Memorial for Aussie miner killed in NZ

A memorial service for Queenslander Willie Joynson, killed in New Zealand's mine
disaster, has been told he was a generous bloke with a heart of gold.
Hundreds of mourners attended Wednesday's service to remember a life cut short when
an explosion tore through the Pike River Coal Mine on November 19.
Mr Joynson, 49, and fellow Queenslander Josh Ufer, 25, were among 29 miners entombed
in the disaster.
Mr Joynson's wife Kim, and their two sons, Jonathan, 13, and Benjamin, 10, were
among those at the service at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses at 11am (AEST)
in Tinana, south of Maryborough.
The service was told Mr Joynson was a kind bloke with a heart of gold, always ready
to lend a hand.
"He would do anything he could to help anyone and that's how we'll remember Willy,"
Jehovah's Witness congregation elder Ron Townsend told mourners, according to The
Courier Mail.
In a letter penned for the service, Premier Anna Bligh said she hoped precious
memories would comfort Mr Joynson's family.
"I hope you also find strength in the comfort of your family and friends," she wrote.
The family had been preparing to move back to Australia from New Zealand when the
mine disaster happened.
Mrs Joynson has revealed she'd urged her husband many times to give up coal mining,
but he couldn't turn away from a job that was in his blood.