A walk of respect, pathos and history during Cemeteries and Crematoria Week

Dot McCulloch, of Friends of Makaraka Cemetery Trust, will guide visitors around Gisborne’s historic cemetery on Saturday and Sunday. Picture by Liam Clayton,

Gisborne’s historic Makaraka Cemetery is a picturesque resting place for some of the district’s earliest settlers.

The location offers an opportunity to pay respects and to learn of the colourful histories of those who long ago decided to make Gisborne-Turanga their home.

This weekend marks the beginning of Cemeteries and Crematoria Week which aims to highlight the value of these special places and encourage communities to engage and learn a little more about them.

Dot McCullouch, of the Friends of Makaraka Cemetery Trust, will be at the cemetery on Saturday and Sunday offering her assistance and knowledge to anyone who would like to know more about Gisborne’s 1860 to 1916 graveyard.

“I will walk over the cemetery pointing out restored headstones which were once buried, and talk about the history of the cemetery and tell stories that are in either of the two books the trust has published about people at rest in the cemetery,” she said.

Mrs McCulloch remembers meeting a relative of Thomas Halbert (an English trader who settled in the area in 1831) who was wandering around the cemetery and appeared confused.

“I asked him what or who he was looking for. I think he was quite surprised when I promptly replied that Thomas Halbert did not have a headstone.

“I said ‘he is buried here, but his plot is classed as PLU, which means plot location unknown.’

“There is now a special area set aside for a headstone to go up  if the relatives wish to do this.

“There are a lot of miscellaneous burials and such records were not kept until 1877, so anything between 1860 and 1877 is PLU.”

Mrs McCulloch will start her walks at 1.30pm on Saturday and Sunday.