July 30, 2012
Twenty-four volunteers have started the painstaking work of restoring the historic Taromeo Cemetery which was all but destroyed in the 2011 floods.
The stone-walled cemetery – thought to be one of only two private walled cemeteries in Australia – is located on the Heritage-listed Taromeo Station with burials dating back to the 1850s.
Volunteers from the SES, Taromeo rural fire brigade, the Blackbutt Heritage and Tourism Association, local residents and council staff and their partners worked hard at the weekend to prepare the site for the massive job of reconstructing the cemetery.
“It has taken a long time to get this project started,” Blackbutt resident Judy Cranston said.
“But the work that South Burnett Regional Council has done in securing funding from the State and Federal governments to undertake the restoration is to be commended. Whilst it has been a long haul in obtaining the funding, it has enabled this project to start and ultimately the cemetery will be restored to its former glory.”
The South Burnett Regional Council allocated $180,000 for the project in its 2012-13 Budget; $150,000 of this has been sourced from the Federal Government’s “Your Community Heritage” program, and $21,000 from the State Government’s Local Government Grants and Subsidies Program.
SBRC General Manager Community & Economic Development Eleanor Sharpe said the cost included fixing a road reserve to improve access to the site as well as transporting the damaged gravestones to Toowoomba for repair.
There were also strict conditions set down by the Department of Resource Management which had to be adhered to because of the site’s heritage status.
“Everything has to go back into the exact spot in a manner which respects the heritage,” she said.
No modern cement can be used.
Mayor Cr Wayne Kratzmann thanked “the dedicated band of volunteers” at the weekend who sorted the thousand of rocks that needed to be picked up and moved.
Local stone masons Roy and Geoff Welling were impressed with the efforts.
“We originally thought it would take up to a week to have the site cleared and the rocks sorted but this group did it in less than two days!” Roy said.
He said it would take until at least late November for the works to be fully completed.
“But mark my word it will be restored to its original condition to ensure future generations are able to appreciate the labours and struggles of our forefathers,” he said.
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