Rocky woman upset after council rejects headstone burial
A ROCKHAMPTON woman wants to voice her frustrations, saying council told her she couldn't bury her recently-departed sister in a site with a headstone in the city.
She says council told her if she wants a headstone her sister will have to be buried in Mt Morgan, Bajool, Stanwell or Gracemere.
A Rockhampton Regional Council spokeswoman says Rockhampton's Memorial Gardens, the only facility with new plots available, is not designed to accommodate tombstones.
The woman, who has asked not to be identified, says this is because council wants to keep maintenance costs down.
"We can only get a small metal plate put on the ground so they can just mow over the top of it," she says.
"It's absolutely ridiculous. She was born in Rocky, we want her to be buried here.
"They shouldn't make things more complicated when you're grieving."
The woman says with the amount spent on rates each year, she can't understand why two people can't be hired to whipper snipper around headstones every now and then.
"To limit our last wishes in such a manner is truly a disgusting act, that I doubt that there is such a thing as Rest in Peace," she says.
The council spokeswoman says efficiency of maintenance is one of the reasons why tombstones are not allowed at the gardens.
"The Memorial Gardens utilises the Modern Burial System (MBS)," she says.
"The patented MBS design allows for maximum utilisation of available land, reduced opportunities for vandalism to graves and memorials, and allows for efficient maintenance of the cemetery."
She says unless a family has an existing plot in any of the monumental sections of the major cemeteries, the only burial option is in the lawn cemetery where a plaque is placed on a beam at the head or foot of the grave.
The woman says family still plan to bury their loved one in Rockhampton.
