STATION SCENE

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

STATION SCENE

ARRIVAL IN AUCKLAND RECEPTION BY CHURCH DRAPING OF THE CASKET PRIZED MATS AND ENSIGN There was only a small official party on the platform when the fftneral train bringing Mr. Savage's body home slowly drew into the Auckland railway station at 2.10 p.m. After the casket had been received by representatives of the Roman Catholic Church it was borne in solemn procession through the station concourse to the waiting guncarriage at the main entrance. The reception of the funeral train was the most private part of the day's ceremonies. Members of the public were not admitted to the station, which, in contrast to the crowded streets, was strangely deserted. Procession Down Concourse Awaiting the train on the platform were Captain Lord Dormer, A'sD.C., representing the Governor-General; the Minister of Public Works, the Hon. U. Semple; the Premier of Queensland, Mr. \Y. Forgan Smith; Bishop Liston and Roman Catholic priests; the Mayor of Auckland, Sir Frnest Davis; Mr. and Mrs. D. G. Alfrev (daughter and son-in-law of Mr. and Mrs. A. J. French), Captain \Y. E. Parry, MajorGeneral J. E. Duigan, Group Captain H. W. L. Saunders, Captain H. M. Barnes, Colonel N. W. McD. Weir, the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates, Mr. P. K. Paikea, M.P.; Mr. J. Cnmmings, Superintendent of Police; and Mr. J. E. Jones, acting-stationmaster. The casket was removed from the train by the eight bearers, two each from the Royal Navv. the Royal Marines, the Royal Now Zealand Artillery and the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Bishop Liston received the body with the prayer In Paradisnm. Then, preceded by Father P. T. B. McKcefrv, bearing the Cross, and attended by Monsignor \Y. Ormond, Monsijnio'r J. Ca hill, Monsignor H. Hoi brook and Monsignor T.- Connolly, representing Archbishop O'Shea, the bishop moved off at the head of the procession. On the journey down the station concourse the psalms De Profundis and Miserere were chanted. Members of the Cabinet

Members of the Cabinet who had travelled from Wellington with the funeral train walked on each side of the casket and they were followed by other members of the official party. As the procession moved through the concourse Chopin's Funeral March was played by the Papakura Camp Band, drawn up just in front of the guncarriage. Brilliant sunshine and the glitter of polished .arms met the cortege when it emerged from tho shadow of the station. Representative of the three Services, the escort, facing the entrance, presented arms. The casket was lifted on to the gun-carriage. Korowai and Ensign

On one end of the casket was the kiwi mat placed there in Wellington by Mr. E. T. Tirikatene, M.P.,, on behalf of southern Maoris. Mr. Paikea stepped forward and draped over the other end a highly-prized korowai mat, a tribute from northern Maoris. "A tear from vour Maori people," he said in Maori, "Depart, O chief; depart, O father." Captain Parry, commander of the Achilles, then covered the casket with the New Zealand Ensign flown by the cruiser in the action with the German battleship * Admiral Graf Spee in the Battle of the River Plate. This gesture strikingly symbolised Mr. Savage's deep sympathy and active interest in the Dominion's war effort. Meanwhile the official party, who had carried wreaths from the train, had placed them on a special motor-truck.

AFTER THE SERVICE THOUSANDS VISIT POINT POLICE CLEAR GROUND Although the bulk of the crowd dispersed at the end of the burial service at Bastion Point, many waited to file past the array of wreaths spread on the slopes adjacent to the vault. These people were augmented by many thousands, who arrived from points on the route of the procession in a late afternoon pilgrimage to the point. About 80 police constables on duty at the point began to move the crowd away about 5.30 p.m. and, by working, across the ground in lines, the officers had cleared all the area inside a ropedoff enclosure by six o'clock. Even at this hour, hundreds of motor-cars and people on foot were arriving at the point, to be turned back by the police. Sunset came with the ground still the intended destination of many more people, but a guard of six police, under a sergeant, was left on duty through the night to keep the area free of visitors.