Of the 1643 plots in the cemetery, 207 were affected by a deluge late on September 21 when 87mm of rain fell in 24 hours — equivalent to a month’s rain.
The wettest day in 24 years triggered a massive slip on Bob’s Peak, which carried huge amounts of forestry slash into the cemetery below.
The slash was left in situ by Skyline Enterprises Ltd after an extensive felling project to make way for the company’s new 10-seater gondolas, officially opened in June.
A whakawātea, or cleansing, ceremony was led by mana whenua beside the cemetery yesterday to mark the start of the restoration work, expected to take until January to complete.
In a statement, a Queenstown Lakes District Council spokesman said no cost to the council was expected.
Council parks officer for cemeteries and heritage Tarsy Koentges said the past six weeks had been spent preparing the area around the cemetery to ensure it was a safe site to work at.
"Further up the hill, there was a lot of material clearance to make sure that no more material was going to come down into the cemetery — that was to keep both the workers ... and the rest of the cemetery space safe," she said.
Contractors had also done "a lot of water mitigation", channelling water out of the cemetery.
There had also been extensive planning work, including methodologies and site protocols established for Mike Hurring Contracting.
That process gave contractors a chance to filter through the material to make sure any grave goods or features that had been displaced were collected, Ms Koentges said.
Large debris would then be lifted out by a large crane, which would be brought into Brecon St, followed by silt cleaning and more refined cleaning.
Finally, there would be turf restoration, replanting and resetting of headstones.
"We estimate about three headstones, specifically, were displaced, meaning they were lifted off their beams.
"There are several that have still been tipped and, obviously, quite a few that need cleaning.
"So we’ll be integrating that into the process as we go."
The cemetery had been "meticulously documented" with photographs of headstones and aerial images, which would assist in the replacement of grave items and knowing where things needed to be placed along beams.
A team of monumental masons were at the ready to assist with the work when required.
While the cleanup would take several months, Ms Koentges hoped families would be able to access the graves by Christmas and families and the wider community could help with the "refined cleaning work" at a later stage.
