SEXTONS’ STRIKE

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30231, 9 September 1963, Page 15

SEXTONS’ STRIKE

Man Digs His Wife’s Grave

(N.Z. Press Assn.—Copyright) SYDNEY, Sept. 8.

A Sydney truck driver, helped by his friends, buried his wife yesterday in a grave he had dug himself, because of the grave-daggers’ strike throughout Sydney. The man, Mr William Knight, aged 56, of Botany, told reporters he had waited nine days for the strike to end. Then at dawn yesterday, lie went out and finished digging the partly-made grave in the Botany cemetery. His wife died on August 29. aged 52, and her funeral was to have taken place last Saturday. Because the grave-diggers’ strike now involves undertakers’ assistants, Mr Knight had to use his station waggon as a hearse.

Friends helped Mr Knight bury the coffin. The striking grave-diggers will meet tomorrow morning to decide whether to return to work. They are striking over claims for a wage increase of more than £5 a week.

The strike began last week art two cemeteries and was extended to all metropolitan cemeteries art. a meeting of the strikers on Thursday night A meeting of undertakers’ assistants on Friday night decided to give moral support to the grave-diggers. The

undertakers’ assistants are mainly drivers and branch funeral parlour managers. Funeral directors said yesterday that more than 100 funerals had been delayed so far by the strike, but it had not affected cremations.