It horrifies me that the burial sites of our Ancestors continue to be defiled, desecrated and destroyed and I’ve written about it often… To read these posts just click HERE HERE HERE HERE HERE HERE and recently I sent this post this to Sentimental Sunday… To read this just click HERE
Well I’ve now come to realise that, whilst being appalled and speaking out strongly for others, I’ve also been closing my eyes and refusing to see the depth of degradation happening in my own back yard…
Here are just a few examples of the situation, about 10 kilometres from my home, in Payneham Cemetery, South Australia.
Beautiful gravesites destined for & awaiting demolition
The destruction and desecration of graves in progress
Theodore Henry Elix so recently buried alongside his wife and now their graves are gone and the memorials awaiting collection or demolition.
Killled In Action and “making the ultimate sacrifice” does not ensure that this South Australian’s memory is honoured.
Here we are again… another young “diggers” life and sacrifice for his country defiled.
However, if any of these people happened to have been buried in South Australia’s West Terrace Cemetery… or their Memorials erected there then all would be OK
Why??? … Glad you asked. It’s because the West Terrace Cemetery has Heritage protection. That sounds good eh? …
The West Terrace Cemetery, Adelaide has Heritage status and is feted and awarded…
This Cemetery has “Heritage status” and the gravesites/ memorials are protected because of… wait for it… {DRUMROLL…}
RARE INDEGENOUS SOUTH AUSTRALIAN PLANTS ARE GROWING THERE!!!
~~~~~~~~~
Copyright © 2013. Catherine Ann Crout-Habel
Photographs by: Kylie Willison
How ironic is that, given the historic events and the treatment of Indegenous in the past.
Indeed Julie… and nowadays we have massive roadworks etc… held up because there may be a very old Australian Aboriginal Burial site there… and so they should!!!
However, the West Tce Cemetery is protected because of the rare Indigenous bit of flora that is regenerating there. WOT!!! ???
It’s beyond crazy. So disrespectful.
What are things like re: protecting gravesites/ burials up there where you’re now living Marisa? … I seem to remember that it’s Sweden?
Thanks for the caring… lotsa xxx always.
To be honest, I don’t know much about the laws here… but what I do know is that the culture is steeped in traditions including one called “alla helgons dag” where families visit the graves of ancestors and light candles. It’s kind of a big deal here and I can’t imagine Swedish people being to keen on grave desecration! There is an amazing cemetery not far from us that is so special it’s world heritage listed:
http://www.skogskyrkogarden.se/en/
There is a beautiful hill of remembrance there where you can light candles, leave flowers, sit, reflect/meditate/pray for anyone, regardless of whether they are buried in that cemetery. I have been there with my best friend in Stockholm and we had our own little remembrance ceremony once. I have also been there just to walk around (and took my mum and dad). I asked my husband if we could go and leave flowers/light candles for Jarren and also for a friend’s baby who was stillborn recently (I am heartbroken for her 😦 ) as I don’t really know what else I can do being so far away from Australia. xxxx
Thankyou my lovely Marisa… To think that you, all the way over there in Sweden, lighting a candle in remembrance of the little cousin (by marriage) whom you never knew touches me deeply. When I told Kirrily about our communication she said… “Oh mum, Marisa was always such a beautiful person”… 🙂 xxx
Shocking. And the poor families, finding their relatives’ graves treated like this.
Oh… it is Frances 😦 We’ve now set up a “Saving Graves – South Australia” Facebook group and are working with Western Australia and a new group in Victoria to bring about change. Each Australian State faces similar, yet different, problems with this wanton destruction and sacrilege… Thanks for caring.
I wish you all the best of luck with your work. I know how sad I felt when one of my ancestor’s graves split in two (age, I’m sure) and more so when idiots use another’s grave for late-night drink and drug sessions based on a myth about her.
Oh no… That is terrible Frances. I’m wondering what the myth was…
Well I wasn’t expecting that. 😦 That sounds so…alien. Protect a cemetery because of of rare plants, never mind the fact that people are buried there.
It really is crazy… eh J.G? Maybe I should go “harvest” some seeds of this/ these rare plants and strew them around the gravesites of my loved ones?
This Cemetery (West Terrace) is the oldest in SOz but is not so very old because this land was only “colonised” in 1836… however, some v-e-r-y illustrious folks are buried there.
However, the fact of the matter is, it was unknowingly built over an underground stream and seems that very few of the remains have actually “remained” 😦 …
This is so sad. I know that you discussed the destruction of graves in a previous post, but the pictures of the tombstones really hit me this time.
Yes, I sure do understand what you’re saying Sheryl… especially when reading the loving messages engraved in stone, in remembrance for all time 😦
Some are not so very old and those of our “diggers”/ Australian Soldiers upset me so. Hopefully we can stop this desecration which makes no sense to me. It’s not as if there is a shortage of land in South Australia!!!
Awful, and frighteningly disrespectful. The plants should be safe because they are in a cemetery rather than the other way around. 😦
Thanks to you too Metan… The Cemetery in which my immediate, and extended, family are/were buried is one of the most destroyed and desecrated despite being one of the oldest in South Australia 😦 One could be forgiven for thinking that it may be due to “social standing” of it’s inhabitants…
Needs to be more publicity about the destruction of grave sites.
I sure agree with you Peter and happen to be working on that right at this very minute 😆
Thanks for you comment… more later.