Death of Norman Kirk

Death and state funeral of Norman Kirk

Kirk in 1973
Date	31 August 1974 (Date of death) 4 September 1974 (Date of state funeral)
Location	St Paul's Cathedral, Wellington (first official funeral ceremony) Christchurch Town Hall (second service)
Cause	Pulmonary embolism
Burial	Waimate Lawn Cemetery, Waimate, Canterbury

On 31 August 1974, Norman Kirk, the 29th Prime Minister of New Zealand, died unexpectedly aged 51 after a period of poor health. The death led to an outpouring of grief, and weakened the Labour Party, contributing to their loss of the 1975 election in a wipeout.^[1] His state funeral was held on 4 September 1974.^[2]

Having struggled sporadically with obesity and occupational burnout throughout his life, from 1974 Kirk suddenly developed difficulty in breathing, eating and sleeping, which rapidly got worse. His intense workload meant he rarely took time off, but had finally given in to pressure from his colleagues and begun a six-week holiday by August 1974. His health rapidly deteriorated thereafter, and he died in hospital in Island Bay by the end of the month. Kirk's physician Tom O'Donnell determined that the Prime Minister had died of a pulmonary embolism. His death was announced the following day, and deeply shocked the nation.

Kirk's state funeral was held in Wellington on 4 September 1974, and combined of Māori cultural rites with Pākehā ones. Traditional Māori aspects of the funeral included kaikaranga, waiata and whaikōrero, and were accordant to the practises of the mana whenua of each funeral location (In Central Wellington, Te Āti Awa, and in Christchurch, Kāi Tahu).^[3]