It was a different kind of proposition when Menzshed coordinator Alan Kissell presented builder Karl van Hoppe with an old rimu bed and a disused trailer.
“We’ve been asked to build a hearse,” Alan told him.
Karl had just finished another project and Alan asked if he felt like doing something different. Karl couldn’t think why not.
The result is an alternative to a traditional hearse and the culmination of the work of Alan, engineer Nevil Basalaj and other volunteers at Menzshed.
The catalyst for the project was Shone and Shirley Funeral Director’s owner Alastair Hebberd, who supplied the materials.
“We wanted to provide an alternate option for the community,” he says.
Alastair says it was his dad who came up with the idea for the special hearse.
The project happened over three months, but Karl estimates it was a couple of weeks solid work. He says they were given the material and told to go ahead and do what they could.
“I’d never built a hearse before,” he says.
Karl got his ideas for the hearse from a horse drawn one that is available in Nelson Tasman. There’s also a motorbike that carries a coffin in the motorbike’s sidecar.
The hearse’s rimu has been varnished to a high gloss and the design has incorporated a lot of glass for coffin and flower viewing. It also has rollers in the flooring in line with a modern traditional hearse.
The original trailer was stripped down and replaced with black steel panels and mag wheels.
“The idea was to create a more personal hearse than the traditional ones,” says Alan.
With a regular tow-bar, the hearse can be towed by motorbike, tractor, classic or family car. The hearse will be stored at the Shone and Shirley premises in Nelson.
