Post by NZBC on Jun 29, 2013 18:40:02 GMT 12
Taita Cemetery Genealogists are about to get a new source of information courtesy of the Hutt City Council.
Four people are working on a detailed listing of all the burials in Taita Cemetery, with the aim of compiling an accurate list to go on the council website.
The Taita Cemetery, now nearly out of space, dates back to 1892.
Reserves manager Craig Cottrill says it is a wonderful source of information for those interested in family history.
The problem is, the records are not always accurate.
He estimates the details for the modern parts of the cemetery are 85 per cent accurate but for the older monumental section it is only about 25 per cent.
To make matters worse, some of the old head stones are now unreadable or have been damaged.
While he says it will be impossible to get the records 100 per cent correct, the council wants to be as accurate as possible.
Four staff have been employed on a temporary basis and are currently recording the details on every headstone.
The information can then be checked against the written records held by council.
The spelling of names in the written records are not always correct and he says a manual check is the best way to get it right.
When people go onto the website, they will get all the information held on a person, as well as a map of where the headstone is.
Mr Cottrill says the cemetery does not get the recognition it deserves. The council has put a lot of effort into tidying it up and getting the gorse that once surrounded it under control.
The old headstones are a fascinating source of history and he hopes the online register will make people appreciate it more.
The register will also include data from the Wainuiomata Remembrance Garden.
The budget for the project was $30,000 and Mr Cottrill says he does not have the resources to include any of the older church-based cemeteries. That is, however, something he is prepared to look at in the future.
- Hutt News www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/local-papers/hutt-news/3333715/One-grave-undertaking-at-cemetery BY NICHOLAS BOYACK
Last updated 11:24 16/02/2010
Four people are working on a detailed listing of all the burials in Taita Cemetery, with the aim of compiling an accurate list to go on the council website.
The Taita Cemetery, now nearly out of space, dates back to 1892.
Reserves manager Craig Cottrill says it is a wonderful source of information for those interested in family history.
The problem is, the records are not always accurate.
He estimates the details for the modern parts of the cemetery are 85 per cent accurate but for the older monumental section it is only about 25 per cent.
To make matters worse, some of the old head stones are now unreadable or have been damaged.
While he says it will be impossible to get the records 100 per cent correct, the council wants to be as accurate as possible.
Four staff have been employed on a temporary basis and are currently recording the details on every headstone.
The information can then be checked against the written records held by council.
The spelling of names in the written records are not always correct and he says a manual check is the best way to get it right.
When people go onto the website, they will get all the information held on a person, as well as a map of where the headstone is.
Mr Cottrill says the cemetery does not get the recognition it deserves. The council has put a lot of effort into tidying it up and getting the gorse that once surrounded it under control.
The old headstones are a fascinating source of history and he hopes the online register will make people appreciate it more.
The register will also include data from the Wainuiomata Remembrance Garden.
The budget for the project was $30,000 and Mr Cottrill says he does not have the resources to include any of the older church-based cemeteries. That is, however, something he is prepared to look at in the future.
- Hutt News www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/local-papers/hutt-news/3333715/One-grave-undertaking-at-cemetery BY NICHOLAS BOYACK
Last updated 11:24 16/02/2010