Francis Skiddy Marden

Francis Skiddy Marden, a building contractor, was one of the 29 victims of the Pike River Mine collapse.

A native Concord Mass. Francis Skiddy Marden was a soft-spoken outdoorsman who loved spelunking as much as climbing mountains. The 41-year-old father of two young sons was working on construction in New Zealand, where he spent much of his childhood, when he was killed last month in the Pike River mine disaster. “I think he always saw himself as a Kiwi,’’ said his first cousin Julie Marden of Concord. An explosion Nov. 19 trapped Mr. Marden and 28 other men as rescue crews struggled with how to safely reach the men. A second explosion hit five days later, leaving no hope of survivors. Mr. Marden had deep roots in New Zealand. His grandmother was born on the island country, and his father, Peter, a former geologist for Boston Sand & Gravel, relocated the family to a sheep station there in the 1970s. During his 20s, Mr. Marden alternated between the United States and New Zealand for almost a decade, working construction jobs to finance his travels. He returned to New Zealand for good around 2001 and married a woman who had three children. “He was a reserved guy, but once you knew him, you could talk to him about anything for hours and hours,’’ said his cousin Peter Marden of Bedford. In 1993, Mr. Marden and Peter spent three months driving an old Saab on a cross-country trip, visiting national parks. Mr. Marden had rebuilt the Saab’s engine himself, his cousin recalled. They did a four-day hike through Glacier National Park, climbed Mount Whitney in California, and went spelunking in several states. “He’d drag me into some caves in Idaho, but I’d be ready to turn around long before he was,’’ Peter said. Friends of Mr. Marden in the Boston area hope to hold a concert next spring to benefit his children, Peter said. Mr. Marden lived in Runanga, New Zealand, on the South Island with his wife, Lauryn. The bodies of the men killed in the mine have not been recovered. Pike River Coal Limited’s chief executive, Peter Whittall, said in a statement: “The company will do all it can, right down to the last dollar, to reopen the mine and recover our men.’’ Mr. Marden was named after his grandfather Francis Skiddy Marden and his great-great-grandfather William Skiddy, who was a ship captain and naval architect. Mr. Marden went to high school in New Zealand and attended Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design in Auckland. In addition to Lauryn and their sons, Alexander, 6, and Jade, 3, Mr. Marden leaves his parents, Peter and Hertha of Alfredton, New Zealand; his brothers, David and William, of Alfredton and Tairua, New Zealand; his sister Heidi, of Woodville, New Zealand; and several nieces and nephews. Source: http://archive.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituaries/articles/2010/12/1...

The brother of a former Wairarapa man killed in the Pike River Mine disaster has described his younger brother as a private man who loved his family and the outdoors. Francis Marden, a building contractor, was one of the 29 people who died in the West Coast mine last week. His older brother, Billy Marden, a builder in the Coromandel, said Francis was a fantastic brother: "He was a great person, a very private person." The family was hurting, he said. His parents, Peter and Hertha, had travelled to Greymouth from Alfredton to be near the scene. The disaster had come as a huge shock to everyone."Those things always happen to someone else." Francis' love of the outdoors had drawn him to Runanga, on the West Coast, a year ago, Mr Marden said. "He loved the mountains and the climbing - and the isolation. He was happy there." Francis had been down the mine as a builder "quite a bit" this year and enjoyed the work. Despite the assurances of mine bosses and the police, Mr Marden said it was difficult not to think more could have been done. "I would have thought there would have been a lot more technology involved ... why wasn't the whole mine monitored?" He was disappointed that a rescue effort had not been possible. "What do I know, but why didn't someone just run in there ... I mean, someone can walk on the moon so there must be a suit [available to allow it]." He said he hoped mine safety around the country would improve as a result. "I guess the positive is obviously that they should organise these mines a bit better." Recovering the bodies would allow the families proper sendoffs, but he said he was not confident that would be the case. Francis Marden is survived by partner Lauryn and two young sons. A prayer service in honour of the 29 killed in the mine and their families will be held at St Mary's Catholic church in Carterton on Thursday at 5.30pm. Francis Skiddy Marden grew up in Alfredton with his sister, Heidi, and brothers David and Billy after being born in Concord, Massachusetts, in the United States. He attended Hadlow School and Rathkeale College in Masterton, and was a boarder at Rugby house from 1983-87. After college, he attended Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design in Auckland, before heading back to the US, and worked as a builder in Massachusetts for 10 years. Before moving to Runanga, he lived in Tairua and Hikuai, north of Whangamata, where his two sons were born. Source: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/wairarapa-times-age/news/article.cfm?c_i...

By Jake Beleski

jake.beleski@age.co.nz

The mother of a former Wairarapa man killed in the Pike River Mine disaster has made an emotional plea for the ongoing ordeal to come to an end.

Francis Marden, who grew up in Wairarapa, was one of the 29 people killed in an explosion in the West Coast mine in 2010.

Yesterday his mother, Alfredton’s Hertha Marden, said the recently-released footage of a robot entering the mine was just another unwanted reminder of the terrible tragedy.

“It’s difficult – I just wish it would go away.

“It’s hard to live with . . . every time you turn on the TV you see it on the tele.”

Family members of some of the victims reacted angrily yesterday when footage taken a mere three months after the explosion showed two staff members inside the mine.

They said it appeared to show the mine was safe for manned re-entry.

Mrs Marden said her preference had always been for the mine to be sealed, and made into a memorial.

She said she could only speak for herself, but would rather the men were “left in peace”, instead of being trampled on.

“They’re gone and there’s nothing we can do about it now . . . I just want it to be finished and done with.

“My biggest fear is if they go in there, they’ll trample on their ashes . . . nobody has mentioned that.”

The fire was so intense there was a chance ashes would be all that remained of some of the victims, she said.

Francis Skiddy Marden was born in Concord, Massachusetts, but grew up in Alfredton with his parents, Hertha and Peter, sister Heidi, and brothers David and Billy.

He attended Hadlow School and Rathkeale College.

Mrs Marden said the constant reminders on television and changes in government decisions were only adding to the pain they had already endured.

“I was really happy when they decided they were going to seal it, then they changed the government’s mind and it starts all over again.

“You’ve got to live with it, but you don’t have to be reminded every time you turn on the TV.”

Bernie Monk, who lost his son Michael in the explosion, has acted as a spokesperson for the victims’ families since the incident occurred.

He has campaigned non-stop for the recovery of the victims’ bodies, and said the footage was another case of the government not telling the truth about mine safety.

“It’s been a complete cover-up right from the word ‘Go’,” Monk said.

He said it was time for all recordings from the mine to be released.

“All the recordings that were taken at the mine were removed by police and were never, ever shown to the families, but we knew they existed.”

“My argument is: ‘Hey government, step aside, stop lying, stop covering up for the country, let our experts in, we’ll get the job done and get on with life’.”

Acting Conservation Minister for Pike River Issues Nick Smith said the government had viewed the leaked footage, but had been advised it was used by Solid Energy as part of its investigation into whether the mine was safe to re-enter.

“As we have repeatedly stated, gas levels beyond the seal are consistently around 100 per cent methane, making a manned re-entry unsafe.

“The Government has, however, agreed to work with Solid Energy and the families to investigate the potential for an unmanned entry – this footage is being reconsidered as part of that investigation though that work is ongoing.”

– with NZME