ALLEGED ACT OF DESECRATION

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 253, 4 March 1911, Page 7

ALLEGED ACT OF DESECRATION

AT PUKEARUHE. CLIFTON COUXtTT'OCNCIL DENIES THE RUMOR. A matter which concerns the legalising of the Pukearulie Cemetery was heard lit the Clifton County Council meeting yesterday, and was contained in the following correspondence: Under (late February 4 was a letter from the Commissioner of Crown Lands, New Plymouth, drawing the Council's attention to his letter of November 20, MKW, in connection with the deviation of Page street to avoid the old burial ground in the Pukearulie township. The writer asked if the Council's engineer had yet made a survey over his deviation of the coast road within the Pukearulie township, as he was awaiting the survey before finally dealing with the legalising of the Pukcaruhe Cemetery, lie would be glad to hear early what steps the Council proposed taking in the matter.

Under date February 5, Mr. John Skinner wrote as follows from New Plymouth:

I would call your attention to the fact that the cemetery at Pukearulie is on land vested in the Police Department and on a public street. You may not be aware that at Pukcaruhe there are quite a number of graves of settlers, members of the Armed Constabulary force, and of children, and at present there is no plan showing their position. These graves are for the most part on Page street, and are so close, to the new road recently formed by the Council that there is reason to believe the rumor that bodies were removed during the progress of the work. If this is so, the Council were unwittingly guilty of desecrating the dead. As a settler in Pukearuhe district I would ask the Council to move in the matter of protecting these graves by' requesting the local Survey Department to have the land surveyed and necessary I steps taken to have it declared a cemetery under the Public Cemeteries Act. THE REPLY. The Council's engineer (Mr. C. F. Dowsett) explained: "This work was started some time ago, but was left, in order to do Parson's survey, giving W. Rowe access. Plans of the" latter were furnished, but Parson's was never completed. The matter of desecration was considered some time ago; it has not occurred so 'far, and provision has been made for the establishment of roadlines that prevent any desecration. If the Council give authority, I will complete the survey." The chairman said that there was no ground for the statement that there had been desecration of the dead, there being plenty of space between the nearest grave (a girl's) and the street. It was resolved, on the motion of Crs. McKenzie and Sander, that Mr. J. Skinner's letter be referred to the Commissioner at New Plymouth, with a recommendation that the Department should take steps to protect the graves at Pukearuhe.