Graves Worthy Of Preservation In Barbadoes Street Cemetery

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31335, 4 April 1967, Page 6

Graves Worthy Of Preservation In Barbadoes Street Cemetery

(Written by RUTH JHANCE for the Chriftrchurph Civic

No place is more evocative of the past than a cerneetery. In no place, pot even in a library, do dead fingers reach out more urgently to the mind and to the imagination, Closed as it ijs now to further burials, Barbadoes street cemetery is one of the few places in Christchurch in which time not only stands still but goes backward into the first years of the polony,

The sense of the past is heightened by the surroundings. The land of the main cemetery is higher than that of the nearby streets and a hedffe adds to the feeling of privacy. But what closes the graves Into the seclusion of their own memories is the size of the trees which were planted there eariy in the history of the place and of Christchurch: yew, oak, laurel, elm, sycamore. All are of great size and an contribute to a sense of permanence. Paet Redemption Vet nothing is permanent. Here ip more ways than ope the impression is brought home deeply. And though ip recent months the cemetery has been tidied greatly from its former state of overgrown dilapidation there is still a very great deal, in the illegibility of weatherworn tombstones, and in the damage to stones and to grave copings, which is past redemption. The pity of this last is that, undisturbed and with no ground subsidence, stone stands for a long time. The damage that meets the eye in every direction has been caused by vandals. To walk here at whatever time of day, in early dew and mist, in the long tree-shadows of evening, or at midday with the nearby sawmill intruding its screams, is to feel history. Names and dates are here; that is all. Yet names and dates in such number very soon , begin to raise questions, To most of them there is no answer. Earliest Graves Those tombstones which are legible, apart from a few of earlier date, begin their record in the 1860 s. Did the earliest graves, in the 50s, boast headstones, or were these a later refinement? Some may have been placed there in the 60s, but others, which record deaths of that period, record also later deaths in the same family, ao that the stone too may be of later date. And what of the Illegible, worn stones? Impossible not to wonder what names, what history they tell, and where the places of origin of some the pioneers. Native of County Mayo, born in Cambridge, native of Somerset; these are legends which are plain to see; others have crumbled with the stone. Yet some of the earliest graves belong to those born in Christchurch. An infant Mathias, of the early 50s. Infant mortality was high, and cruel. At all ages death was a likelihood, and a grim reality; children, young men, young women. Young mothers are buried with their infant children; sometimes the young father is there too. A European countess sleeps in a highfenced grave; Mie had been married for two years. What was she doing in New Zealand in the 60s.

Longevity in the parents did not guarantee the survival of the children. One couple who lived to their 70s are buried in the same grave as their many children, who died in the first few years of life. One begins to marvel at the courage of these pioneers who faced so much to build a new country. Not only the poor met death frequently; prominent families too lost their young children. First Settlers Some of the first settlers are buried here. Dr. Barker, that worthy, citizen, lies here with his wife. Mary Cass, who arrived in the Randolph in December 1850, died in 1886 at the age of seventy. One of the few legible stones of an early date, and that of course may have been placed there later, is that of Edward Kant, who died in June, 1855, at the age Of thirty-five. Names prominent in church, state and education are here, a few with monuments erected by fellow staff, such as that of William Reeves, founder of the “Lyttelton Times,” a member of each House' of Parliament and Minister of the Crown, who arrived in New Zealand in 1856 and died in 1891. He was the father of that notable man, William Pember Reeves. The most unusual monument is that erected to the memory of Francis George Garrard, master of the S.S. Tararua, which was wrecked on Otara reef on April 30, 1891. Captain Garrard was 29 years old, and his tombstone represents craggy rocks and waves, with a ship’s anchor among them. The Celtic cross was a popular form of headstone, in both the Church of England and Roman Catholic portion of the cemetery. Jollie’s Plan In the plan of Christchurch, surveyed by Edward Jollie in 1849-50, before the arrival of the first settlers, a portion of about 221 acres was set aside as a cemetery reserve. This was in Bardadoes street, stretching north of the Avon to the town belt which was later named Bealey avenue, and as far east as the belt

which was later Fitzgerald avenue. To the south of the river lay an area of almost equal size which was intended as a botanical garden, but was never developed as such, and also a cqttle market. To the west of the cemetery reserve, on Barbadoes street, were two small areas which were intended for, and became, the Dissenters’ and Roman Catholic cemeteries. Consecration Service It is difficult to find why In fact there was no consecration of land as a Church of England cemetery until 1863. People must have been buried there, or buried somewhere, and as already mentioned, one headstone bears the date pf 1855. On June 23, 1863, Bishop Harper consecrated the enclosed portion of about two acres, together with the newly built chapel. “The Press” of June 24 re, cords the clergy who were present, and that after the consecration service, Holy Communion was taken In the chapel. It then goes on to comment tersely on the fact that so few of the laity were present, and on the necessity for holding the ceremony in midwinter “when this cemetery has remained unconsecrated since the foundation of the settlement.” The report concludes more tartly than ever: “The chapel has just been completed. It is a small wooden building of some architectural pretensions, but we confess we do not understand the design.” Since at this time the Provincial Council Chambers were well on the way to completion, it is difficult to understand what might be objected to in the cemetery chapel, which was also of Gothic design, a wooden building with a shingled roof which could have been drawn by Mountfort, But the time the chapel was demolished in 1955 it was described as an architectural gem. Citizens tried in vain to save it Burials Restricted In 1885 the cemetery was closed for burials, except to those families which possessed a plot there. In 1896 the extra land in the northern area of the reserve was subdivided and sold for housing, and in 1900 the cemetery property, which had been under the control of a board consisting of the vicars and church wardens of St. John’s, St. Luke’s, and St. Michael's, passed with the approval of

the Church of England Synod to the administration of the Church Property Trustees. In 1948 the Church Of England, having found the upkeep of the old cemetery a burden, placed it in the care of the reserves department of the City Council. The old story of no funds and the concern of too few people has resulted in all sections of the cemetery being neglected and subject to vandalism. By 1954 the City Council was proposing to demolish the chapel. Five years previously it bad been found to be infested with borer and not worth repairing. Now the stained glass windows, which were memorials to early pioneers, were offered to the Canterbury Pilgrims’ and Early Settlers’ Association, who accepted the offer, and thought the windows might be of use to st, Mark’s chureh in Opawa, though they were in bad repair. Prominent citizens and an architect protested vigorously against the destruction of the chapel. Advice Ignored A month later, ip November, 1954, the council adhered to its decision, the reserves committee reporting that earlier representatives of Church Property Trustees, the Pilgrims’ Association and councillors present at an inspection had decided unanimously the chapel was not worth repairing. However, Mr A- Wall had advised the committee of a wellknown architect’s opinion that for about £3OO the building could be preserved for at least another 50 years. In January, 1955, the coun-

eij had stayed its hand to the point of meeting citizens outside the chapel. Councillors told them that £lOOO would not cover the cost of repairs. Borer, dry rot had done their worst to sagging foundations, vertical weatherboards, and bargeboards. The shingle roof had beep covered with iron which itself was now in bad condition. Not one leadlight window was intact. At this meeting the chapel was described as having been “an architectural gem.” Somebody suggested that the chapel should be reconstructed in stone. Somebody else said why preserve the chapel and not the graves? The cemetery was subject to bottle parties and vandalism; this was a worry to people living in the neighbourhoodStalemate Reached Stalemate was again reached; the National Historic Places Trust was to go into the matter; but later in the year, on the recommendation of the reserves committee, the council decided to demolish the chapel. On November 1, 1955, the little building was destroyed. That was not the finish. The cemetery is still there. To wander among Its alleys is to realise that the time for regeneration to its former stateis past. There has been too much neglect, too much damage. But there is still time to preserve some of the graves, especially those of historic interest, and to clear away the broken graves and beadstones. There -could be no more fitting tribute to those who were buried here, and to all eariy settlers. That would lead the past into the future.