A local resident has called into question the amount of work being done to maintain the safety and accessibility of gravesites in more remote areas of the Bathurst region.
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Kelso resident Henry Meyers has expressed immense disappointment at the state of the cemetery out at Georges Plains, and is concerned about the site’s safety hazards.
“The overgrown grass presents a fire hazard, and if the area caught fire, it would destroy all the graves and potentially pose a threat to the nearby township,” Mr Meyers said.
Mr Meyers has a number of relatives buried in the cemetery, including grandfather Charles Henry Godden, a veteran of World War One.
According to Mr Meyers, the cemetery has been in an overgrown state for several months, and he feels it is disrespectful to those memorialised there, especially war veterans.
The Georges Plains cemetery has been in continual use for over 150 years, and is located in the grounds of the long-closed St John’s Anglican Church.
The church and the cemetery were subdivided in 1996, with the cemetery going into the possession of Evans Shire Council [now Bathurst Regional Council].
For years, Mr Meyers maintained the Godden graves himself, but ill health has prevented him from visiting the cemetery in recent times.
“I had to get onto council a few years ago about cleaning the site up, as I had relatives coming down from Queensland wanting to visit the graves,” he said.
“When I rang council the other day, they informed me that they sometimes tend to the site, but are not compelled to.”
“It only really needs doing twice a year,it shouldn’t be a big deal.”
Mr Meyers approached the Bathurst RSL Club yesterday about the number of veterans buried at Georges Plains, and the issue of maintenance is expected to be put to the club’s board.
According to Bathurst Regional Council, the Bathurst Correctional Centre has a program in place facilitating for regular mowing maintenance at rural cemeteries in the region.
It is believed that the centre will carry out maintenance at Georges Plains this weekend.
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Sam Bolt
"I'm not in the business of telling people what to do. I'm much more in the business of describing things, situations and stuff like that and leaving them out there, and you can make up your minds about them." -Nick Cave
"I'm not in the business of telling people what to do. I'm much more in the business of describing things, situations and stuff like that and leaving them out there, and you can make up your minds about them." -Nick Cave
