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Care and Respect

Hebrew A, Waikumete Cemetery, Glen Eden, Auckland, New Zealand. Photo: Cathy Currie, Discover Waikumete Cemetery..
Hebrew A. Photo credit Cathy Currie.
Waikumete cemetery is a special place for friends and whanau of the deceased who are interred within its sacred ground to come to pay their respects, to reflect and remember. It is also a public memorial park for the community to enjoy.

People from a variety of cultural backgrounds lay at their final rest here, understanding that they and their loved ones may have different practices and beliefs than your own, and to be mindful of the privacy of others while visiting is important.


Sign in the window of the Jewish Prayer house.   
Photo: Cathy Currie


Although the cemetery is spacious it can become busy if several funerals are occuring. Colour coded Auckland Cemeteries flags placed alongside the road opposite the crematorium complex and along routes to the individual grave sites indicate that funerals will be taking place.When flags are out it is advisable to keep out of the way of funeral processions. The roads are narrow in some places so please be prepared to pull over to give way to approaching vehicles. As pedestrians may be distracted or in a state of solitude please drive slowly and carefully. And when parking it is respectful to stay clear of unmarked graves.


Flags to indicate funerals are, is taking place. Waikumete Cemetery, Glen Eden, Auckland, New Zealand. Photo: Cathy Currie, Discover Waikumete Cemetery.
3 flags indicating 3 separate funerals, each has their own colour.
Photo: Cathy Currie


What can we do to help care for our cemetery?
· Use the rubbish bins provided and pick up any rubbish that we may notice laying about.
· Always control our dogs and clean up after them.
· Do not remove tributes from graves, and take care to prevent damage to graves. Climbing, leaning, and sitting on monuments can not only cause damage to them, they are heavy if they fall and can cause injury.
· Keep the graves of our loved ones tidy, and even tidy a neighbouring grave too.

As a responsible citizen, if you see anything that concerns you please contact the cemetery office ph(09) 818 5615. info.cemetery@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz The office is open Monday to Saturday 8.30 – 4pm. It is closed on Sundays, for urgent assistance outside of operating hours, contact Auckland Council ph(09) 301 0101. Report any suspicious or antisocial behaviour to the police ph111

Caring for a heritage grave:
If you are thinking about repairing or restoring a family grave in a heritage area of the cemetery it is advisable to contact the Auckland Council as resource consent is required to undertake certain activities. Repair and restoration work must be undertaken by qualified professionals and there are some restrictions on the repairing or modification of graves in the heritage areas including painting a previously unpainted surface, however general cleaning, tidying and hand weeding is permitted.

It is recommended to clean a monument only when the inscription is obscured or if other work is to be carried out. Moss and lichen can be easily removed by soaking the stone thoroughly with water and scraping with a flexible plastic scraper or scrubbing with a natural or soft plastic bristled scrubbing brush. Wire brushes, metal scrapers and chemical cleaners such as bleach can cause damage. High pressure washing is not permitted.

The historic cemeteries trust of New Zealand offers best practice guidelines for the care of heritage graves which can be found at the following links:

Heritage grave site maintenance:
Cleaning a heritage monument:

Waikumete Cemetery records the lives of past citizens and in doing so, the history of the growth of our community. Visitors are unable to remember and honour those who rest here when walking through the cemetery if they can not read the headstone inscriptions. We have made the work of carefully tidying heritage graves and cleaning heritage headstones part of our commitment to preserving and sharing the history of the cemetery, our city and the stories of residents. It is our way of giving thanks and honouring those who have gone before.
You can see our small group of volunteers at work here:  
Photo album Discover Waikumete Cemetery at work



Source:
Monument Repair Restoration and memorialisation,
The good the bad and the permitted activity standard – Auckland Council




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