Thousands See Funeral Of Sir Sidney Holland

Press, Volume C, Issue 29587, 9 August 1961, Page 16

Thousands See Funeral Of Sir Sidney Holland

(A’_Z. Press Association) WELLINGTON, August 8. Thousands of people stood in Wellington’s wind-swept streets today in a final tribute to the late Sir Sidney Holland. Men and women bowed their heads as the gun carriage bearing the former Prime Minister’s remains passed by on its way from St. Paul’s Pro-Cathedral to the Karori crematorium.

The biggest crowd gathered by the Cenotaph, near Parliament House, as the procession moved alowly past the building where Sir Sidney Holland worked for 22 years as a private member, Leader of the Opposition and Prime Minister. Cars carrying members of Sir Sidney Holland's family beaded the long procession behind the gun carriage. Lady Holland did not attend the funeral. She watched the procession with her daughters, Mrs P. Bradshaw and Mrs K. W. CoryWright from the Government buildings. The Administrator, the Chief Justice (Sir Haro’d Barrowclough) led the official mourners. Behind him came cars carrying the Prime Minister (Mr Holyoake) and members of the Cabinet foreign diplomats and consular representatives, the Leader of the Opposition (Mr Nash), the Speaker of the House of Representatives (Mr Algie), Supreme Court Judges, former Ministers of

the Crown, members of Parliament, the Mayor of Wellington (Mr F. J. Kitts), the Chiefs of Staff of the armed services. Public Service heads and representatives of many organisations. Three big trucks carried wreaths and flowers. On the flag-draped oak casket, laahed to the gun carriage against the howling wind, was a single wreath of carnations and arum lilies from Sir Sidney Holland’s .family. Army warrant officers carried the casket at the church and the crematorium. The pall-bearers at the church were Mr Holyoake, Mr Nash, Mr Algie, the Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Marshall), the Minister of Labour (Mr Shand), the At-torney-General (Mr Hanan), the Minister of Works (Mr Goosman), and the Minis’er of Railways (Mr McAlpine). The pall-bearers at the crematorium chapel were Sir Sidney Holland’s two sons, Mr G. W. Holland and Mr E. S. F. Holland, his sons-in-law, Mr K. W. Cory-Wright and Mr P. Bradshaw, a former Cabinet colleague, Sir William Sullivan, the

president of the National Party, Mr A. McKenzie, and two of his personal friends, Mr H. J. Brixton and Mr H. S. Cook. The president of the New Zealand Returned Services’ Association (Mr K. W. Fraser) paid a tribute to Sir Sidney Holland at the chief and simple service in the crematorium chapel. There was a hush as Mr Fraser placed a poppy on the casket. The Bishop of Wellington (the Rt. Rev. H. W. Baines) said prayers at the chapel service. The funeral procession of over a hundred cars took 25 minutes to reach the crematorium. It travelled along cdty and suburban streets where passers-by stopped to pay a last tribute. The Prime Minister of Western Samoa (the Hon. Fiame Mata’afa) and his wife and two of his Cabinet Ministers attended the funeral. The president of the Federation of Labour (Mr F. P Walsh) headed representatives of the trade union movement at the funeral service