It’s not a subject many of us dwell on, but cemeteries are an important part of councils’ asset management responsibilities, especially when the cemeteries in question are historical ones.

The many old cemeteries that are dotted around New Zealand provide important historical information about fundamental cultural and human activities and also reflect the skills of early stonemasons and other craftsmen.

Opus heritage consultants Myfanwy Eaves and Carole-Lynne Kerrigan are regularly involved in coming up with conservation plans for heritage buildings and monuments, but when Taupo District Council asked them to put together a management plan for two old graveyards, it was an unusual project to say the least.

The Old Military and Early Settlers Cemetery was originally surveyed back in 1883 and believed to be in use as a graveyard from 1878. In addition to writing the plan, the work also required an assessment of the graves, headstones and other structures, along with repair and conservation recommendations where required.

“It was a really fascinating project,” Eaves says.

“One of them is actually in the township and has lost its setting as the town has grown around it. The other one is contained within a newer cemetery and really you’d have to know it was there.”

There was a group looking after the cemeteries, but it went into hiatus and one of the first tasks for the Opus pair was to actually identify the resource and determine the extent of it.

“The actual limits still remain unknown, but what we did was give them some maintenance guidelines and come up with some ideas on what to do when the cemetery is actually within the town itself. There are also cross-cultural elements and there were some sensitive issues there. Really, our job was all about giving the council a starting point.”

Dealing with issues such as how to maintain wooden headstones and preserve old iron grave furniture threw up some surprises as well.

“The older of the cemeteries had wooden grave markers and you can see the evolution in grave furniture from early wooden markers through iron furniture to granite headstones. It was a way of mapping the change in circumstances of the settlement as people could afford to move to iron and stone.

“Also, we tend to think of Taupo as being all about fishing and recreation, but it was also a military outpost at one time and there are a lot of issues around that. We are moving away from the military history towards a more reconciliatory outlook, but the Land Wars happened and it’s important to remember that.”

The conservation plan followed the guidelines laid down by the Historic Cemeteries Conservation Trust, which emphasise the importance of making as few changes as possible.

“The acronym is ‘damn and blast’, which means ‘do as much as necessary, but as little as possible’. The trust’s website is a fantastic resource available to councils around the country and it’s also free to access. I’d encourage people to visit the site and use it as a starting point. It has tips on maintenance of wrought and cast iron, wooden markers and monuments as well as weed control and tips for repairing damaged monuments. It’s a fantastic starting place.”