History-makers rest despite subsidence

Press, 25 February 1989, Page 25

History-makers rest despite subsidence

Tomorrow from 2 p.m. the Barbadoes Street Cemetery Preservation Committee will hold an open day. Guided tours of Christchurch’s oldest and most important burial ground of primarily European origin will be given — some Maori are also buried in Barbadoes Street — and there will be special attention for. those with a genealogical interest in the site. BEVERLEY McCULLOCH, of Canterbury Museum, backgrounds this wide-open public cemetery.

Barbadoes street CEMETERY was opened in April, 1852, and as it was the only cemetery in Christchurch people from quite a wide area of Canterbury, and a variety of denominations, were interred there initially. Discrete areas were set aside (in what was considered to be essentially a Church of England cemetery for a Church of England settlement) for Roman Catholics and so-called Dissenters.

Over the more than 120 years during which interments were made (the cemetery closed in 1973) between 5000 and 6000 burials took place. Even a brief visit to the site today indicates there are nowhere near that number of headstones extant.. Quite apart from those which have disappeared over the years, it is apparent many of the graves were originally unmarked. This is a main reason for the preservation committee offering, on this open day tomorrow, to guide visitors around the cemetery. For some areas of the cemetery, however, no records at all exist. Many original headstones have been destroyed or are indecipherable. Quite apart from natural weathering processes, much stonework has cracked or fallen.

Most graves are subject to natural subsidence, but at Barbadoes Street this has been compounded by the swampy and sandy nature of the ground, quite unsuitable to support some of the tall and heavy structures erected in earlier years. Even quite light headstones, with narrow bases, eventually lean and topple in such ground. Grave bases and surrounds, too, are cracked and broken by ground movement. The swampy nature of the ground .chosen for Christchurch’s first cemetery was noted last century and it has not changed appreciably today. Anyone who chooses to visit after a period of heavy rain is well advised to wear their “wellies.” But the geology is not the only reason for the poor condition of many of the Barbadoes Street cemetery monuments. Increasingly over recent years the cemetery has been subjected to mindless vandalism, ranging from the spray painting of stonework to the deliberate pushing

over of structures. Only recently, in one night, at least six headstones in good condition were wantonly toppled and broken. Large trees which have created thickets in some areas have also posed problems. Quite apart from the damage they can cause to stonework as they grow, many have also provided cover for a variety of activities. When I was a teenager they were considered good value for courting couples. Nowadays the traditional yews are more likely to harbour gluesniffers.

Although the Barbadoes Street Cemetery Preservation Committee was first formed in 1976-77 it was reconvened in 1987, under the chairmanship of Ray Harrison when the Christchurch City Council announced it was to resume work on a development plan for the cemetery. It comprises representatives of a number of interested organisations, and its main object is to work towards the restoration and preservation of the original cemetery, and to honour the statement inscribed on its memorial plaque, which reads: "To the Glory of God and in Grateful' Memory of the Early Settlers of Canterbury who lie within these Walls.” The committee acts as a watchdog on any proposals to develop the site and works closely with the council; it has been accorded the status of a Neighbourhood Group. It holds regular meetings and monthly working bees of restoration at the cemetery. One of its greatest concerns is to ensure that headstones are not relocated.

Many will wonder why anyone should want to preserve and restore Barbadoes Street Cemetery. Many of the graves are not in good condition (although much better than they have been for many years) and, after all, in Auckland and Wellington they dug up parts of Grafton Gully and Bolton Street cemeteries in the name of progress didn’t they? Why not here? Well, the committee likes to think that in Canterbury anyway, the people have a greater sense of history than that. Take a walk among the standing stones and take in the names of those commemorated there. They read like a “Who’s Who” of Canterbury’s European history.

The Deans brothers, first and best known of Christchurch’s white settlers; Felix Wakefield — brother of Edward Gibbon; Dr A., C. Barker who arrived on the Charlotte Jane and left us an early photographic record of the cemetery in which he was later to be buried.

And the clergy, too, are well represented: Bishop Harper — first Bishop of Christchurch — who did not approve at all of the Presbyterian John Deans having been interred alongside members of the Church of England; the Venerable Archdeacon Octavius Mathias — responsible for the first bridge across the Avon at Barbadoes Street for access to the cemetery; and the Rev. James Buller, missionary, Maori scholar and explorer who arrived in New Zealand as early as 1836, who was largely responsible for the erection of the Durham Street Methodist Church. But not just the well known people were important. Beside them lie the graves of all those others — carpenters to chemists, agricultural labourers to accountants, some unknown, many unmarked or even unrecorded — all of whom contributed in some way to making Christchurch and Canterbury a very pleasant place to live. The city belongs to them every bit as much as it does to us.

And the cemetery records far more than just the names of people. It gives a real insight into history and the way of life a century ago. Drownings figure prominently, but most eloquent of all speak the graves of the children — reflecting the very high infant mortality rate of that period. Today we expect our children to live: the early deaths, particularly those such as cot deaths, shock parents and community alike. But last century, death in childhood was a part of colonial life. Robert Lamb records that when lady Barker’s son died in

May, 1866, he was the fortysecond child under two years of age to be buried at Barbadoes Street cemetery that year — out of a total of onlv 70 burials!

Because of its age, the Barbadoes Street cemetery is now registered as an archaeological site, and comes under the protection of the Historic Places Act, administered by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust, in Wellington. The work of the preservation committee is authorised by the trust and carried out under the supervision of Canterbury Museum.

The recognition of our early cemeteries as archaeological sites is of some importance, a fact that was recognised and emphasised by the archaeological work carried out a few years ago to recover the human remains from the disused Methodist Cemetery at Withells Road. Some of the discoveries there were at variance with the existing records, showing the great importance of leaving any remaining evidence in our early burial grounds in as undisturbed and original condition as is possible.

Preservation and appreciation

of things signficant in our history is an important part of our culture. But we cannot preserve everything. Smaller items may be treasured by families or find their way into museum collections. Larger bits of history such as buildings and bridges — and cemeteries — may only be preserved selectively as the need to use the land continues. Selection of sites and structures for preservation must be based on their historical merit.

In any such selection, the protection and preservation of Barbadoes Street cemetery stands out as a must