THE boy with the beautiful green eyes and scruffy hair was farewelled by more than 700 people in an overwhelming send-off on Saturday afternoon.
Anthony Hill, 17, was killed in a tragic accident on McLaren Falls Rd last Wednesday evening.
The twin was riding his motorbike with friends shortly before 6pm when he collided with a car exiting the bridge.
It was an emotional afternoon at Otumoetai's City Church as family and hundreds of friends gathered to celebrate the life of the cheeky and enthusiastic boy.
The weekend was meant to be spent on a mountainbiking trip in Levin with his father, Kelvin.
Instead, those who loved him best spoke with great emotion to the crowded church of how they would remember the life of Anthony.
More than 200 students from Otumoetai College attended, with many donning the newly handed out Year 13 rugby jerseys.
He was always keen to get out and be active, his school friends said, and was great to have a laugh with in class.
Younger than his twin brother, Martin, by 20 minutes, "Ants" was known as the baby of the family.
Their mother Monica used a colour scheme to help identify the pair - baby blue for Anthony and red for Martin.
That was, until they realised they could use this to their advantage, Anthony's father Kelvin said.
Always one to seek excitement, a young Anthony loved it when his older brothers bounced him and Martin four metres high on the trampoline.
When the pair was only 5 years old, they helped themselves to a ride on the 250cc motorbike on the family's Taupo farm.
"He was always seeking that level of excitement at an early age and I think it's something that carried on," his father said.
Anthony's parents had just returned from a 10-day holiday last Monday, and it was clear, his mother said, that the twins thoroughly enjoyed having the house to themselves.
"I have never seen you so happy as these past couple of months. The world had opened so many doors and you had so many goals for this year," she said.
More than 30 people rose to speak about Ants, with many fondly remembering his hugs.
"You had beautiful immense hugs that I was always struggling to escape," his mother said. "You were such a lovely pest."
Never one to shy away from what life had to offer, Anthony was a keen sportsman - enthusiastically taking part in rugby, fishing, sailing, rowing, mountainbiking, surfing and skim boarding.
"I helped you get the motorbike that took your life," his mother said, speaking of the day she took him to Auckland to purchase it.
Shaking with fear the whole way back home, she watched from the car as he gave her the thumbs up before zooming ahead.
His twin brother Martin stood alongside his two brothers, Phillip and Graeme, as they read a poem, but was overcome with emotion when he was handed the microphone.
My "Natney", did everything with a lust for life, his sister, Chrissy said.
"Whether it was doing the dishes, fixing a broken bike or working at the recycling centre, he found the light at the end of the tunnel."
As his white casket was lifted out of the church, the talents of Anthony on the guitar echoed throughout the church in a final farewell.
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