OBITUARY

Southland Times, Issue 21198, 26 September 1930, Page 8

OBITUARY

MR HARRY McNEISH. 1 (Per United Press Association.) Wellington, September 25. . One of the few who have taken part in two expeditions to the Antarctic, Mr Harry McNeish, died in Wellington, aged 64 years, He had been in the Ohiro Home for some years and went into hospital about a week ago. He was a member of the expeditions to the Antarctic led by Captain Scott and Sir Ernest Shackleton. He was born in Irvine, Argyllshire, in IS6B. Mr McNeish served his time at a shipbuilding yard in Port Glasgow. The first ship in which he went to sea was the Barfillan, a threemasted square-rigged ship of 2,508 tons. He then joined the Navy and was ship’s carpenter for 23 years. He next, went to Dundee and worked on the building of the Discovery which was to go south with Scott. Mr McNeish joined her as carpenter, the trip lasting two years and three months from Port Chalmers. Captain Scott got. only as far as the Beardmore Glacier,on that occasion and Mr McNeish was on the Discovery- at that point until Captain Scott returned, his party being too'late to get the ship out, so they had to spend another .winter there. For eight months they were cutting through miles of ice and on the day the ice disappeared the ships Morning and Terra Nova hove in sight. Returning to England, Mr McNeish served with the Royal Mail Line when he was called to join the Endurance as carpenter for another Antarctic expedition with Sir Ernest Shackleton Tire Endurance sailed for the South Pole on August 15, 1914. Mr McNeish shared the adventures of the crew when she was crushed in the ice in the Weddel Sea in October, 1915, and when the crew dragged three of the best boats over the ice for about 20 miles to the open water, 28 men then setting sail for Elephant Island. When after a stay of four , days at Elephant Island six men set sail for South Georgia, McNeish was made sailing master by Sir Ernest Shackleton. After landing, Sir Ernest walked over to the whaling station for assistance, and Mr McNeish returned to England with the first whaler. He went to sea with the New Zealand Shipping Company and finally worked his passage to New Zealand with the intention of settling here. Later he became an inmate of the Ohiro Home.

The remains of the late Mr McNeish will not go down to the grave “unhonoured and unsung.” He will be accorded a naval funeral and the remains will be borne on a gun-carriage to the cemetery to-morrow morning. The firing party and pall-bearers will be supplied by H.M.S. Dunedin, who will render naval honours to the deceased sailor and explorer. As soon as the proposal for a naval funeral was brought to the notice of the Minister of Internal Affairs (the Hon. P. A. de la Perrelle) and the Minister of Defence (the Hon. J. G. Cobbe), both expressed themselves in sympathy and at once expressed agreement that fitting honours should be done to the remains. Mr Perrelle gave directions to arrange for a private grave in Karori Cemetery. The Navy League will be represented at the funeral by Mr R. Darroch, secretary for New Zealand, and other members of the league from whom a floral tribute will also be forwarded.