VANDALS IN CEMETERY

Taranaki Daily News, 21 December 1929, Page 9

VANDALS IN CEMETERY

RAID IN MELBOURNE. WANTON DAMAGE OVER £5OO. Sydney, Dec. 12. Spasmodic acts of vandalism which have occurred in the Melbourne General Cemetery within the last few years reached a climax the other night when a systematic raid was made on nearly 200 graves, and damage estimated at between £5OO and £6OO was caused. The vandals, who, judging by their footmarks, danceci on the graves, wantonly smashed about 100 glass wreaths on the graves and broke 50 marble urns on the monuments. Some of the urns, that were on the monuments costing £3OO and £-100, were smashed into two or three pieces. Plants were also pulled up from the graves, some of which h..d only recently been attended to by expert gardeners at a great expense to the relatives. Marble quartz on the graves had been picked up by tne vandals and thrown at the monuments, and the wreaths and scores of monuments were broken. Even graves which had obviously not been attended t-> for years were marked out for desecration by the gang, solitary glass wreaths that had been sunk into the ground being broken to pieces. Most of the destruction was done over a large area in one corner of the cemetery — that furthest away from the main entrance.

It is thought that the destruction was the work of either youths of tho larrikin elements or maniacs. Those responsible had evidently made their plans well beforehand, and had armed themselves with heavy bars. They gained admittance to the cemetery by breaking several iron bars of the fence and then squeezing through the opening. They worked systematically through the rows of grave?, and they followed a wide asphalt path for some distance leading to the valuable monuments which were singled out for particularly vicious treatment. Pieces of the broken urns were thrown at some of the graves, and a broken pickle bottle that had been hurled at one monument was found at the foot of it.

Officials of tho cemetery, who were greatly concerned at the incident, sought the aid of the police, who were informed that the vandals had been causing trouble in the cemetery for years.. It was not uncommon for iron railings to be broken froin the fence. The mob element in the park close to the cemetery is particularly strong. They are an irresponsible lot who stop at nothing in order to secure the class of “fun” -which most appeals to them, such as the desecration of graves and the tormenting of the tennis players -who have courts in an adjacent park. These tennis players were attacked one night not long ago by a senseless mob armed with fence palings. On that occasion it is said that they fired some shots “just by way.ot a joke.”—Auckland Herald Correspondent.