Whanganui Old Cemetery (whanganui) Traditional Cache

Whanganui Old Cemetery Commonly known as Heads Road Cemetery, this is one of the oldest European cemeteries in New Zealand. Although officially closed, burials still take place in family plots. The first recorded burial was for James Bailey in November 1843 who had drowned in the river, but there is no headstone marking his grave. Monumentalists were few in those early days however stonemason Robert Gray was advertising his services in newspapers by the early 1860’s. He imported sandstone from Sydney directly shipped to Whanganui. The sandstone has not weathered well with some of the headstones so eroded they are no longer legible. Whanganui Regional Museum has copies of the Pūtiki Mission registers which document some of the earliest burials and transcriptions of headstone inscriptions. Records from 1870 are available from the Aramoho Cemetery office although the Catholic records prior to 1920 are not very informative. All of this information is available on microfiche at the Heritage Room at the Alexander Library.

the cache is a nice quick find please place back  as found and cover well