FUNERAL OF LATE MR F. R. COOKE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19109, 30 June 1930, Page 6

FUNERAL OF LATE MR F. R. COOKE.

MANY CITIZENS ATTEND TO PAY LAST RESPECTS.

All sections of the community were represented at the Sydenham Cemetery yesterday when the late Mr F. R. Cooke was buried. Grouped round the grave side were nearly 5000, a gathering which was an eloquent testimony to public appreciation of the services rendered to the community by Mr Copke. Many of those who had opposed Mr Cocke politically were present. The cortege from the Trades Hall was an extremely long one, there being over 100 motor-cars, while in addition to these, many cyclists joined in. Both sides of Gloucester Street were deeply lined with people. There was no religious service at the graveside, but addresses were given by the Mayor (the Rev J. K. Archer), Mr E. J. Howard, M.P., Mr P. Fraser, M.P. (Wellington Central) and Mr J. A. M’Cullough. Tributes to the unswerving loyalty of Mr Cooke to his ideals and his belief in humanity were paid by the speakers. The ceremony was concluded by the singing, by many of those present, of the “Red Flag.” “The earth is not for us alone, and that others may live we must die.* said Mr M’Cullough, in delivering an oration. He said that all must fall before the Great Reaper. Human beings lived, and died, but the forces of Nature went on forever. As life was not all joys, so death was not all sorrow. Death was a necessity imposed by the laws of Nature; nothing was so certain as that death would come. It was there, at the graveside, that knowledge learned its limitations, for knowledge was confined to this side of the grave and it was well that it was so. He urged those present to hope and work for a fairer future, free of trouble and pain and for a smoother, happier way The interment then took place amid the silence of the big assemblage. For a few seconds more, the concourse ; stood still and then once more Mr M’Cullough addressed those present.