 p.m. and the other, with the body of the late Mr W. Wilcox, joining them at Huntly at 2.30 p.m. Church Services The service in the Glen Afton Hall was conducted by the Rev. W. P. Rankin and the Rev. A. Ashwin, while that in the Huntly Anglican Church, for the late Mr Wilcox, was conducted by the Rev. J. C. A. Zimmerman. Piloted by a traffic inspector supplied by the Transport Department, the cortege then proceeded to Ngaruawahia where it was considerably swelled by a large number of cars. For fully threequarters of an hour before the arrival of the funeral long lines of j cars waited on the roadside near the I cemetery. The graves of Messrs Hunter and I Marshall, both of whom were carried ! in the one hearse, were side by side 1 in the northern part of the cemetery and the services at the gravesides were conducted by the Rev. W. P. Rankin and the Rev. A. Ashwin respectively. Following this was the burial of Mr Wilcox in the southern section of the cemetery, where the Rev. Zimmerman conducted the service. The service at the graveside of Mr Clark, who was buried near | Mr Wilcox, was also conducted by ! Mr Rankin. The Pallbearers The pallbearers for Mr Hunter ' were all representatives of the Pukemiro Butfaloes’ Lodge, of which the deceased was a member, and were as follows: Messrs C. Stevens C. Middleton, H. Stevens, J. Douglas! W. Scott and G. Stevens. A returned soldiers’ burial was accorded Mr Clark, who was an ex-serviceman, 1 and the pallbearers were members ! of the Pukermiro branch of the Re- ; turned Soldiers’ Association. They were Messrs J. Scoullar, T. Leening, ! E. Johnstone, J. Hamilton, C. Henderson and J. McLennan. The ‘ wreaths for Mr Clark were carried by Mr J. Greenhorn, the president of the Pukemiro branch of the Returned Soldiers’ Association. The pallbearers for Mr Marshall were Messrs T. Hall, A. Johnston, i. Hughes, G. Lawson (representing the Northern Miners’ Union), E. Hazel! and G. Adams (representing G\en Afton Association Foot- i ball Club), and those for Mr Wilcox were Messrs T. Cowan and H Rogers (representing the Glen Afton mine officials), N. Rose, J. K. Osbaldiston, E. Angus and O. L. Duns-(sons-in-law of the deceased). The Government was represented at the funeral by the Minister of Mines, the Hon. P. c. Webb, and the Minister of Agriculture, the Hon Vi. Lee Martin. Wreaths were received from the Governor-General, Lord Galway, and from the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage and his colleagues. Among the many floral emblems were those from the following organisations, which were also represented at the funeral: The Huntly Borough Council, the Ngaruawahia Borough Council, the New Zealand Co-operative Dairy ComLi , miteci ’ the county councils of the district, the Pukemiro Returned Soldiers’ Association, the Pukemiro Buffaloes’ Lodge the women’s institutes of the district the South Auckland Football Association and the South Auckland Referee’s Association, the Northern Miners’ Union, tile collieries and schools of the district, Waikato Carbonisation, Limited, the Association football clubs and the Rugby League clubs of the district.