Cemetery Open Day to show heritage in action

19 September 2005

Cemeteries are fascinating for the heritage they retain in family and city history, historic events, the famous and infamous interned there, and as open recreational spaces.

Often overlooked, undervalued, and prone to vandalism, the Council plans to promote awareness of the city’s cemeteries and the wealth of historical information that they hold during the Carter Group Heritage Week.

The Linwood Cemetery Open Day, from 10am to 2pm, Saturday, 8 October, will highlight how the city’s suburban cemeteries hold a wealth of historic information and are growing increasingly popular as recreational spaces.  This is free and the cemetery is best accessed from 25 Butterfield Avenue, Linwood.

From 10am to 11am, Kathryn Howard and Kevin Williams from the City Council Greenspace Unit, will take people on a guided tour of Linwood Cemetery. They will discuss recent Council works and the involvement of the Linwood Cemetery Working Party – a partnership between Council and community to maintain the cemetery’s physical fabric and heritage values.

During the Open Day people can also see heritage conservation in action from 10am to 2pm as City Care staff carry out cemetery maintenance and conservation work on site. A display about the history of the cemetery will also be available, thanks to the help of the Linwood Cemetery Working Party.

People will be able to look up where their ancestors are buried, no matter what cemetery they’re located at, with the help of Council staff and the Christchurch cemeteries data-base available on-line at the Open Day from 10am to 2pm.

People can also take part in ‘Hands on Heritage’ with the Grave Restoration Workshop during the Open Day. They will be shown how to maintain their ancestor’s headstone and iron work by Stewart Harvey, chairman of the Historic Cemeteries Conservation Trust of New Zealand. From 11am to 2pm a sausage sizzle will also be on site, courtesy of the Burwood All Saints’ Church, and from 12.30pm to 2.30pm, Richard Greenaway, with his wealth of knowledge about Christchurch cemeteries and the stories behind personalities buried there, has been sponsored by Decra Art Ltd to conduct a walking tour of the cemetery.

The theme of this year’s Heritage Week from 7-14 October is ‘Restoration – Hands on Heritage’.  The full programme of events is available on-line at www.heritageweek.co.nz or from Tenth Dot Management ph 3654203.

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