Family of strangers comes together to farewell Baby Moses

It is the type of day that makes Hawkes Bay famous: blue skies and a light breeze. The only thing to mar the perfection is the sight of a tiny white coffin sitting above an empty grave.

But Baby Moses, left dumped in a Heretaunga St garden last week, found a new family at his funeral yesterday at Hastings Cemetery.

Before the short service, a small cluster of strangers gathered round the grave and the numbers soon swelled to about 100.

"If he has to wait in the hot sun for this, so will we," said a Maori woman as she pushed her family forward to the graveside. Others soon followed.

"We are the baby's family now," said Katrina Mariota as she encouraged her five children to each kiss a rose and leave it beside the coffin.

"Spiritually, that is how we see it. It's important for family to be here ... This little boy will be watching over his mum and dad now. They need his support."

But if 2-day-old Moses' parents were there yesterday, no one knew. Plain-clothed police monitored the crowd and a video camera recorded proceedings in the hope that someone - anyone - might be identified.

Nine days after the body was found in long grass at the rear of the Christian Community Movement for Christian Renewal, the trail is growing cold.

"We always live in hope but as time goes on it's always harder to find someone," said inquiry head Detective Luke Shadbolt.

Hard, too, to be the person elected to lower young Moses into his grave. Feather-light, the sight of the small coffin disappearing prompted fresh tears in an emotional service, and an impromptu Maori waiata sung by many of the gathered women added to the sombre mood.

"It's difficult to know how to say good afternoon to you all," said Father Bill Chapman to the congregation.

"This service is about closure, but sadly that can only truly come about when we have the mother come forward and let us unburden some of the pain from her."

After a short service and blessing, the congregation were invited to come forward and say goodbye.

With the teddy bears, gifts in Christmas paper and posies of hand-picked flowers at the graveside little notes were left for Moses to take with him: "Love from a mother who has lost a child and knows of the pain and sorrow," said one.

- Hawke's Bay Today