FIREMAN BAXTER'S FUNERAL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17319, 20 May 1918, Page 7

FIREMAN BAXTER'S FUNERAL

DEMONSTRATION OF FUBIJO SYMPATHY. The funeral of Fireman Robert Baxter yesterday afternoon was the occasion of a remarkable demonstration of public sympathy with the bereaved relatives and with the Firo Brigade. Fireman Baxter was killed in the accident that occurred on Thursday night while the brigade was responding to a malicious false alarm. All tho way from the Central Station right to Andereon Bay the route of the funeral ■was lined with crowds of people. Tho brigade assembled at 2 o'clock, and was formed up in tho yard nt the rear of the station, when the coffin was brought down and placed on tho motor that served as a hearso. The Rev. G. H. Jupp conductcd a brief service there. The parade stato showed 120 firemen present, including representatives of Port Chalmers, St. Kilda, Mornington, Roslyn. Maori Hill, Woodhaugh. Hillside, Railway, and Dunedin Railway Briga-des. Among those present were Deputy-superintendent Cooper, from Oamaru, ex-president of tho United Fire Brigades Association of New Zealand), members of the Dunedin Firo Board, and large numbers of ex-firemen. The pallbearers consisted of three members of the Dunedin Brigade, one from Oamaru, one Woodhaugh, and one from Maori Hill, of which brigado the deceased was at one time superintendent. The funeral procession was headed by the Ivatkorai and St. Kilda Bands combined, and the motor bearing the coffin was laden with floral tributes of sympathy. At the graveside at Anderson Bay a detachment of Boy Scouts, under Scoutmaster King, performed very useful service by keeping the precincts of the grave clear before the arrival of the cortege. The Rev. A. Cameron conducted the service at the cemetery, and the fireman's funeral ritual was read bv Depnty Superintendent Salmon. The Mayor (Mr J. J. Clark) visited the Central Station in the morning and officially expressed his sympathy with the brigade mid with the relatives of the deceased.