Mourners gather to farewell Nia Glassie

Three-year-old Rotorua girl Nia Glassie has been laid to rest in Tokoroa.

About 500 mourners packed into the St Luke's Pacific Islanders' Presbyterian Church for the funeral of the youngster yesterday.

Members of Nia's father's Tokoroa family carried a small white coffin into the church from the nearby community centre. The coffin was draped in the Cook Islands flag and covered in pink and yellow flowers.

All children under 10 were called to the front of the church and blew bubbles above the heads of the congregation.

It was a gesture to remember Nia, who died in Starship hospital last Friday after suffering horrific injuries.

People from as far away as Australia and the Cook Islands crammed into the church.

The local MP, Mark Burton, attended. Nia's great-aunt Iva Singsam said ahead of the service: "It appears that it has become a nation's mourning and grieving, not just our families.

"We, the two families, feel the grief of losing Nia but we also feel the grieving of the rest of New Zealand."

Singsam said they had received messages of condolence from all around the country – many from complete strangers.

"The people of New Zealand have been fantastic," she said.

Afterwards, the funeral procession made its way to Tokoroa cemetery for the burial.

About 300 people had gathered at the church on Wednesday night for a private family service for Nia.

They sang songs in English, Maori, Cook Island Maori, and Samoan – the languages of Nia's short life. Her coffin lay in the middle of the stage surrounded by family facing the mourners. Nia's mother sat on one side, her father on the other. –Waikato Times