Mourners say their final goodbyes to the unruly tourist leader James Anthony Nolan.
Mourners say their final goodbyes to the unruly tourist leader James Anthony Nolan.
Hundreds of mourners have gathered to farewell the leader of the unruly British travelling group who caused mayhem around New Zealand three summers ago.
James Anthony Nolan - who fled New Zealand using someone else's passport - died at aged 29, reportedly earlier this month.
Video footage, posted on Facebook by Nolan's sister Isabella, shows family members held a memorial event for Nolan's death in Teddington, south west London, earlier this week.
A white and silver gilded carriage was carried through the streets as mourners followed.
She wrote: "So today was my last time seeing my beautiful baby brother I just can't believe it and I don't think I can accept it right now my heart in two. My baby brother I'd love if I could just see he's smile...I don't no how any of use are going to go on without my beautiful prince."
A white and silver gilded carriage was carried through the streets as mourners followed.
Relatives in the United Kingdom have posted tributes on social media to Nolan.
Family member Lulu Mary Nolan wrote his death hadn't sunk in.
"My big lovely brother Jimmy Nolan as much as we always had argument been there all my life loved him like a big brother best daddy to his big lovely children and best husband to my sister."
The British family's holiday was cut short after they were served with a deportation notice in 2019. Photo / Jason Oxenham
After making their first notorious public appearance at a popular beach shortly after their arrival, the group dominated the headlines for several days.
On January 13, 2019, the tourist family showed up at Takapuna Beach to enjoy a day out, but as they were leaving they left behind a hefty amount of rubbish on the reserve.
The family at the time had claimed to be Irish, a local said, but it was later established they are English.
Disgruntled beachgoers had challenged the family and asked them to pick up their rubbish, but the tourists allegedly turned violent and threatened to punch locals in the face.
Witness Krista Curnow had told the NZ Herald the family of tourists surrounded her and shouted abuse while footage from the incident shows a young boy shouting: "I'll knock your brains out".
"The young boy in the video came up to our group and emptied his bag of chips on our blanket, before laughing and ran away," she said.
"We asked them if the were going to pick up their rubbish and they said they weren't coming back. So I followed them and I said 'hey don't come to our country and disrespect it like that'.
"Their response was basically if we have a problem then we can pick it up and that's what the council is for.
"That's when they started getting quite violent. About four or five ladies stood around me in a half circle. They were saying they were going to hit me and I started walking backwards to get out of it.
"They turned violent and even grandma and the child got involved saying they wanted to punch my head in."
The tourist family had spoken exclusively to the Herald, counter-claiming one of their children was assaulted at the beach. They also denied fleeing restaurants without paying for their meals.
John Johnson, his brother, David, as well as their partners and children, including a young baby, and mother Eileen Doran, of Liverpool, said the social media furore which kicked off due to rubbish left on the beach had cut short their holiday and they would be returning home a week earlier than planned.
However, Immigration NZ confirmed the group was issued with a deportation notice. In February 2019, James Nolan fled the country using someone else's passport.
Nolan had a warrant out for his arrest after failing to appear in court over the previous few weeks.
He faced allegations of fraud, assault with a weapon and reckless driving.
Customs said they had robust procedures and systems in place to protect the border, but acknowledged that Nolan had managed to get through on false pretences.
"James Nolan deliberately circumvented border controls by using a valid passport that was not his own.
"He used an eGate, which uses biometric data to match and confirm the identity of a passenger. The eGate identified further checks were needed on the passport.
James Nolan has died in England. Photo / Supplied
"The image was automatically sent to a Customs officer, who incorrectly identified Nolan as the passport owner.
"Unfortunately, that was a case of human error, which shouldn't have occurred."
Customs officials had launched a review into its processes after the incident.
Last year, New Zealand Opera had also decided to make a show on the "unruly tourists" to portray the group's infamous campaign, as it reportedly stole, littered and verbally abused its way through the North Island in 2019.
