JOURNEYS END

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23619, 1 April 1940, Page 11

JOURNEYS END

THE FUNERAL TRAIN MANY CEREMONIES MAORIS' FULL SHARE HAKAS AND LAMENTS More than .ill the funeral pageantry in Wellington and Auckland, and. perhaps even more than the silent homage oi thousands who filed past his bier in Parliament House, the late Prime 3linister's last journey through the North Island countryside showed the regard in which he was held. How many thousand people paid thenrespects along the 450 miles of railway it is impossible to say, but e\ery one of the 20 stations at which the funeral | train halted during its 28 hours' run was thronged with,r silent and orderh folk from all the country aroivpd. At more than half of them parties ol Maoris offered tribute in their own demonstrative way. with liakas, mourning chants and hymns. in the Background For the Cabinet Ministers and others who accompanied their former leader s remains the jouriVey was an ordeal ielieved bv the warm human feeling that pervaded each stopping-place. 1 he most enduring memory ol: it all will probable he familiar hymns, such as 'Lead. Kindly Light" and "Abide }\ ith Me, admirably played" by small country 1 brass bands. Such music was the almost invariable background, whatever the hour of day or night. _ Minded with it.,and m no way incongruous to those who knew their New Zealand, were the wailing of Maori women and lusty shouts of men in the haka The two traditions, Maori and pakeha. stand together in perfect harmony,.typifying thes brotherhood of the brown and white races. Added to those who gathered at the stations, people all along the way stood and watched the train pass, \\eek-end holidnvmakers at Plimmerton, motorists halted at crossroads, groups m suburban back gardens, an entire tennisclub, farm families in paddocks, drivers of motor-lorries —all took time from the day's occupations to do what they regarded as a fluty. Two Hours Late The train was not a long one, and the casket was borne in a large van in the rear c.f the carnages. Ihe van was decorated on either side with black and purple drnpings and a large silvered cross. The interior was lined with black fabric and lit with dim electric lights. When the doors were slid back, the casket on its low bysr co' l ''' be seen by the thousands who marched "past it. . . , , . n The train passengers consisted chietty of members of the Cabinet and their wives the late Prime Ministers old friend' Air. A J French, and (us son, Mr. C. P. French; the High Commissioners for the United Kingdom, and Canada, Sir Harry Batter bee and "* Dr. W. A. Riddell. and Mr. C. h. Critchlev, Trade Commissioner for Australia; Mr. D. R. Grenfell, of the British Labour Party; the I-oarlor of the Opposition, the Hon. A. rlannton; and a number of officials of the Prime Minister's Department and the Railway Department. Leaving Wellington punctually at r 10.20 a.m. on a'lovely autumn morning, the train did not reach j aumarunui until 11.10 p.m.. two and a-quartei hours behind schedule. It had been quite impossible to keep to the appointed length of, stay at most stations and halts were made at some not on the time-table. Accordingly, the de- ! parture next morning was made at a.m., allowing an extra hour. , Green Mourning • Wreaths

At nearly every halt a hand would be found at one end of the station platform, playing hymns, and wherever even a dozen Maoris could muster they Would ho at the other, near the point where the mortuary van was expected to be. Women in front, dressed in black with green wreaths wound round their heads, would sot up a wailing chant, waving sprigs of greenery as thev did so. A liaka would follow, and Usually a Maori hymn, with sometimes also an old-time mourning chant. At several places, including Ot.aki, Marten and Ohakune, where more than 'a hundred Maoris were present, fi fine mat was delivered to Mr. K. 1. Tirikatene, M.P. for Southern Maori, who- represented the. native race, and waa draped by him over the casket.

In every instance the 'Maoris were allowed, as a matter of undisputed right, to address their greetings to tho dead statesman before the pakehas paid their tribute. Each place had its quota of wreaths, brought by men, women and even children. These were received by the Minister of Railways, the Hon. D. G. Sullivan, who stationed himself at the doorway of a van provided for the purpose. Many wreaths were contributed by Maoris. When this ceremony was. over, the people filed past the casket, and the train pulled out. At Levin a party from the Air Force training centre at Weraroa stood at attention the whole time with bent heads. The Maori Battalion, 800 strong, lined the Palmerston North platform as a guard of honour, and as the train elowl.v passed Hopuhopu Camp the next morning all the artillery in training there was found formed up three deep along the line, the parade extending for what seemed a quarter of a mile. Chaplains, three grey-uniformed nurses and other details were with the men. and fatigue parties in the camp could also be seen standing to attention. Enormous crowds filed through the station at Palmerston North and thousands more' were -gathered in the Square, where the train made a short halt. At Hamilton more than half an hour was needed for an estimated 12.000 to view" the casket. The most moving scene of all was at Huntly, where all the coal miners in the district and their families had gathered. Conspicuous figures on the platform as the train drew in ivere the Roman Catholic parish priest in his cassock and two Franciscans in their habits of brown. An unusually large party of Maoris concluded a haka bv scattering their green sprays upon the floor around the bier and sang an old lament. As soon as this was over, a Eurppean church choir began to sing very sweetly "Nearer, My God, To Thee," many of the crowd joining in.

The Maoris followed with a hymn of their own, and as the train moved away the strains of "Abide With Me" faded slowly in the distance. The beauty of tho unaccompanied singing, the bright morning sunshine and the intense feeling written on the faces of the bareheaded men and awed women made the occasion one not easily to bo forgotten. Most of the people everywhere were content with corporate tributes to the departed, but not all. At one station a feeble old lady was helped forward to the train and there presented a pathetic little bunch of purple flowers. Attached to it was a card on which she had written, "In loving memory of a true friend."