From an early hour in the afternoon, it was evident that all roads in Dunedin were leading to the Exhibition building, where the Returned Soldiers’ Association was holding its memorial service.
This is regarded by most people as the principal service of that day, and the confidence of the association in the general support of the public was not misplaced. Seating accommodation had been planned for 2000 people, and in the huge No 1 building the forms seemed to occupy but a tiny corner of the floor space. They were fully taken up by next-of-kin of soldiers, representatives of local bodies, returned nurses, the girls of Columba College and those who took part in the procession from town, namely, a detachment from HMS Dunedin, members of the RSA, South African veterans and all the bands of the city and suburbs. At the rear of the platform a model cenotaph was erected on which was suspended a beautiful wreath of brilliant red on a background of green. All went smoothly till the main front door for the general public was opened. Apparently, this had been left a little too long and the crowd had become impatient. A wild rush, probably started by a few unruly small boys, set in for the few unoccupied seats, and the most unseemly spectacle was witnessed of men, women, and children, some of the men in uniform, racing across the floor and then across the forms in grotesque panic haste to reach the best available seats. Throughout the greater part of the service the tramp of entering feet on the wooden floor made considerable disturbance. The parade assembled opposite the Returned Soldiers’ Association club rooms at 2pm. About 233 returned soldiers paraded, including a number of Boer War veterans, and representatives of the Otago Officers’ Club. The parade was in mufti, the men wearing their medals.
Woman dies after mystery crash
Oamaru, April 26: Olive Rutherford (18 years) and Philip Hudson (19 years) had been "keeping company" for four years, and they were formally engaged with the full approval of their parents. They had been away together on several previous occasions. The police, including Detective La Sueur, commenced inquiries on Wednesday afternoon. They found Hudson's watch, which had stopped at 7.25am, beside the place where the girl was found and also a hat, a glove, and a man’s handkerchief soaked in blood. An empty cartridge was found beside the body, and another near the wrecked car. Blood stains led from the body of the girl down the side of the hill past the debris of the car, and on again over the stones down to the water’s edge. The stains were not extensive, but they were sufficient to show the direction in which Hudson had gone. The police have endeavoured to formulate theories, but none can be established in the absence of Hudson and owing to the death of the girl. A rifle, if one was used, was not discovered, and it is thought that it may have been taken to the river by Hudson.
Whether Hudson and the girl were in the car when it went over the cliff will probably never be determined. The police are continuing to search for Hudson and have unsuccessfully dragged the river in the hope of recovering the rifle, which, it is learned, he sometimes carried with him. Olive Rutherford died at 9pm on Saturday without recovering consciousness. The body was brought to Oamaru this afternoon. A postmortem examination was made to-night.
— ODT, 27.4.1925 (Compiled by Peter Dowden)
