COFFIN PLACED ON RANGATIRA

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25303, 1 October 1947, Page 8

COFFIN PLACED ON RANGATIRA

SPECIAL TRAIN FROM LYTTELTON (P.A.) WELLINGTON, Sept. 30. Late this afternoon the body of Mr J. O'Brien was taken to the Lyttelton wharf where it was placed aboard the Rangatira for Lyttelton. An Army party flanked by Cabinet Ministers carried the coffin down the steps of Parliament Buildings, and the procession moved off to a slow march played by the Police Pipe Band, its drums draped in black. f. The hearse was followed by trucks loaded with wreaths, and a long line of cars. The was represented by Major me Hon. Neville Wigram. Hundreds of people bared their heads as the procession moved to the wharf. The coffin will be taken tb-morrow by special train from Lyttelton to Greymouth, where the State funeral will be held on Thursday. ARRANGEMENTS for FUNERAL Immediately after the arrival of the Rangatira at Lyttelton this morning, a special train will leave for Greymouth, where it is expected some time after 4 p.m. The Prime Minister (Mr P. Fraser), other members of the Cabinet, members of Parliament, and Legisla-

tive Councillors and other prominent people will travel by this train. Major the Hon. N. Wigram, M.C., military secretary to the GovernorGeneral, will represent his Excellency. It is expected that the funeral procession will leave St. Patrick’s Church, Greymouth, about 11.30 o’clock tomorrow morning, and Chapel street and all adjacent areas will be closed to vehicles. The pall-bearers from the train to the hearse when the coffin arrives will be citizens of Greymouth, and those from the hearse to the church will be officials of the Labour Party and Labour organisations. Cabinet Ministers will act as the pall-bearers to-morrow. Government departments and business premises in Greymouth will close on Thursday from 9.30 a.m. till 1 p.m. Most industrial organisations will close all day. Every available taxi and hire car m the district has been secured to transport Cabinet Ministers and members of Parliament and the Legislative Council and others coming from a distance, and an appeal to citizens to make cars available for this purpose met with a ready response. Solemn Requiem Mass at Greymouth will be celebrated by the Very Rev. Monsignor J. Long, Adm., and tfie preacher will be the Very Rev. Monsignor J. A. Kennedy, of Christchurch. From Otira onwards, the train will make five-minute stops at principal stations and members of the Police Force who will travel on the train will conduct the public to view the coffin. The Greymouth Labour Party, at a special meeting last evening, decided to keep a vigil in St. Patrick’s Church, Greymouth, to-night, while the body lies there. The National Film Unit will visit Greymouth for the funeral.