A number of residents in the Hilltops Shire have voiced their concern that the storm damage to the Harden Cemetery back in February still has not been addressed. The importance of the location to Harden residents cannot be overstated as it remains what some have described a disgrace for family members visiting passed loved ones.
A post on social media was made, reading, “See how much I get told off after visiting the Harden Cemetery to my relatives graves I am absolutely disgusted in Hilltops Council, I am under the impression that Hilltops should be maintaining our cemetery after Februarys horrendous storm. Nothing has been fixed, the undermining of headstones and wash outs around graves….is atrocious. There has been ample time for works to be carried out let alone the trip/fall hazards that exist. To say the least [it’s] an insurance claim in the making. “I say come on Hilltops, pull your socks up and show some respect for the departed and lets clean it up. No bloody excuses for it, I for one, have never been so disgusted.”
This caused a flood of replies, overwhelmingly in agreement with the poster. One commenter said, “I believe you do have a genuine concern. Go to Young and let them know otherwise nothing will be done. It’s the only way.”
Another said, “It’s like they don’t care what happens to it. My uncle and cousin had to go see the Council for lawn maintenance as the grass was long and nothing was being done.”
Some had some experience with disrepair and could provide advice, with one person stating, “You’d think that if there are undermining and washouts at the cemetery, that the fixing would be a Council responsibility. If it’s restoration work needed on actual gravestones, it may well be up to living relatives to foot the bill. I have ancestors buried in the Yass Cemetery, going back over more than 100 years – their gravestones had fallen into some disrepair with the passage of time. It was up to me to pay out for the restorations, if I wanted them to happen, which I did. I understand that it’s possible to apply for public funding for such restorations if you can prove that you absolutely can’t afford to pay for the work. It’s sad to see some of our old local gravestones having fallen into such terrible disrepair.”
Some people commented with a different experience, one person said, “My Dad and Mum are both buried in the cemetery in Murrumburrah (the Old Cemetery) and they are on the slope. I visited them just after Mothers Day to find that there was quite a large deep wash down the side of Dads grave, I went straight to the Council office in Harden, there I was able to speak to staff who were very understanding of my concerns, within days they messaged me to inform me that they had repaired the problem. Family have since visited and confirmed that they had repaired the problem. I personally feel they attended to my concerns promptly while also keeping me well informed.”
Another person commented: “I’m with you. It’s an absolute disgrace how the cemetery has been looked after. After numerous times contacting Hilltops Council and still nothing done and they wonder why people get annoyed with them.”
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