Christchurch Service

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31700, 8 June 1968, Page 1

Christchurch Service

About 250 persons took part in a civic service in Christchurch Cathedral early yesterday afternoon in memory of Sir Walter Nash. Nearly all the congregation were middle-aged or elderly.

The Prime Minister (Mr Holyoake) was represented by Mr C. C. A. McLachlan, M.P., and the Leader of the Opposition (Mr Kirk) by Mr J. Mathison, M.P. In his address the VicarGeneral of the Diocese of Christchurch (the Ven. H. M. Cocks) said it was fitting for the citizens of Christchurch to find an opportunity to join to commit Sir Walter Nash in their hearts to God. “He embodied so much of what we would like to find in ourselves—with his idealism, his love for people, his immense energy and great

tenacity of life and spirit,” he said. Archdeacon Cocks said the purpose of the service was not to mourn for a young man but to remember a man In ripe old age. The death of Sir Walter Nash at 86 was different from that of Senator Robert Kennedy, shot at 42.

“Here is a man whose life has simply come to an end with an astonishing list of achievements behind him,” he said. “We come to give thanks for his contribution to us in termsof high idealism, hard work, and the part he played in practical politics for the country and for the world," said Archdeacon Cocks.

“This man who has passed from us was undoubtedly a great man,” he said. The death of a man of 86 was not a tragedy. It was part of life—of God’s dealings with man. It was never easy to assess

w .at drove a man to public service, said Archdeacon Cocks. Sometimes it was a desire to excel, or to shape a country to improve the prospects of the type of business he and others like him were interested in, or to work out some psychologically deep-seated sense of guilt. Or it might be a genuine concern for the public well-being. “Whatever drove this man to truly prodigious labours there is no doubt that there was in him a strong humanitarian interest in the downtrodden, the depressed, the hungry and the helpless which issued from deep religious roots,” he said. The Mayor (Sir George Manning) read the lesson, and the Cathedral Choir sang the anthem "Thou Will Keep Him in Perfect Peace Whose Mind Is Stayed On Thee.” Prayers were said by the Dean of Christchurch (the Very Rev. M. L. Underhill).