Stock photo from Pixabay
The fact that families have often scrimped and saved, some for many years, to give their loved ones a final resting place, peaceful and memorialised by a headstone that honours their life, seems to matter not one iota. There is a lot I could say, but most of it you have heard before... instead, let me share the heartbreak of one friend, who has been personally affected..
Carolyn's mother......
Her father.......
It is only after a battle and many many hours of protesting, begging, pleading, that their combined grave is safe...
Not so the following...there are too many family to be able to afford the cost of renewal... remembering that when these gravesites were
purchased, there was no thought of having to pay again...
The gravestones below are all in the removal list...
Viviette Higgins grandmother
Clyde Higgins much loved uncle 😢
Metcalf are both my grandparents and a 10 month old baby in there
Lawrence is uncle who was POW by germans for years
All going... all my family
REST IN PEACE
They know not what that means...
You can read more
and
What can you do?
You can share this post, you can contact your political representatives, your local talkback radio, your local newspapers, you can talk to everyone you know... spread the word...ask others to protest..
There are a number of Saving Graves groups on Facebook, including this one...
Don't think that it won't happen to your state, or your local cemetery...greed and lack of respect is spreading. We need to let our voices be heard.
Is anybody listening?
Photos courtesy of Carolyn Trigwell
Other images courtesy of Pixabay.
It’s sad isn’t it? Why do the powers that be even think it’s necessary.
ReplyDeleteMoney... nothing else. They say the remains aren't disturbed... the new 'resident' is buried in the passage between the current graves. There is nothing left to say who was there... what do they intend to do in 50 years time? Remove those 'new' headstones and bury others in between... i.e. on top of those already there?
DeleteIt is an utter disgrace... we have vast tracts of unused land throughout our country, no excuse... and yes, people will travel outside the main cities to honour their loved ones. We do it constantly..
Thank you for sharing your story - the process of redevelopment at Karrakatta Cemetery is disrespectful to both the deceased and to those left behind who miss their loved ones and cherish their memory. The legislation that enables it applies to All WA cemeteries but is only in operation at Karrakatta at the moment.
ReplyDeleteIt certainly is.. for the life of me, I can't believe that it can be legal to destroy something that someone else has paid for.. no apologies, no compensation and absolutely no heart!
DeleteShame on them..
How these people can do this and sleep at night is beyond me
ReplyDeleteWhat gets to me is how many levels of approval this has had to go through. How can this be ok with any one ... the management of the cemetery, the various levels of government..anyone at all?
DeleteThis is absolutely disturbing. I also have family there and don't want their resting place taken away. I live in Melbourne and have never been to WA but one day I want to go. Main reason is to visit my heavenly family there. They have no heart, no morals and no conscious. If they have a heart, it is made of concrete.
ReplyDeleteI would think rather than concrete, it is made of indifference and money...
DeleteYou can check to see if your loved ones headstones are still there, and/or if they are listed on a removal list. If you don't already belong, do consider joining the group mentioned above. They can help you find out about your family graves, and there are petitions that you can sign. We all need to stand up and be counted... this is simply not right. We need to share posts like these, contact every politician we can..also the media...
We can't give up, wherever we live... this could be about to happen to a cemetery near you.
I do not understand why they can not leave the headstones in the correct positon. Remove other surrounds and leave the headstone where intended? Cheers Susie.
ReplyDeleteSusie, we all can see alternatives, the ones in charge are deaf and blind to all alternatives.
DeleteAll the graves and headstones should be left in place. Each and every one of the graves belongs to a person who has lived a life. That life should always be remembered. Visiting a grave of a loved one, doesn't matter how old it is, is an emotional experience. By removing the headstone, removing the number marker it is removing the last thing from the cemetery that their relative/friend even existed
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more..thank you for your comment.
ReplyDeleteMy sweet little sister who passed at only 6 years of age, my father, my grandmother and great uncle all close together and been there over 40 years, please leave it be. My mother goes and cleans the grave sites and is the only place she feels close to my sister in her advancing years. This is just heartbreaking and callous disregard for those gone. Makes a mockery of rest in peace.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry for your loss... your mother losing such a young child, as well as the rest of your family, leaves an ache in your hearts that is never healed...
ReplyDeleteI do hope your family graves are left alone. The current attitude is despicable, money over memories... it certainly is a mockery of Rest in Peace..
Thank you for your comment..
STOP THIS NOW
ReplyDeleteGraeme Martin
The group Saving Family headstones at Karrakatta is still fighting to have the program halted until public consultation has been carried out. We have been successful in getting a review of the 1986 Cemetery Act.. Please join us we are happy to help.
ReplyDeleteKate Edwards
Kate, I wish you and the group every success... Surely the Act has to be changed... Thank you for all you do.
ReplyDeleteKate, there is another post on another of my blogs..
Deletehttps://headlinesofold.blogspot.com/2017/10/karrakatta-cemeterymaking-headlines.html
This so called "redevelopment" is one of the most discusting acts of what I would more appropriately call "vandalism and desecration".
ReplyDeleteWe bury our loved ones to lay in peace for eternity, but instead their headstones are ripped from their Graves, they are run over with trucks and bulldozers, and we are left with broken hearts as we search for them, as there is now no trace left behind of where our loved ones are, only dirt and tyre tracks 😔