Civic funeral in Christchurch
Burial of 41 Victims of Fire
Services at Cathedral and Graveside

The Press, Nov 24, 1947. p.6.

Christchurch yesterday afternoon mourned the 41 victims of the fire which destroyed the acre-block of J. Ballantyne and Company, Ltd., last Tuesday. While 1000 filled the Cathedral in the heart of the city, many hundreds outside joined in the civic service, and all along the three-mile route of the funeral procession to the Ruru Lawn Cemetery thousands stood. People in homes all over New Zealand listened to the radio broadcast.

It was probably the greatest crowd ever assembled in Christchurch, the only comparable numbers gathering on a very different occasion: celebration of victory in the Second World War. Yesterday a great hush descended on the city. The people's mood expressed not only grief but also respect for the dead and sympathy with the bereaved.

It was a city's tribute to those who had been their fellows and had worked for a firm whose traditions were almost as old as the community which mourned.