Special day heightens pain of mine loss

Malcolm Campbell was to have married Amanda Shields today. Photo / Supplied

Today, 23-year-old West Coaster Amanda Shields was supposed to be married to Pike River miner Malcolm Campbell.

Instead, she's left hoping his body will be recovered from the sealed mine, just like many other families in Greymouth who are in mourning ahead of Christmas.

Ms Shields was back at work yesterday but recalling her fiance was too much.

She met Mr Campbell, from Scotland, after he arrived in New Zealand in 2008. Mr Campbell, 25, had worked for two years in Australian mines before moving here.

He went home to Scotland last Christmas and told his parents he was going to propose to Ms Shields.

Bernie Monk, whose son Michael died in the mine explosion, got to know Mr Campbell's parents after they flew in from Scotland.

He said Mr Campbell had not only fallen in love with Ms Shields, but also with New Zealand, and was thinking of becoming a citizen down the track.

Mr Campbell's parents were preparing to leave the country yesterday.

They were to arrive this month for the wedding, but instead had to rush here earlier, praying their trapped son was still alive.

Their last conversation with him, the weekend before the explosion, had been about his wedding.

It has been impossible to plan for a funeral, with the Pike River miners death certificates yet to be delivered. They are expected in mid-January.

A local pub Mr Campbell frequented yesterday paid tribute to him and the wedding that would never be. Its owner said the patrons' thoughts were with Ms Shields.

On nzherald.co.nz, a message was left under the name "Bemused" from Ms Shields' mother.

"Mandy my darling, Malcolm will always be with you. Kia Kaha, I love you," the message said.

"Dear Malcolm, you and I never got to meet. [But] you actually sounded happy to chat to your future mother-in-law (a rare quality in many young men)."

On the phone, she could hear Mr Campbell talking in the background to Ms Shields' daughter Sophie.

"I liked what I heard Malcolm, I love how you made my daughter and granddaughter happy and loved. I love what you brought to their lives."

Mr Monk said Greymouth families were "really hurting" as they wound down for Christmas.

But often they were too proud to get help, he said. "It's typical West Coast. Some places they could be kicking doors down to get money when it's made available."

Mr Monk held a memorial service for his son this month on what would have been his 24th birthday.

The memorial would never be enough for him, but Mr Monk said he did not have it as bad as other families, who were in dire financial straits.

"I broke down and cried talking with one lady. She lost not only a husband, but hundreds of thousands of dollars because he was a contractor."

The families faced a hard road for years as they strove to find out what happened in the mine, he said.

They were organising legal representation and also trying to figure out how to "thank everyone throughout New Zealand and overseas".

"I got a card the other day, from somebody with a young child in Australia. The child had obviously read about Malcolm. It's been so moving, just little things like that."

Meanwhile, a generator flown from Australia to help put out the fire in the mine became stuck in Customs yesterday. Biosecurity officials found eucalyptus leaves and rat droppings on the machinery and would not let it leave the Port of Auckland.

The generator was steam-cleaned and left for Wellington with a police escort about midday.

The 20-tonne generator will be used to pump nitrogen into the mine to displace oxygen and reduce the chances of further explosion.

- additional reporting NZPA

Help bring festive cheer to Greymouth

Christmas in Greymouth and surrounding towns is looking miserable so an appeal is going out to Auckland businesses to help out with some Christmas cheer.

The Mayor of neighbouring Westland District Council, Maureen Pugh and former local man turned PR whiz Gerry Morris are asking companies for Christmas goodies to put into hampers for those affected by the Pike River Mine disaster - not just the families who have lost loved ones but all those who no longer have jobs and who have not been paid for weeks.

Said Mr Morris: "The prospect of all Pike River miners and families getting some sort of payment before Christmas seems pretty remote with so many agencies involved.

"... there are a lot of people with heritage attachments to the West Coast New Zealand-wide and particularly across Auckland. I think Auckland can appreciate that it's going to be a pretty grey Christmas in Greymouth."

An Auckland brewery has donated 200 boxes of beer but anything and everything would be welcome.

"Anything's welcome to cheer them up, even petrol vouchers so they can have a drive to Christchurch, biscuits, chocolates, fizzy drinks, anything at all, legs of lamb."

* Anyone who would like to help can contact Glenys Byrne of the Westland District Council on 0272 460-484

- Catherine Masters