Mrs Chippy
One we found, the resting place of Henry McNish (11 September 1874—24 September 1930), often referred to as Harry McNeish or by the nickname Chippy, was the carpenter on Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917.
He was responsible for much of the work that ensured the crew’s survival after their ship, the Endurance, was destroyed when it became trapped in pack ice in the Weddell Sea.
He modified the small boat, James Caird, which allowed Shackleton and five men (including McNish) to make a voyage of hundreds of miles to fetch help for the rest of the crew.
After the expedition he returned to work in the Merchant Navy and eventually emigrated to New Zealand, where he worked on the docks in Wellington until poor health forced his retirement. He died destitute in the Ohiro Benevolent Home in Wellington.
McNish’s grave in Karori Cemetery with the statue of Henry’s beloved cat, Mrs Chippy which was added by the New Zealand Antarctic Society.
http://www.purr-n-fur.org.uk/famous/chippy.html
History
Karori Cemetery, New Zealand, Wellington. It is New Zealand's second largest cemetery, located in the Wellington suburb of Karori. Karori Cemetery opened in 1891 to address overcrowding at Bolton Street Cemetery. In 1909, it received New Zealand's first crematorium, which is still in use and is Australasia's oldest. Karori Cemetery reached capacity during the 1950s, and Makara Cemetery became Wellington's main burial ground. Burials at Karori happen only in pre-purchased family plots, in children's plots, and in pre-purchased ash plots. The cemetery covers almost 40 hectares (0.40 km2) and has seen more than 83,000 burials. The cemetery contains separate World War I and World War II services sections. Buried here are 268 Commonwealth service personnel of World War I– including most deaths from the first New Zealand Expeditionary Force Reinforcement Camp and others at Trentham, and the Upper Hutt Remount Depot – and 123 of the World War II, besides a Norwegian and a French war casualty. In addition, the CWGC erected the Wellington Provincial Memorial, in the form of a marble arch connecting the two Services sections, inscribed with the names of service personnel from Wellington Province who died serving in the World Wars but have no known grave.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvQaOltpkPc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJvVLGuvuJk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MB3DpwPA6TY