Bringing life to a cemetery

A view of the Northern Cemetery heritage roses in November 2015. Photo: Heritage Roses Otago The Northern Cemetery is the resting place of not only some of Otago’s Victorian citizens, but also some of New Zealand’s oldest roses, thanks to the work of Heritage Roses Otago. At this time of year, few roses are hardy enough to still be in bloom, but rose hips sway in the breeze as huge evergreen trees cast long shadows over the graves. Despite the season, the Lovelock Rd cemetery is still popular with runners and walkers who make their way along the tar-sealed loop road, or between the gravestones on the grass paths. Heritage Roses Otago spokeswoman Fran Rawling says the cemetery was designed in quite a different way to other cemeteries around the world, in that it was laid out for people to use as a park or a recreation area. Its design was based on the ideas of Scottish landscaper The Northern Cemetery, circa 1900. Photo: Hocken Collections Uare Taoka o Hakena 20502 J.C. Loudon, who thought cemeteries should not just be for the departed, but should also be sites of natural beauty for family to appreciate. Mrs Rawling says they have named it the ‘‘Unique Victorian Garden Cemetery’’. It is now considered one of the finest examples of a Victorian garden cemetery in the southern hemisphere. A circular area near the top of the cemetery was designed as a gathering place. Known to members of Heritage Roses Otago as the widows’ circle, ‘‘it was probably a place where families would gather and possibly had a picnic or shared plants ... and shared their grief’’. A Victorian cemetery is quite an attraction for visitors, particularly with elaborate wrought-iron railings and ornate masonry, but it is the memorial plantings that make the Northern Cemetery unique. Fran Rawling wraps up warm during a working bee in 2024. Mrs Rawling explains that in Victorian times, families memorialised their loved ones with plants. The head of a grave was often planted with one or two English evergreen trees, such as yew or holly, which symbolised eternal life. Often a rose was added as well. White roses were associated with the pure, such as babies, young children or unmarried women, for example ‘‘Felicite Perpetue’’; whereas darker, purple roses were often associated with men, for example ‘‘William Lobb’’. But little thought went into what size these trees and plants would eventually become. Problems began In the late 1990s, people began to complain about the condition of the cemetery. Some tombstones had been vandalised, tree roots had forced their way to the surface, pushing headstones aside, roses and other plants were overgrown and wilding trees were in abundance. Maureen Viggo tidies up a rose in February 2022. Photo: Peter Mcintosh One such person to comment about the decline was the late Alfred Barnes, a frequent visitor to the cemetery. In an article in The Star in June 2003, Mr Barnes called the cemetery ‘‘a disgrace’’. He acknowledged the work organised by Heritage Cemeteries Conservation Trust to remove ‘‘truckloads and truckloads’’ of wilding trees, but was disappointed restoration work hadn’t started on the gravestones. Although not being able to do anything about the masonry, as that was the families’ responsibility, Heritage Roses Otago members were keen to save the memorial roses on the site and wanted to gift more heritage roses to the city. Mrs Rawling said the group first entered talks with the Dunedin City Council in 2000 and reached an agreement for Heritage Roses Otago to care for, plant and document the roses at the cemetery. This commitment turned into a life-long project for the group, and this weekend marks 25 years since the group first planted heritage roses at the cemetery. Robyne Selbie moves her bag of weeds and prunings while watched by her daughter’s dog Ellie during a working bee last year. Working bees With help from the DCC — which manages the maintenance of the lawns, hedges and paths — Heritage Roses Otago has been meeting once a month for many years to plant, weed, prune, fertilise and mulch the roses. There is no shortage of work. The cemetery is about 8ha, of which 6ha is the grave sites and the remaining has been set up for walkways and gardens. From the first burial in 1872, to when the cemetery closed to burials in 1936, about 18,000 people have been buried there. Heritage Roses Otago has identified about 85 original memorial roses, which have been labelled with bronze plaques, and have added a similar number of memorial roses since 2001 at the request of family members. The group has also added many collections of heritage roses, often rescued from deceased estates, or as a chance to collect and preserve a collection, such as the Scots roses (Rosa pimpinellifolia). Care is taken to match the year the rose was bred to the year of the deceased in the plot. But not all the roses have been identified. ‘‘We call these mystery roses,’’ Mrs Rawling says. ‘‘They are the ones we are working on identifying, and some have been found more recently, like in goldmining cemeteries around Central Otago.’’ Helen Dawson takes part in a 2024 working bee. Photo: Peter McIntosh One of the group’s goals is to also conserve rare roses. Mrs Rawling says members propagate the roses at home and plant them out in the cemetery once they have grown to a suitable size. These roses are often ‘‘grown as a mother plant’’ so further propagation material can be taken from them. Since 2005, all the plantings have been painstakingly documented and mapped in the ‘‘green book’’ — a catalogued book called the 1001+ Roses of the Dunedin Northern Cemetery — of which the latest edition is 2024. It is available in the sexton’s cottage, where Heritage Roses Otago has set up an information room, which is open daily from dawn to dusk. Most of this work has been achieved by donations from club members, along with fundraising. So it was devastating in 2016 when shrubs and more than 500 heritage roses, including some of the original heritage roses, were accidentally sprayed with herbicide. The person or organisation responsible has never been identified. Ann Williams, of Mosgiel, checks new growth on a rose in 2017. Photo: Christine O’Connor Work acknowledged Most visitors to the cemetery are probably oblivious to the thousands of voluntary hours the 50-member group has put into restoring the area. But in heritage rose circles, the group is well known. Mrs Rawling has received many awards for her work, including a Queen’s Service Medal in May 2021 for her services to heritage rose conservation, and this year she was made an associate of honour of the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture for her national and international work to stop rare roses disappearing forever. In 2012, Heritage Roses New Zealand named the Northern Cemetery rose collection a Garden of National Significance. The future An offshoot of the rose preservation work is the beautifying of the cemetery, which makes it popular with Dunedin people and visitors. Community education is important to Heritage Roses Otago. It has run many guided tours, produced books and brochures, taken rose-pruning workshops and given talks to the community. Fran Rawling conducts a tour of the Northern Cemetery’s roses after the launch of the memorial rose trail brochure in December 2006. Photo: Craig Baxter It hopes to carry this on and increase the profile of the cemetery by attracting more tourists. Mrs Rawling says the area is popular with everyone from dog walkers to school pupils on orienteering courses. Cruise ship buses even drive through. But she can see the potential to develop it further so its beauty can be shared with more people and honour the original aim of the designer to be a park-like place for people to gather. Timeline 2001: First 80 roses planted. 2002: 250 roses planted. 2003: 400 roses planted. 2005: Adopt a rose initiative. 2005: First edition of the ‘‘green book’’ The Roses of the Dunedin Northern Cemetery produced. 2006: Memorial roses labelled. 2007: Guided tours of the memorial roses start. 2008: Memorial roses trail brochure produced in conjunction with the Southern Heritage Trust. 2011: Original memorial roses marked with permanent plaques. 2012: Named a ‘‘Garden of National Significance’’ by Heritage Roses of New Zealand. 2016: Herbicide incident affects 500 roses. Rose planting pauses for a couple of years. 2020: 20th anniversary of voluntary work celebrated. 2026: 25 years since the first roses were planted. Getting involved If you are interested in joining Heritage Roses Otago, or are willing to help at the working bees, contact convener Helen Dawson on 0273697002 or email otago@heritageroses.org.nz Celebrations 25th anniversary lunch Fran Rawling and Ann Williams have organised a 25th anniversary celebration on Sunday to commemorate the first of the heritage roses the group planted in the cemetery. About 45 past and present members are meeting for lunch, including representatives from the council and the national executive, to hear talks about the group’s work through the years. Kindred Day Later this year, Heritage Roses Otago members are hosting Kindred Day, a day where Otago garden club representatives unite to share inspiration, listen to speakers and visit gardens. The date is Saturday, November 21, at the Green Island Rugby Club. Those interested can contact Helen Dawson.