Editing Michael Joseph Savage (section)

==Death and commemoration==
[[File:Michael Joseph Savage's funeral procession, Lambton Quay, Wellington, ca April 1940.jpg|thumb|The state funeral procession for Michael Joseph Savage, April 1940]]
[[File:Michael Joseph Savage Memorial Park.jpg|thumb|Grave and memorial at [[Bastion Point]]]]

Suffering from [[colorectal cancer|cancer of the colon]] at the time of the 1938 election, Savage had delayed seeking treatment to participate in the election campaign.<ref name="DNZB Savage" /> In late 1939, John A. Lee was censured for his comment that Savage was "mentally as well as physically ill".{{sfn|Gustafson |1986|pp=255}} Savage died from cancer on 27 March 1940, although the terminal nature of his illness was still being denied at the beginning of March.<ref name="Hensley">{{cite book |last= Hensley |first= Gerald |title= Beyond the Battlefield: New Zealand and its Allies 1939–45 |year= 2009 |publisher=Viking/Penguin  |location= North Shore, Auckland |isbn= 978-06-700-7404-4 |page= 74 }}</ref>

Savage brought an almost religious fervour to his politics. This, and his death while in office, has made him become something of an iconic figure to [[left-wing politics|the Left]]. Lauded for his welfare policies, Savage's picture reportedly hung in many Labour supporters' homes. His popularity amongst the voting population was so celebrated that he is said to have remarked in disbelief to Lee that, "They [the people] think I am God" after Labour's re-election in 1938.{{sfn|Hobbs|1967|pp=30}} Savage returned to his [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] roots shortly before he died.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gustafson|first1=Barry|title=Savage, Michael Joseph (1872–1940)|chapter=Michael Joseph (Mick) Savage (1872–1940) |chapter-url=http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/savage-michael-joseph-8346|website=Australian Dictionary of Biography|publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University|access-date=22 June 2017}}</ref>

His [[state funeral]] included a [[Requiem Mass]] celebrated at the [[Sacred Heart Cathedral, Wellington#Historic ceremonies|Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Hill St, Wellington]] before his body was taken amidst general and public mourning by train to Auckland, with frequent halts to allow local people and dignitaries to pay their last respects; the journey was carried live on the radio. The mournful funeral music and speeches was lightened on arrival in Auckland when the announcer intoned reverently "Sir [[Ernest Davis (brewer)|Ernest Davis]] is passing round the [[bier]]"; Davis, the [[Mayor of Auckland City|Auckland mayor]], was a wealthy brewer.<ref>{{cite book |last= Hensley |first= Gerald |title= Beyond the Battlefield: New Zealand and its Allies 1939–45 |year= 2009 |publisher=Viking/Penguin  |location= North Shore Auckland |isbn= 978-06-700-7404-4 |page= 74 }}</ref>

He was interred initially in a temporarily adapted harbour defence gun installation. He was soon after removed to a side chapel of [[St Patrick's Cathedral, Auckland|St Patrick's Cathedral]] in Auckland, while a national competition was announced, decided, and the winning design of the monumental tomb and memorial gardens at Bastion Point constructed, forming his permanent resting site.

Savage lies buried at [[Bastion Point]] on [[Auckland]]'s [[Waitematā Harbour]] waterfront in the Savage Memorial,<ref>{{cite web |last=Nathan |first=Simon |title=Story: Building stone |url= http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/building-stone/5 |publisher=[[Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand]] |access-date=10 December 2011 |author2=Bruce Hayward |date=27 October 2010}}</ref> a clifftop [[mausoleum]] crowned by a tall [[minaret]], and fronted by an extensive memorial garden and [[reflecting pool]]. Savage's body is interred in a vertical shaft below the sarcophagus.<ref>{{cite news |last=Fletcher |first=Kelsey |title=King find recalls Savage mystery |url= http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/8283594/King-find-recalls-Savage-mystery|access-date=10 February 2013 |work=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] |date=10 February 2013}}</ref> In February 1941, a competition was run by the New Zealand Government for the design of the mausoleum, won by Auckland architects Tibor Donner and Anthony Bartlett. Work begun on the memorial in June 1941, which was completed by March 1942 and officially opened in March 1943.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mch.govt.nz/nz-identity-heritage/national-monuments-war-graves/savage-memorial |title=Savage Memorial |date=25 February 2020 |publisher=[[Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage]] |access-date=4 September 2023}}</ref>