LATE MRS M. WINIATA.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 10 March 1931, Page 4

LATE MRS M. WINIATA.

LARGELY ATTENDED OBSEQUIES.

The funeral of the late Mrs M. Winiata, of Hokio, took place on Sunday afternoon, and was attended by over six hundred people, affording fitting evidence of the popularity of the deceased and of sympathy for the family in their sad loss. The religious ceremonies were preceded by a tangi on an imposing scale, Natives coming from near and far, including relatives and friends from the Napier and Wairoa districts, to mourn the departure of, one whom they held in great affection. After a service conducted by the Rev. Father Eiordan, of Otaki, the lengthy cortege left the Ngatokomaru meeting house for the family burial ground, Raumatangi, situated at the squrce of the Hokio Stream, on the western shore of Lake Horowhenua. A party of Maori girls sang a hymn in the Native tongue at the graveside, and the last rites were performed by Father Riordan. A magnificent collection of wreaths accompanied the hearse to the cemetery, among them being handsome tributes from the Horowhenua Rugby District Council, the Levin Racing Club, the Wanderers’ Football Club, and the Foxton Football Club. The pall-bearers were Messrs Martin Winiata, jun., Werata, and four cousins of Mr Winiata, the Messrs Andrews, of Hawke*s Bay. After th e obsequies there was a large assembly at the meeting-house, where the traditional customs of the race were observed by the dispensing of hospitality on a sumptuous scale to all comers, and by the making of orations appropriate to the occasion. Among those who delivered speeches wqye the representatives in Parliament of' the Western and Southern Maori districts, Messrs Taite te Tomo and Tuiti MakStanara respectively; and Mr Hector McDonald spoke on behalf of the Europeans. * -'v