Former Prime Minister Neville Murray was farewelled at a state funeral at St Paul’s Cathedral in Swanston Street in the heart of the city of Melbourne. Traffic had been blocked off around the cathedral to cater for the thousands of mourners expected to attend. A Day of Mourning had been declared and all Australian flags around the country were lowered to half-mast.
Jake was surprised to receive an invitation to the memorial service and presumed Anna Sentoro’s office had nominated him as a guest. He arrived at 10.30 a.m., thirty minutes before the service was due to commence and was ushered to a seat in the reserved area of the church. The cathedral was already packed to capacity. The mourners spilled out into the adjacent Federation Square where the memorial service was being telecast live on a huge screen. Television crews and photographers were set up outside the cathedral to catch the dignitaries entering the church.
Jake looked around and could see some of the most powerful people in the country; past Prime Ministers, ministers and parliamentarians from all sides of politics, former governors-general, State Premiers, community and business leaders and celebrities. Foreign dignitaries included Prime Ministers and Presidents from Britain, Canada, New Zealand, South East Asia and Pacific Island Nations; the Vice-President of the USA, the Chinese Premier, the Deputy Prime Minister from Japan and ambassadors resident in Australia. The Archbishop of Melbourne led the service in honouring Murray’s lifetime commitment to public service, a life tragically cut short by a terrible terrorist attack. Family members and friends paid glowing tributes to his character and devotion to his family. Anna Sentoro, as Prime Minister in-waiting, spoke eloquently on behalf of the Government in paying respects to his achievements in government, business and the wider community.
Outside the church, thousands of the public watched solemnly as the coffin, draped in the Australian flag, was carried out of the cathedral by family members and placed in the back of a hearse. A large cavalcade of black cars, surrounded by security officers, followed the hearse as it wound its way slowly down Swanston Street, the main thoroughfare through the city, to the Melbourne Cemetery on the edge of the city. Thousands of mourners lined the street paying their respects as Neville Murray made his last journey.