About two years ago, the newly elected Georgetown Cemetery Trust chairwoman, Helen Brookes, moved to ''tidy up'' its duties and responsibilities, then late last year found the trust had been operating without proper authority for at least 10 years, and probably longer.
The graveyard was established in 1876 and a 1933 New Zealand Gazette notice placed it, along with others throughout New Zealand, under the responsibility of the local council - in Georgetown's case the former Waitaki County Council. That duty transferred in 1989 to the Waitaki District Council.
The council was responsible for appointing trustees for three-year terms and, from the 1964 Burials and Cremation Act, to notify those appointments in the Gazette.
But the Georgetown cemetery trustees have not been published in the Gazette as far back as Dr Brookes can check, which means the trust has been running the cemetery without the proper authority.
Dr Brookes is not sure what that means for decisions and other actions taken in relation to the cemetery and has sought advice from Audit New Zealand as part of the 2013-14 financial year audit.
Technically, the trust's actions were invalid.
However, trustees acted in good faith, believing they had the necessary authority and she hoped that would be sufficient.
It also did not have a lot of business, generally writing one cheque a year for an insurance premium, holding an annual meeting and other small amounts of business.
The cemetery has the Georgetown World Wars 1 and 2 memorial. The last burial was in 2009 but, from time to time, there were inquiries about plots. At $300 for a single and $500 for a double they were considerably cheaper than in Oamaru.
However, the legal responsibilities of trustees, which were to increase in the future, meant the cemetery trust had to ensure it was operating correctly and within the law, Dr Brookes said.
Trustees recommended to be reappointed by the council were Dr Brookes, Jim Quested, Stephen Quested, Terence Fowler and Glenys Palmer.
