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Saturday 20 August 2011

Sir Paul Reeves: Some Words in his Praise

Click to hear what former Commonwealth Secretary Hon Don McKinnon and others have to say. Sir Paul Reeves to be honoured with state funeral | NATIONAL News 

Click to Harold Koi in the Fiji Times

As it happened: Sir Paul Reeves farewelled

This is a chronological account of the funeral.  Readers may prefer to read it from bottom (9:30 am) to top (1:10pm)

Published: 10:02AM Thursday August 18, 2011 Source: ONE News
Thousands of people have turned out in Auckland today to pay their respects to former Governor-General Sir Paul Reeves, who died aged 78 on Sunday after a short battle with cancer.
1.10 There is silence ahead of the hearse leaving the cathedral grounds.
1.07 Sir Paul's casket is being placed in a hearse.
1.06 Mourners carrying pictures of Sir Paul are being carried behind the casket.
1.05 A haka is being performed as the casket is brought out of the cathedral.
1.03 The casket is about to be carried down the aisle towards the cathedral doors
1.01: Archbishop Brown Turei pronounces the blessing
1:00 Archbishop Brown Turei addresses the service.
12:57 The National Anthem is sung by the congregation.
12:55 Sir Paul's casket is being blessed, while the Nunc Dimittis is sung. Mr Phillip O'Shea addresses the service and reads out Sir Paul's honours and achievements.
12:45 The Lord's Prayer is recited in Maori and The Most Reverent Archbishop David Moxon addresses the service, leading the commendation and comittal for burial.
12:40 The Very Reverend Ross Bay, the Bishop of Auckland, leads a prayer.
12:30 Taranaki Bishop Philip Richardson addresses the service. He praises Sir Paul for "working for justice and peace" saying he was a "truly good man."
12:25 Daughter Sarah tells the service of her father's love for his grandchildren. "We feel sad that he won't see his grandchildren grow towards adulthood," she said. "We love you Dad, rest well," she said.
12:18 She tells the service: "Even in the face of great difficulty, he sought to lighten the way for us - his family." She describes him as a man with a larger than life presence,  and that he never learnt to say no.

Sarah said growing up was as normal as it could be when your father was a Priest, a Bishop and a Governor General.
She said the family is constantly amazed at how many people and communities Sir Paul came into contact with and said her father had an irreverent sense of humour and always laughed at his own jokes.

She tells the service of seeing her father in hospital in the weeks leading up to his death. "We leaned in, he took off his mask and said 'Bugger'."
12:15 Sir Paul's three daughters, Sarah, Bridget and Jane address the service.
12:05 Former Commonwealth Secretary General Sir Don McKinnon addresses the service, paying tribute to Sir Paul's work around the world.

He said Sir Paul could "walk with kings and the common man" and that "we have all lost a very fine friend."
11:55 McCormack pays tribute to his friend and colleague Sir Paul and speaks of how he embraced his job at the university and his committment to education. He describes Sir Paul as a "forced to be reckoned with - a force that caught you up in the gust and vision in the great possibilities to do great things for people."

McCormack said Sir Paul could "straddle the faultlines of society, to bring people together." 

"You will be sadly missed forever" he said.
11:49 AUT's vice chancellor Derek McCormack addresses the congregation. Sir Paul served as the university's chancellor for six years from 2005.
11:47 Moxon describes Reeves as a "towering figure" and that his death was like the falling of a great Totara. "With his death, the church and the global community have lost one of their great iconic figures," he said.
Moxon pays tribute to Sir Paul's relationship with both Pakeha and Maori. "He spoke of having one leg in the Pakeha world and one leg in the Maori world."
11:38 The Most Reverent Archbishop David Moxon tells the congregation that Reeves "summed up what is to be an agent of god" and that he was a "towering tree in the canopy of our forest."

"He had the ability to relate to people," Moxon tells the mourners and was "forthcoming and honest". 
11:30 Outgoing Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand gives a reading and the congregation sings Piko nei te matenga, a Maori lament hymn.

11:22 The Choir sings 'Many waters cannot quench love'.
11:17 Sir Paul's daughters Jane and Bridget give readings.
11:10 The Most Reverent Archbishop David Moxon, Bishop Kito Pikaahu and Bishop Winston Halapua address the service.
11:06 Dr John Sentamu reads a message from the Archbishop of Canterbury, saying Sir Paul was one of the great statesmen of the Anglican Communion and that we should give thanks for the "good that he did." He  says Sir Paul's passing has left a huge gap in the global community.
11:05 The Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, one of the highest ranking clerics in the Church of England addresses the congregation.
11:02 The 90 minute service is attended by 200 clergy including four archbishops and Prime Minister John Key.
11:00 The Dean of Auckland, The Reverend Jo Kelly-Moore welcomes the mourners as the service begins.
10:55 Sir Paul's casket is draped in the New Zealand flag and a kahu kiwi cloak.
10:53 The head of Sir Paul's casket faces the congregation as mourners are seated and the remainder of the procession walks into the Cathedral.
10:48 Bishops and Archbishops, followed by Sir Paul's casket and family are making their way through the Cathedral's Grand Doors.

10:45 Clergymen lead the procession into the cathedral followed by friends and family of Sir Paul.
10:42 Taranaki iwi and hundreds of students greet the casket, with haka and waiata. The casket is draped with white flowers.

10:40 Representatives of the royal guard are carrying the body of Sir Paul across the forecourt of the cathedral on a beautiful, sunny and cloudless sky in Auckland.
10:30 Flags at Parliament are being flown at half-mast today to mark the State Funeral.
10:27 The hearse is making its way to the forecourt of the cathedral, as young people from various schools look on.
10:20 The streets opposite the cathedral are lined with onlookers and school children as people make their way inside.
10:17 Buses behind the hearse are carrying the family of Sir Paul and Taranaki representatives.
10:15 The hearse carrying Sir Paul had made its way to the Holy Trinity in Parnell. Representatives from the armed forces have joined the cortege at Titoki St by the Domain and a slow march has continued towards the cathedral.
10:05 All roads have now been closed in and around Parnell ahead of Sir Paul's funeral. Police are on every corner of the Domain and around the Cathedral.

10:00 A large contingent of media is gathering as Sir Paul's state funeral draws nearer.
9:45 Family and friends of Sir Paul have started gathering at Parnell's Holy Trinity Cathedral.
9:30 The funeral cortege leaves Holy Sepulchre Church on Burleigh St, Eden Terrace at 9.30am and travels along Khyber Pass Road, Grafton Road, Park Road, left into Domain Drive and continues through Auckland Domain to Parnell Road. 380 St Peters College students formed a guard of honour along the way.
Sir Paul's body has been lying in state at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Auckland since Monday. This morning brought a close to the former Governor-General's tangi.
Motorists are being advised to avoid the Parnell area and surrounding streets during the funeral period.
Road closures and parking restrictions include:
- Parking restrictions on Burleigh Street, Eden Terrace from 6am today until 10pm Thursday.
- Parking restrictions on Brighton Road, Parnell, Birdwood Cres, Parnell Thursday 8am to 2pm
- Road closure St Stephens Ave from Parnell Road to Brighton Rd, Parnell Thursday 8am to 2pm .
- Road closure Domain Drive from Titoki Street to Parnell Road Thursday 9am to 11am.
- Road closure Parnell Road from Ayr Street to St Stephens Ave intersection Thursday 9am to 2pm.

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