Te Papa head's funeral to be held at museum

The funeral service for Te Papa chief executive Seddon Bennington, who died tramping in the Tararuas, will be held at the museum where he worked this week.

Dr Bennington, 61, and his tramping companion Marcella Jackson, 54, were found dead in the snow in the Tararua Ranges shortly before 11am on Wednesday, four days after they went missing.

The funeral service for Dr Bennington will be held at Rongomaraeroa, Te Papa's marae, on Wednesday at 1pm.

The marae will be closed to the public during this time, Te Papa spokeswoman Jane Keig said.

However, Dr Bennington's casket would be brought onto the marae at 4pm on Tuesday and those wishing to pay their respects would be able to do so until 10pm.

Dr Bennington's body would remain on the marae overnight until the end of the funeral service, Ms Keig said.

Dr Bennington's family thanked the Levin police and the search and rescue teams involved in the recovery operations.

A preliminary post mortem showed Dr Bennington and Mrs Jackson died of hypothermia.

The pair had headed into the ranges for a weekend tramp to Kime Hut but failed to return as planned on Sunday.

After more than two days of searching, their bodies were found about 1km from the hut.

Although the pair were otherwise well-equipped, police said neither had carried a cellphone or locator beacon.

- NZPA