The following excerpt is from the August 23, 2012 edition of stuff.co.nz:
A mass resurrection may soon take place at a Gisborne cemetery.
Gisborne District Council will consider a request today from the local branch of the Genealogical Society to dig up more than 80 headstones that were buried in a trench at the Makaraka cemetery more than three decades ago.
Society spokeswoman Dot McCulloch says some notable headstones are among those buried, including that of the city’s first Presbyterian minister, the Rev John McAra, and early settlers.
“We’ve had queries about these headstones for many years. We’ve tried to raise funds to get the stones back. One of the reasons we were turned down was because the council wasn’t involved, so it was a bit of a Catch-22,” she said.
“It’s not just important for the families. It’s important for the history of Gisborne. People come here looking for headstones and they can’t find them.’
The headstones were taken down in 1967 after being declared unsafe. In 1976, the local branch of the Historic Places Trust decided to keep the best 60 and bury the rest.
