Sir Howard Morrison’s funeral

Sir Howard Morrison was buried today. He died on Thursday at the age of 74.

His tangi took place at Te Papaioura Marae in Rotorua. More than 6,000 people visited the marae to view the body and share the sadness with the family. A concert was held the night before the funeral to remember the happy times. He was married for 55 years and had a daughter, two sons and number of grandchildren. His daughter, Donna, spoke at the funeral and his son, Howard Junior, sang. The Deputy Prime Minister, Bill English, also spoke.

Sir Howard Morrison became one of NZ’s most famous singers and entertainers. His group of singers was called the Howard Morrison quartet. Their first record was in 1958 with the song, “There’s only one of you.” In 1959, the group toured NZ and 6 months later, they were full-time entertainers. The group stayed together until 1965 and sometimes they got together again for special occasions. However, Howard Morrison more often entertained alone. One famous occasion was in 1981, when he sang “How Great Thou Art/ Whakaaria Mai” for the Queen. He was remembered by most New Zealanders for that song.

He was also well-known for the work he did for Maori people. In 1978, he started a programme, Tu Tangata which means Stand Tall, to encourage young Maori to follow their dreams. He worked hard to get Maori people to care about their health, especially the food they eat. He helped to send young Maori to university, he helped with the programme Books in Homes for children, and many other charities. For these reasons he became Sir Howard in 1990.