Propped up in his wheelchair at the front of the church and with his leg in a cast extended in front of him, Geoff Eades stared at the two brightly decorated coffins laid on an ornate tapa cloth and brightly woven mats.

In the small, baby pink coffin lay his his three-year-old granddaughter Iva Harper, and in the other, his wife of 36 years Sera Eades.

Hundreds of friends and family filled Wesley Methodist Church, in Wellington, New Zealand, on Monday, to mourn Iva and her grandmother, of Amwell House, The Woodlands, Isleworth, who were killed in a car crash.

New Zealand-born Mr Eades, who had flown from Isleworth to Christchurch with his wife and granddaughter three days before the accident on September 16, fell asleep at the wheel of a borrowed car due to lack of sleep, jetlag and stress.

The car hit a power pole and - although they were travelling around 40kmh with airbags and all passengers wore seatbelts - the impact killed Iva, Mrs Eades, 60, and Mr Eades’ cousin Valerie Bryan, 68.

Mr Eades broke an ankle, cracked ribs and suffered a partially collapsed lung in the crash.

Iva's parents, Lini Eades and Jeff Harper, both New Zealanders living in Isleworth, spoke to mourners at the funeral.

”Iva will always be my little pumpkin”, Mr Harper said.

“I know she's off on her own little adventure.”

Lini, a doctor, and her partner, a mechanic for Mercedes in Brentford, thanked emergency services and bystanders who helped at the crash scene.

“Thank you for all the good human spirits, from Christchurch, to Wellington, all around the world”, Lini said.

“It has been a tough couple of weeks, the worst I hope we ever experience.

“Thank you [Iva] for making your dad and I so so proud and for loving us as much as I love you.”

Iva, who was due to start her first day of nursery at Isleworth Town Primary School last week, was described as a “three-year-old going on 21 years old”, who loved the colour pink, painting her nails, and turned her nose up at chocolate, preferring vegetables and hummus instead.

Fijian-born Mrs Eades had lived in the Wellington region but moved to Isleworth with her husband a year ago, where she became “inseparable'” from her granddaughter.

“They are the perfect double act who played off each other,” one tribute read.

“She didn't tell you how to live life, she showed you.”

Iva's grandfather Paul Eades, Lini’s brother, said the accident was a “hard lesson for all of us” and served as a reminder to drivers about the dangers of fatigue.

“We need to forgive, I know it won't be easy,” he said.

Mr Eades has decided not to return to the UK but remain in Wellington so he will be close to the graves of his wife and granddaughter.

The funeral of his cousin, from Castle Donington, will take place in the UK.

Courtesy of The Dominion Post