Coroner retires after 30 years
PA Auckland Just over 30 years as a Coroner has not left Mr Allan Copeland depressed. He retired yesterday as the Auckland District Coroner, and said he dealt with more than 45,000 deaths in the 30 years. Mr Copeland described it as a “very interesting job” and not as gruesome as some people might imagine — “mostly I handled the paperwork.” But he found the job distressing at times.
He handied the deaths of the 257 people killed in the 1979 DCIO crash on Mount Erebus.
“I had people coming in to view rings, that sort of thing, which was quite depressing,” he said. Mr Copeland was to have retired when he turned 72 in February. His Coroner’s warrant has been extended three times since then as no suitable successor could be found.
He had a . law practice
before becoming a Coroner in January, 1954. He now hopes to relax and do some fishing. His successor is Mr Stephen Osborne, who has been Whakatane’s Coroner for 26 years.
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Press, 3 November 1984, Page 8
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172Coroner retires after 30 years Press, 3 November 1984, Page 8
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