Gate closed on vandals

A padlock on the Pakenham Cemetery gate. 274959_10.

By Jamie Salter

Pakenham Cemetery Trust is taking action in response to ongoing vandalism by locking the cemetery vehicle gates on Thewliss Road and Cemetery Road.

“It has become necessary to lock these gates to stop access to vandals who have been increasingly accessing the cemetery by these gates and causing damage to the cemetery infrastructure and monuments,“ Stacey Wright said on behalf of the Pakenham Cemetery Trust.

“The vandalism has necessitated the Cemetery Trust installing camera surveillance and the construction of higher fences on the perimeter of the cemetery to make the cemetery more secure.“

Pedestrian gates remain open to the public including one gate on Thewliss Road and three gates on Cemetery Road.

But the locked vehicle gates will take some time to adjust to for some locals.

When Pakenham resident Kath De La Rue visited the cemetery, she noticed a man with his distraught, 90-year-old mother who couldn’t walk across the cemetery on foot to pay her respects to her late husband.

“The 90-year-old woman was in tears because she couldn’t visit her husband’s grave – it was too far for her to walk,“ Mrs De La Rue said.

“Surely the cemetery trust could open the gates during daylight hours.“

Mrs De La Rue also said the pathways to grave sites were overgrown and unsuitable for wheelchairs and mobility scooters to traverse.

“Tree roots, loose stones and piles of leaves are also scattered along narrow paths between graves, making it impossible for any non-ambulant person to access the pathways,“ she said.

The cemetery was established in approximately 1863 and was not originally designed to accommodate for wheelchair access.

Mrs Wright said the Trust was in the process of upgrading these pathways for improved access.

“The newer ares of the cemetery, including the lawn graves, do have access for wheelchairs and mobility scooters,“ she said.

The Trust is run by a group of volunteers who engages contractors to mow and maintain the cemetery.

The gates will be open on funeral days, when the contractors or monumental masons are on site and on special occasions such as Mother’s Day and Fathers Day.