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A small Northland theatre company has farewelled a beloved member who died in a single-vehicle road accident on State Highway 14 in Kaipara earlier this month.

Michael (Mike) Craig Collins was 51 when his near Dargaville on January 20.

The crash happened about 5.30am when Collins was on his way to work as a court registrar.

He was normally based in Whangārei but was due to fly out that morning for a week’s ancillary work in Hastings, his mother Carole Collins said.

Because of a drop beside the road his crashed vehicle wasn’t discovered until about 5.30pm, Carole said.

She described her son as “a funny guy, a bit goofy, with a good sense of humour who got on well with everyone”.

honoured Collins, a longstanding and much-loved member with a “final curtain call” funeral on Friday afternoon.

Carole said the theatre had been a major aspect of her family’s lives. It was where she and Collins' father first met and where Collins went on to meet his first wife Eryn Wilson.

Except for a few years working in Hamilton, Collins was involved in the theatre his entire life, Carole said.

Mike Collins, spot lit on the left of the back row, in one of more than 40 Dargaville Little Theatre productions in which he appeared over the years.

She recalled taking him to various working bees and other events behind the scenes when he was just a toddler. By 10 years old, he was on stage for the first time in a production called Witches and the Golden Ring. By 15, he was a member of the theatre committee.

Over the years, Collins appeared in more than 40 productions - the second most of any of the theatre’s members; dad Neville in the top spot.

Collins didn’t have formal drama training but learnt as he grew up, Carole said.

“He could do pretty much anything in theatre that needed to be done.”

Just ahead of the crash, Collins was working on an upcoming production of Chicago, planning for which had since been paused to allow members to grieve.

The theatre said Collins was “much loved” among its membership and someone who will be “greatly missed”.

In October last year, Collins won the role of Harry Dangle - a pompous and sharp-witted lawyer - in the show One Man, Two Guvnors. It was a role to which Collins, a “seasoned performer”, brought “a wealth of experience and fresh energy”, the theatre said.

Collins also had a role last year in the National Theatre fest Showcase’s one-act play Our Stories.

A family said Collins was the “adored husband of (current wife) Anna; loved dad of Billy and granddad to Aubree; treasured son of Neville and Carole; and much-loved brother, uncle, and friend to all who knew him”.

Sarah Curtis is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, covering a wide range of issues. She has nearly 20 years’ experience in journalism, much of which she spent court reporting in Gisborne and on the East Coast. She is passionate about covering stories that make a difference, especially those involving environmental issues.