- FUNERAL OF THE LATE SERGEANT RICHARD TROY.
The remains of the late Sergeant Troy, who was accidentally shot at East Kimberley on the 16th of June last, while rushing a native camp, were interred in the Roman Catholic Cemetery in this town on Sunday afternoon last.
The funeral left Mr. R. Troy's (father of deceased) residence at about 3 p.m., and there must have been fully one hundred persons present, the procession being arranged in the following order : — The hearse. Chief mourners. 6 police in uniform. General public.
The mourners consisted of the parents, sisters, and brothers of deceased, while the police constables were under the command of Sergeant. McKenna, of Newcastle. The pall-bearers were Messrs. R. Gallop,
Thos. Kindelan,
J. Tomney, and W. Doran.
After leaving the residence of deceased's parents the procession wended its way to the chapel where prayers were offered up for the dead. Leaving the sacred edifice the- cemetery was soon reached and the coffin was placed in the grave.
After the usual, solemn burial rites had been performed, the Rev. Father Duff, who conducted the ceremony throughout, addressed the assemblage as follows : —
My dear people : — I come here to-day as a friend to attend the funeral of the late Sergeant Troy, but by the kind per mission of your pastor I am privileged with the sad office of performing the burial rites.
Sortie months have now elapsed since I said a few words about the. exemplary life that the deceased officer led. Then his body was buried far away from York, in the wilds of Kimberley : but in accordance with the wishes of his parents and relatives it has been brought hither tor interment today.
It would be sad indeed to think that the remains of so good a Christian should be left uncared for in a spot where death stripped of every sign of hope all but seemed eternal.
Holy Church never grows weary of looking after the soul of man ; and when it has fled she wishes to deposit the body in sacred earth. She does so in the hope that it will have a joyful resurrection on the last day.
Hence the solemn benediction with which she consecrates her cemeteries, and the beautiful inscription graven on the stone that covers the ashes of the departed one : —
" Here lies a faithful servant who fell asleep in the Lord in the hope of awaking on the last day."
Thus does religion deprive the tomb of all its terrors by teaching man to submit quietly and patiently to the stroke of death for a moment in order that by a miracle no less wonderful than creation itself he may rise to new life more glorious than the first.
It is therefore a source of joy to the Church at York today to have the body of one who grew up under her own roof, and who received the bread of the life at her hands, interred in this little cemetery — a cemetery furnished with all those appurtenances of religion which promise, nay, insure a joyful resurrection.
The deceased was known to many, perhaps I might say to everyone of you yet it is permissible to us upon this occasion to look back upon his past life in order that have may do honour to his remains.
Last April I made his acquaintance at Wyndham — an acquaintance to which I shall always look back to with pleasure. His disinterested application to the duties of his position and his child-like simplicity of manner made him a favourite .
with every body.
In proof of this it is sufficient for me to mention that the name and memory of Richard Troy still lives fresh in the minds of the inhabitants of the Murchison and Greenough .districts where he was stationed for many years.
Ah, how different was his journey the other day as he passed by those places from what it was in former times. Along the same coast by which he often repaired to the scene of his labours he was carried back a lifeless corpse.
Many a long and weary day did he labour on those shores in the cause of humanity and the services of his country. However all his toils are over now. Never again will lie look for the protecting shade from the scorching rays of the sun where he might partake of his midday repast nor seek at night no better resting place than the bank of some creek where he might the more conveniently prepare his humble meal.
Never again will his brave heart be agitated with anxious cares. Here he will calmly and quietly sleep until the resurrection morn. Then may his body after leaving all that is material behind in the grave come forth regenerated, impassable, more pure and more brilliant than the stars, to become a sharer in the happiness and immortality of the soul. — E . D. Chronicle. [1]
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1857 - 1890 (33 years)
