Friends and family turned out to farewell Anthony Mulder at the Manukau Memorial Gardens. Photo / Greg Bowker
Family and friends of Anthony Mulder huddled beneath umbrellas yesterday to bid a final farewell, sheltering from the driving rain which took the lives of the 16-year-old, five classmates and a teacher one week before.
But the sun wasn't far away, breaking through the clouds as Anthony was
laid to rest next to his good mate Floyd Fernandes.
At a memorial service following his burial at Manukau Memorial Gardens, friends and family remembered Anthony as a kind, selfless boy who was always willing to serve others.
He was a sportsman, a drummer, a fisherman and a cook. He loved children and spent most of his holidays at children's ministries and holiday programmes, helping and encouraging them in sports and activities.
His parents, John and Miriam, described the "sonic booms" from the garage where Anthony whiled away hours on various projects, recently including a spud gun, which resulted in potatoes "assaulting the neighbourhood".
Anthony's friend Isaac said the spud gun proved useful late last year when Anthony decided he'd had enough of science and used it to fire bits of his science book off the roof.
Mr Mulder said Anthony loved drumming before he could walk and "the bigger he got the harder he struck, and he didn't always worry about the time of day".
Friends from his Powerzone youth group spoke of his great talent for cooking, and said anyone who found themselves in Anthony's group for meals counted themselves lucky: "He made the best cheesecake ever and if you never tried it you missed out," said close friend Sarah Brooks, a survivor of last week's tragedy.
Mr Mulder described precious memories of camping, tramping and fishing.
"I'm so going to miss those days out on the water with you, not that we ever posed much of a threat to the fish," he joked. "He had the most treasured heart, so willing to love and to help others."
"If he saw it needed doing, our gentle giant would be there doing it. In the past few days we've seen that same helping heart was being poured into everything he did."
