IMPRESSIVE CEREMONY

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LII, Issue 16209, 6 December 1926, Page 14

IMPRESSIVE CEREMONY

CAPTAIN'S ASHES CAST ON SEA (Special to the Het-ald.) CHRISTCHURCH, this day. "1 direct that my body be cremated and the ashes handed over to the Kilwinning Lodge to bo deposited at sea 10 miles north-east of Godley Head, Lyttelton."—Such were the instructions contained in the will of Captain W. I'. Collins, veteran master mariner, who died in Wellington two weeks ago. Yesterday afternoon, in bright sunshine and a freshening southerly wind and in"sight of the bold peninsular headlands which he must so often have scanned when making port, his wishes were duly carried out and the ashes in a suitable receptacle consigned to the deep. A Masonic wreath of evergreens tossing on the tumbling waves alone marked the spot, and as the little steamer which carried members of the Kilwinning Lodge circled slowly around the wreath the brethen east their emblems on the water. The late Captain Collins, who was a native of Lyttelton, had become a member of Kilwinning Masonic Lodge, No. 23, when a young man, and although of late years he had resided away from Lyttelton he bad always taken the deepest interest in the affairs of the lodge. To cany out his wishes the Lodge chartered the small steamer John Anderson and about 100 members took part in the ceremony, which was simple, solemn and impressive. Under Captain Collins' will Lodge Kilwinning benefits to the extent of a ■•very large amount, understood to be about five figures.