Built Heritage Inventory

Transcription

1 Heads Road Cemetery Register Item Number: 370 Building Type: Residential Commercial Industrial Recreation Institutional Agriculture Other Location: Heads Road, Whanganui Heritage NZ Pouhere Taonga List Number: 7700 Significance: Archaeological Architectural Historic Scientific Technological Cultural Physical Description: The Heads Road cemetery is located either side of Heads Road, bounded by Guyton Street to the west, Ridgway Street to the north, industrial buildings off Pacific Place to the south and further industrial building to the west. Graves and memorials are generally laid out in rows with wide grassed paths, aligned north south and, consequently, not at right angles to any of the road. The cemetery has a wide range of memorial types, from simple obelisks, semi-circular headstones, angels, columns, and crosses and of different materials from stone and concrete to cast iron. Consists of the main cemetery area (General Cemetery), located between Guyton Street, Heads Road and Ridgway Street; the Catholic cemetery on the opposite side of the Heads Road; and the Jewish cemetery on Heads Road next to the Catholic area. Other known names: Guyton Street Cemetery, Old Wanganui Cemetery, Sandhills Cemetery, Wanganui General Cemetery Thematic Context Early Settlement Residential Industry Agricultural Commerce Transport Civic/Admin Health Education Religion Recreation Community Memorials Military

2 Current Use: Cemetery Former Uses: Heritage Status: Heritage NZPT List District Plan Class: Class A (Cat. 1) Architectural Style: - Date of Construction: 1843 Materials: stone, concrete, cast iron Registered owner: Whanganui District Council Legal Description: Main Cemetery - Pt Res C Town of Wanganui (NZ Gazette 1914 p.4706, Pt Lot 30 DEED 133 (CT WN20C/838); Catholic Cemetery - Res F Town of Wanganui (NZ Gazette 1988 pp.2249=2250); Jewish Cemetery Sec 545 Town of Wanganui (NZ Gazette 1968 p.578) Wellington Land District History: The Heads Road Cemetery was originally part of Reserve L, which had been set aside in the 1842 plan of Petre (the former name of Wanganui). 1 It was the first public European cemetery in Wanganui and one of the four oldest European cemeteries in New Zealand. 2 Unlike the other early cemeteries, the layout has not been compromised by roads or other developments. 3 Early records refer to the cemetery as the Sandhills Cemetery. 4 The first recorded burial here was 25 th November 1843, for James Bailey, who drowned in the Whanganui River. 5 As the town grew, a road was constructed out to the river mouth, passed the cemetery. 6 The road was known as The Heads, hence the name for the cemetery. 7 The cemetery contains graves for many of the casualties of the New Zealand Wars ( ). 8 It also contains the graves of many of the earliest settlers in the district, including missionaries, merchants, politicians, surveyors and benefactors. 9 There are also memorials to notable national identities, including John Ballance (Premier), Richard Taylor (missionary), John Tiffin Stewart 1 Wanganui District Council Heads Road Cemetery Management Plan NZHPT Registration Entry 7700 Heads Road Cemetery. Available online at: Cemetery Management Plan. 5 NZHPT Registration Entry. 6 Cemetery Management Plan 7 8 NZHPT Registration Entry. 9 Ibid

3 (engineer), Thomas McDonnell (awarded NZ Cross), A.D. Willis (printer and lithographer), Henry Sarjeant (farmer and benefactor) and S.H. Drew (founder of the museum). 10 A small number of WW1 grave are also located here. 11 Many of the earliest headstones were imported directly from England and Scotland. 12 The cemetery officially closed in Burials still take place in family plots at the cemetery. 14 The gravestones in the Jewish section have also been removed in 2004 and replaced with a single memorial. 15 The morgue (built in 1930) and nearby drill hall were used to hold the bodies of the victims of the Tangiwai rail disaster in December The cemetery is also the focus of the annual Cemetery Circuit motorcycle race held on Boxing Day since Architect/Designer: History of changes: 1842 Cemetery established First burial in cemetery First burial in Catholic section First burial in Jewish section Guyton Road extension added Sexton s cottage added on unused section of reserve (architect: T. H. Battle; builder: Jensen & Barnes) Brick wall added along Guyton Street (builder: John Jones) 1915 Cemetery closed Morgue built to replace previous wooden building (architect: H.H. Stroud; builder A.G. Bignell) Brick wall demolished Restoration of military graves Guyton Street gates erected Cemetery Management Plan NZHPT Registration Entry

4 2002 Cemetery reopened for burials of descendants Jewish gravestones vandalised and replaced with memorial. Date Period: 1840s Rarity / Special Features: A very early cemetery celebrating NZ history with the burials of locally, regionally, nationally and even internationally significant figures and commemorating the lives of ordinary people who died in tragic historical events eg the Tangiwai burials. Integrity: Substantially intact. Representativeness: The cemetery is representative of the layout of cemeteries of the period and also of the types of memorials used to mark gravesites. Context/Group Value: The cemetery established in 1848 and closed in 1915 remains within its context and its location reflects the growth of the city. Diversity (Form and Features): Fragility / Vulnerability: As a publicly accessible cemetery, the gravestones are potentially vulnerable to vandalism. Historic graveyards require constant and on-going maintenance. Summary of Significance: Archaeological Qualities Contains pre-1900 burials and should be considered as an archaeological site as defined by the HPA Architectural qualities The cemetery has a wide range of memorial types, from simple obelisks, semicircular headstones, angels, columns, and crosses and of different materials from stone and concrete to cast iron.

5 Historic Qualities Cemetery is of outstanding historic significance, with associations with the earliest settlers in the District, military graves and memorials to national identities. Cultural Qualities The site as considerable sentimental values as a cemetery and is an important component of the social fabric of Wanganui, linking the community and visitors to the district. Reference Source: NZHPT Registration Entry 7700 Heads Road Cemetery. Available online at: D=7700 Whanganui District Council, Cemetery files Associated Pictures: Date of Survey: 2012 Prepared by: Ian Bowman and Nick Cable