JOURNEY NORTH.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 77, 1 April 1940, Page 9

JOURNEY NORTH.

VIVID VIGNETTES.

RAILSIDE PAGEANTRY. MAORI AND PAKEHA GRIEF. No more striking testimony of the revered place Mr. Savage occupies in the hearts of all sections of the community, young and old, could have been found than that provided during the two days' procession of the funeral train bearing the casket from Wellington to Auckland, writes the Press Association representative on the train. The journey was a cavalcade of moving scenea of the nation's sorrow, sympathy and gratitude. It was an unforgettable composite picture of appropriate pageantry provided by Maoris in native costume, bedecked with green jiarlands, chanting in the sunshine and the dusk plaintive laments, of silent yet eloquent manifestations of grief and ros|>ect by Maori and pakeha, and of touching wayside incidents.

Vivid vignettes are those of a solitary woman with head bowed waiting reverently on a lonely winding hill track, of a group of children standing stiffly to attention at an isolated crossing, the wail of a Maori mourner, the dirge of a piper and tho melodies of hymns drifting through the night, and of long lines of people, revealed in the focused glare of motor ear headlights filing past the casket in the mortuary van.

For the most part individual tribute was paid in silence, only the dimmed eye and bent head expressing the thought, but here and there people spoke softly of eotue little personal memory of the man they were honouring. Engine Driver's Tribute. Forceful in its simplicity was the tribute expressed by one of several drivers of the funeral train. Air. A. E. Johnson, who is national president of the Enginedrivers, Firemen and Cleaners' Association. "To drive this train," he said, "is a privilege akin to driving Royalty."

Throughout the whole journey some form of homage, humble and sincere, was witnessed. A farmer in a field ceased his toil to stand erect and doff his hat. Tennis and golf players abandoned games. Drays, lorries, motor cars and service ears pulled alongside the roadside as the train passed, knots of people gathered on hills, overhead bridges and all points of vantage, and at every house visible from the train families stood in garden or on porch.

Sunset still found lonely figures silhouetted on the hillside a/id farmstead, and even after darkness descended dense crowds maintained a patient vigil on station platforms. Owing to the desire of the large gatherings at all stopping place* to pay respects at the casket it was impossible for tho train to adhere to time-table, and oil Saturday night it was running two hours late" The weather was perfect on both days and in the populated areas between Wellington and Auckland there was practicalfv an unbroken line of mourners.

At every station there wae evidence . of the people's warmth of feeling and . desire to acclaim the passing of a great ; national figure. Many stations were > solemnly draped with black and purple j crepe and simply but tastefully deeo- , rated with willows and other greenery. There were many assemblies of boy . scouts, boys' brigades and boys and girls . from schools and colleges. Military I and Air Force parades and musters of railwaymcn, members of other Government services, and St. John Ambulance units were held at different point*. Befitting hymns, such as "Abide Wkli Me" and "Nearer My God to Thee" were played by the municipal and other bands, and sung fervently by the crowds. Masses of Wreaths. Masses of wreaths were presented all along the line, and at a number of places Maori mats were laid on the casket. From the time of the train's departure from Wellington there were ever-chang- , ing tableaux and wayside scenes. TraI ditional Maori greetings and laments were exteudod at Otaki and Levin, illustrating the esteem in which Mr. . Savage, who was also Minister of Native . Affairs, was livid, and similar fullthroated expressions, accompanied by ' hakas and other Maori ritual, marked , many stages of the journey. At Palmerston North, where a solid mass of , people extended from the etation to 1 Terrace End, the Maori Battalion wae 1 on the platform. Brief reference to Mr. Savage's ideals and his work for the common weal was made at several stations by members of local bodies, the Hon. P. Fraser suitably reeponding. Mr. E. T. Tirikatene, M.P., who wae with the official party on the train, acknowledged the Maori salutations at various places and also acted as inteq>reter. Marton was the scene of a colourful ceremony when a message of lov© and condolence was read from Mr. H. T. Ratana, M.P. Taihape provided another memorable scene, and thus, the train sped on through the night, homage symbolic of the people's love for Mr. Savage in death as in life being paid afresh ae new towns were reached. All Through the Night. Scenes by night —at Ohakune, National Park, Raurimu, Taumarunui— were also characterised by colourful Maori observances. Mats werp presented on behalf of Ohakune Maoris and Te Wharetoa Maoris (National Park). The train pulled out from Ohakune with the silver crosses on the mortuary van etched against the sombre background a»nid the haunting strains of the eticred song, "Holy Night."' In addition to the crowds packing the Taumarunui station, which was reached ■ shortly after 11 p.m.. there w;u< a. large gathering with a band in attendance when the train resumed its journey at ' 7 a.m. j At Te Kuiti, Otorohaiiga, Te Ananiutu, Frankton Junction, Xgaruawahia, f Huntly, Pukekohe and other points ' people caiiirrefrafed to pay their rc- ' spects. The train slowc 1 to pass the .'iHopuhopu military cam]', where troops ! lined the route. A feature of the Huntly ceremony f was when a young Maori maiden, a member of tho .Maori royal family, took i a mat from her own shoulders and in dismitied and reverent manner laid it on i the casket. 'I Caine the broad sweep of 'Waitemata •' Harbour and the hills of Orakei, with ' Bastion Point jutting into the waters. . and with every conceivable viewpoint i of Auckland darkened with the serried , i ranks <>f s|H-<-tators. . j Tluii. amid the visible blessings of ~ tens of thousands of jwople alongside : the route from Wellington onward, and ; the blessings of unseen hundreds of ' thousands in all part< of Xew Zealand, • did Michael Joseph fc«uva;rc return to his 'adopted home.