Sir Barry to rest in Tasmania despite pleas from EHP

National, Normal
Source:

The National, Thursday 24th January, 2013

By ZACHERY PER
THE funeral service for the late Sir Barry Holloway will be held on Saturday at Kimberley in Tasmania.
The family announcement of the service was made through in a newspaper advertisement.
Kainantu people had pleaded to the family to bring his body for burial in Eastern Highlands.
The funeral service will be held at the St Michael’s and All Angels Anglican church in Kimberley from 1pm.
The burial is scheduled for 3pm.
A note from the family said there should be no flowers and any donations in cash or kind should be sent through the City Mission PNG or the Mr Zion Blind Centre in Goroka.
The leaders of the four local level governments and directors of the Kainantu Kommuniti Business board had asked the national government and his family to bring the body to Goroka.
The leaders have called on his children, especially Joe and Esther Holloway, to take his body to Kainantu.
These leaders included board chairman Pepsi Piro, Kainantu town mayor Lui Anis, company director Akila Iniviko, Kamano One LLG president Tom Bill and district administrator Jeffery Kokorime.
They said Sir Barry was a Kainantu citizen and his body should be buried there.
“We heard that his body would be taken to be buried in Tasmania, which is going to be a slap in the face for us,” Piro said.
Anis said they had their own way of farewelling loved ones and they wanted Sir Barry to be accorded that.
“He grew up among us and helped to establish businesses, institutions and contributed towards the development of Kainantu, Eastern Highlands and PNG,” he said.
Anis called on the EHP government and Prime Minister Peter O’Neill to help them bring Sir Barry’s body to Kainantu.
Simon Barai Arompai, chairman of the Yonki Dam Landowners Group, said people had contributed money to bring Sir Barry’s wife to Keketuantu village, 5km east of Kainantu town, in 1953.
“We are calling on the government to help bring the body of the late Sir Barry here so we can mourn because he is a citizen of Kainantu,” Arompai said.
Sir Barry was a long-time government minister and speaker and was involved heavily in communities and the way of life in PNG.