Shop keen to undo ash for cash deal

DAVID HALLETT/The Press

LIFTING THE LID: Pete Murray with the box which has been at The Pawn Shop for 13 years.

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A wooden box containing the remains of a leading Christchurch doctor remains unclaimed in a Christchurch pawn shop after 13 years.

A woman called Tamara Nathan brought the ashes to The Pawn Shop on December 28, 1996, as collateral for an $80 loan.

Shop employee Pete Murray, who has worked at the shop for 20 years, said Nathan was a Maori with a moko.

"It's not something we'd normally take, but the box was just amazing, a really nice antique," he said.

The loan was to be repaid after a month.

However, the small box was placed in storage when the woman failed to return.

A plaque on the box said it contained the ashes of Frederick (sic) Bevan-Brown, 1888-1934.

The name and dates match those of Dr Frederic Vivian Bevan-Brown, a physician and consultant who taught at Christchurch Hospital.

He served as a military doctor in World War I and worked at the Guy's Hospital in London.

According to an obituary in the British Medical Journal in 1934, Bevan-Brown taught a long series of house surgeons at Christchurch Hospital and was associated with St George's Hospital, the Karitane Hospital, and the St John Ambulance Association. He was a member of the chapter of Christ Church Cathedral.

The box containing the ashes has been in storage for 13 years, even surviving a store fire.

Murray found a receipt for the box while looking through records.

"I remembered about it and I looked to see if it was still around, and there it was."

Shop owner Gary Boote said the box of ashes was one of several interesting items people had used as loan collateral.

"We've had hearing aids, false teeth – we actually had someone's prosthetic leg once – and some bondage gear."

Boote said the shop often held onto items after their contract date if they were believed to be of sentimental value to the owner.

"If it's a TV or a stereo then you can just buy another, but if it's an antique or a heirloom, then when it's due we say `no, wait, wait, wait'." If the pawn shop opted to enforce its monthly interest rate, along with an administration fee, the owner would have to pay $1336 to get the ashes back.

However, Murray said his only concern was to return the ashes. "No, no, we couldn't charge them for it – we just want them to have it back."

Boote said the store would keep the ashes "as a talking point" if they were not claimed.

- © Fairfax NZ News