Waihī grave vandalism will upset many servicepeople, says Veterans Affairs

Vandals have destroyed flower pots and other tributes left on the graves at the Waihī Cemetery. Photo / Hauraki District Council

The desecration of war veterans’ graves at Waihi Cemetery will be keenly felt, says Veterans Affairs.

Vandalism of service plaques and headstones in the services section of the cemetery was very upsetting to the families of those service people whose graves had been vandalised, and also to the wider veteran community, said acting head of Veterans Affairs, Marti Eller.

A section of the cemetery had been desecrated and ceramic pots and precious mementos wrecked when it was targeted by vandals on or around Friday, June 9, in what was described by the Hauraki District Council as “a shameful act of vandalism”.

The family of Les and Jeannie Griffiths - whose plot was also damaged - said they were “devasted by the unprovoked and unnecessary desecration of our parents’, grandparents’ and great grandparents’ plot”.

In a statement released by Veterans Affairs and the New Zealand Defence Force, Eller said: “Their families would have been expecting that their loved ones would be resting in peace, and fellow veterans would be expecting that the graves of those who served our country would be respected and revered. Unfortunately, this is not the case.”

Veterans Affairs provides grants to councils to assist with the maintenance of services cemeteries when those cemeteries are within a council cemetery, and pays for the maintenance for those that are outside a council’s responsibility.

It also funds and arranges a services plaque or headstone for the New Zealand service people with qualifying operational service who are buried in these areas.

Veterans Affairs recently provided funding and arranged for new service plaques to be installed in the services area of Waihi Cemetery.

“We will continue to work with the Waihi Council to ensure that the veterans of Waihī Cemetery have the recognition that they deserve and we hope that their families won’t have any more upsetting moments,” Eller says.

The granddaughter of a serviceman in one of the wrecked graves, who is also a soldier and currently serving overseas, dubbed it “the biggest disrespect someone can show”.

The council said it was working quickly to gather and salvage what it could but wanted to alert the community and affected families in case there was a precious memento they wanted to keep safe elsewhere in the meantime.

It said it was also working to identify the families of the graves that were ruined by the vandalism.

The council said the distressing event was being investigated, it had regular security patrols and gates were locked to vehicles at 8pm.