A series of events designed to highlight the gentle history of honouring the dead has been developed by the Invercargill City Council Parks and Recreation Cemetery Services team.

Council Team Leader Cemetery Ricky Mulqueen said vintage burial registers and map displays, guided walks and headstone refurbishment demonstrations would be held as part of Cemeteries & Crematoria Week.

Held from 31 October to November 6, Cemeteries & Crematoria Week is an annual event held nationwide and supported by the New Zealand Cemeteries and Crematoria Collective, of which Council is a part.

“The week is about recognising the importance of cemeteries and crematoria and acknowledging the staff and the good work they do in the space,” he said.

“We’ve got headstone refurbishment demonstrations with Ian Trainor, president of the Southland/Otago branch of the New Zealand Master Monumental Masons Association, we’ve got guided cemetery walks in Invercargill and in Bluff and we’ve got a really interesting display at the library of archival burial registers and maps,” Mulqueen said.

“There is always a great deal of interest in these events we run and that’s really encouraging.

“We certainly put a lot of care and attention into the work that we do for our community every day, but this is something a bit more accessible that we can share with everyone.”

The events are all free to attend with no registration necessary, he said.

For more information the events are listed on the Council Facebook page.

 

Cemeteries and Crematoria Week events

31 October – November 6, Invercargill City Council Library – First Floor Archives

Display including old burial registers and maps

 

Wednesday November 2, Eastern Cemetery, East Rd, Invercargill

5.45pm: Headstone refurbishment demonstration, including cleaning and re-lettering, by Ian Trainor – President Southland / Otago Branch of the New Zealand Master Monumental Masons Association

6pm: Guided walk of notable graves and the accompanying stories by local historian and author Lloyd Esler

 

Friday November 4, St John’s Cemetery, Durham St, Invercargill

5.45pm: Headstone refurbishment demonstration, including lifting and repositioning of large fallen monuments, by Ian Trainor – President Southland / Otago Branch of the New Zealand Master Monumental Masons Association

6pm: Guided walk of notable graves and the accompanying stories by local historian and author Lloyd Esler

 

Sunday November 6, Greenpoint Cemetery, Bluff

1.30pm cemetery walk guided by members of the Bluff History Group