ROY POINT – Cemeteries; a place of tranquility for your loved ones to rest in peace. Or so it should be.
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Recently it was reported Roy Point Cemetery had become a place of crime, litter, overgrown grass and unsettling behaviour.
Allegedly, open graves can lead to the theft of coffins out of graves.
A person who opted to remain anonymous, said an empty grave had collapsed next to his grandfather’s.
“The way it had collapsed made it easy to steal my grandfather’s coffin out of his own grave,” he said.
The conditions were reported to the municipality and workers used stones and sand to rectify the problem the next day.
According to an unofficial source, the grave had collapsed before someone was buried in it. He claimed the family was aware of the fact before the funeral, but continued with the burial nonetheless.
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“These things happen sometimes, but we resolved the issue by filling the grave with rocks and sand, securing the safety of the resident’s loved one.”
Complaints of litter, broken glass and collapsed and damaged tombstones were also brought to the attention of the Newcastle Sun, and upon investigation, it was noted the cemetery was in desperate need of maintenance.
Apparently, the cemetery is cleaned weekly. However, tombstones and the graves themselves are meant to be maintained by the deceased’s loved ones.
It is recommended tombstones should only be erected two years after burial, to allow the grave to settle.
“We inform everyone who bury their loved ones at the cemetery of the two-year waiting time. Thereafter, its up to them if they are going to wait or not. People are also aware maintenance around the graves is their responsibility,” explained the source.
It is speculated litter is caused by trespassers and large numbers of family members at the cemetery when burials take place.
“We can only ask the people who utilise the cemetery to take care of it when they are there. There are dustbins available on the premises for people to throw away their litter. There are also workers who will gladly assist family members with the maintainance of their loved ones’ graves,” he concluded.
