Several historic gravestones vandalised at Auckland cemetery

The descendant of a man whose headstone is in the St Stephen's Chapel cemetery is devastated by the vandalism of graves.

Marble headstones have been broken into pieces, while sandstone graves were smashed to smithereens in the Auckland suburb of Parnell on Monday.

Police said they received a report just after 5pm that at least eight gravestones had been pushed over and broken up.

At the cemetery, Libby Limbrick told RNZ she was glad her great-great-grandfather's grave was still standing, but wanted to know why someone would damage the cemetery in the first place.

The graves on either side of Limbrick's ancestor had been knocked over, while his was left remarkably undamaged.

"I'm very pleased to see that he hasn't been knocked over but, why on earth, how senseless, what an absolutely stupid thing for anyone to do," she said.

"What do you gain by knocking over graves that have been here for, well, a hundred years?"

She said she couldn't understand the mentality of the perpetrators.

"It makes me feel devastated, really," Limbrick said.

"And just thinking how sad and pointless that somebody feels so out of control of themselves, or that they hate whatever's going on around them so much that they feel that they've got to destroy something."

'The sandstone ones are very, very damaged'

The Dean of Auckland's Holy Trinity Cathedral the Very Reverend Anne Mills has described the destruction as senseless.

She told RNZ the vandalism was discovered by a volunteer who also worshipped at the chapel.

"The sandstone ones are very, very damaged," she said.

"The marble ones, you know, have gone into three, or four, or five pieces, but of course the sandstone headstones are just in smithereens."

Mills said they had had families from around the country and internationally getting in contact.

It had been traumatic for those left wondering whether it was their history being denigrated, she said.

"We've had a lot of emails and texts overnight from people all over New Zealand and all around the world, asking if it's their particular family's headstone that has been vandalised."

"They were some of the early settlers in Tāmaki Makaurau, and in Parnell, and so they have made a significant contribution to the city that we know today, and, you know, they're giants whose shoulders we stand on, and we wouldn't be who we are today [without] the incredible history that is held in those graves."

The graveyard was one of the oldest in the country, Mills believed.

She said she was saddened by the vandalism, and had no idea why anyone would target the graves.

"For me, it just seems senseless and unnecessary," Mills said.

The chapel is used weekly for services, and Mills described it as a sacred site.

It would take time to determine next steps.

"That will need to be worked out, fortunately it's not something that we face all that often.

"That will be a process that the families whose headstones have been damaged, the city council, and the absolutely amazing group of volunteers who have for years looked after the grounds around the gravestones, and have been very proactive in maintaining the headstones as best they can.

"I think that will be a process that will need to be worked out over the next while."

'Straight vandalism at its worst'

Anne Morris, who is president of the Heritage Roses NZ, which maintains the cemetery, said the damage was heartbreaking.

"It's absolutely shocking," she said.

"It's just straight vandalism at it's worst."

Morris said the group's restorer had taken many of the fragments of the gravestones away, and would start restoring them as soon as he could.

The estimated cost of repairs were around $35,000.

"We're talking about big money, because they all have to be glued together..."

She said they expected to set up a Give-a-Little page to raise money to rebuild the tombstones.

'A disgraceful act'

Auckland Council area operation manager Martin Wong said it was aware of the incident.

"This is a disgraceful act and our hearts go out to the descendants of those lying in rest here," he said.

"The graves are maintained by volunteers, whose efforts have been helped by two Auckland Council grants over the last six years.

"The council manages the land, gardens and trees at this closed cemetery site, but does not look after the graves, as these are private property owned by the descendants. That said, we will assist to sensitively tidy up the damage and assist the police with their enquiries."

He said they were also investigating damage to council-owned toilets at the nearby Judges Bay over the weekend, where sinks, taps, and toilets were removed.

Anyone with information was asked to report it to police online or call 105 using the reference number 250707/2117.

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