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Kia ora, welcome to the Maketū Cemetery - Wharekahu project page. Here, you’ll find everything you need to know about the project, including latest updates, and a timeline of upcoming steps.
About the project
We are re-contouring the eastern side of the urupā, to improve the area for future burials. This mahi (work) will increase capacity, while providing better access for both maintenance of the site and those visiting their loved ones.
We have been working closely with a local taskforce group, made up of community representatives and the Maketu Community Board, to plan this project, and a community drop-in session and on-line engagement was held in June where people could find out more and give their feedback.
We received positive feedback and support from the drop-in session and online, for the following improvements:
Using an excavator to recontour the terraced areas
Bringing in new soil to help raise the terrace areas to make them more level with the existing driveway
Improving the stormwater runoff down the side of the urupā to protect future grave sites
Planting with native shrubs and groundcovers on the embankments between the terraces to prevent erosion and enhance the site
Installing concrete berms for future headstones - these will be positioned so that all headstones face east, in line with traditional practice
We are also planning some new structures down in the bottom area, such as a small shelter with water tanks to capture rainwater for hand cleansing, and a compost bin for greenwaste.
The cemetery will remain open throughout the work, with safety measures in place to guide visitors when vehicles and machinery are passing through public areas. Work will be stopped for any planned burials.
What's happening now? (8 October)
Watch the magic happen, as we roll back the geotextile fabric in the video below to reveal lush, green grass!
Normally it would take months to grow grass like this, especially during winter. But with the help of this special fabric, it only took a few weeks.
You’ll notice one of the sections where the grass didn’t grow as well – this is where we used a heavier cloth that we recycled from elsewhere. This was also the case in patches where the fabric overlapped.
This was a great learning for us – going forward, we’ll be using the lighter grade fabric to fast-track grassed areas in future projects.
Next, we will be putting a roller over the grass to iron out any lumps and bumps. And then we’ll get to work on the northern side, which is now dry enough to finish contouring, sow grass seed and lay down this ‘magic’ fabric.
Kia ora, welcome to the Maketū Cemetery - Wharekahu project page. Here, you’ll find everything you need to know about the project, including latest updates, and a timeline of upcoming steps.
About the project
We are re-contouring the eastern side of the urupā, to improve the area for future burials. This mahi (work) will increase capacity, while providing better access for both maintenance of the site and those visiting their loved ones.
We have been working closely with a local taskforce group, made up of community representatives and the Maketu Community Board, to plan this project, and a community drop-in session and on-line engagement was held in June where people could find out more and give their feedback.
We received positive feedback and support from the drop-in session and online, for the following improvements:
Using an excavator to recontour the terraced areas
Bringing in new soil to help raise the terrace areas to make them more level with the existing driveway
Improving the stormwater runoff down the side of the urupā to protect future grave sites
Planting with native shrubs and groundcovers on the embankments between the terraces to prevent erosion and enhance the site
Installing concrete berms for future headstones - these will be positioned so that all headstones face east, in line with traditional practice
We are also planning some new structures down in the bottom area, such as a small shelter with water tanks to capture rainwater for hand cleansing, and a compost bin for greenwaste.
The cemetery will remain open throughout the work, with safety measures in place to guide visitors when vehicles and machinery are passing through public areas. Work will be stopped for any planned burials.
What's happening now? (8 October)
Watch the magic happen, as we roll back the geotextile fabric in the video below to reveal lush, green grass!
Normally it would take months to grow grass like this, especially during winter. But with the help of this special fabric, it only took a few weeks.
You’ll notice one of the sections where the grass didn’t grow as well – this is where we used a heavier cloth that we recycled from elsewhere. This was also the case in patches where the fabric overlapped.
This was a great learning for us – going forward, we’ll be using the lighter grade fabric to fast-track grassed areas in future projects.
Next, we will be putting a roller over the grass to iron out any lumps and bumps. And then we’ll get to work on the northern side, which is now dry enough to finish contouring, sow grass seed and lay down this ‘magic’ fabric.
