Urn stolen from family grave in Gisborne

Pam Robottom, pictured at her parents' grave, holds a photograph of the urn, an integral part of the grave site since 1942. Photo / Rebecca Grunwell, The Gisborne Herald

It's a time of heartbreak rather than Christmas cheer for the Robottom family after visiting the grave of their parents and grandparents at Taruheru Cemetery.

An urn, part of the grave site since George Grantham was interred in 1942, has been forcibly removed and stolen from the burial site.

"To steal from the dead, you have to be pretty low," said grandson Michael Robottom.

The family visited the grave site this week and found the urn had been removed some time in the previous three or four weeks since their last visit.

Mr Grantham's daughter Pam Robottom said the urn had "been there for such a long time".

The urn had recently been renovated, and was a clean white and not blackened like a similar urn at a nearby grave.

"It was beautiful and white, a beautiful thing."

Granddaugher Heather Robottom said Stonehaven had carried out the renovations.

Stonehaven staff told the family the urn was very heavy and would not have been easy to remove.

George Stanley Grantham was 42 when he died in a sawmill accident near Matawai in 1942. He suffered a horrific death, Michael Robottom said. Mr Grantham's wife Sarah Anne died in 1978, aged 77.

Heather Robottom said her mother was upset at the violation of her parents' grave. She and her 93-year-old sister are the only surviving children of George and Sarah, and all the family asks is for the urn to be returned.

- The Gisborne Herald