Douglas and Sue Barrie are the self-appointed guardians of graves in Ingham that everyone else has forgotten.

Key points: The Old Ingham Cemetery is home to more than 2,000 burial plots

The Old Ingham Cemetery is home to more than 2,000 burial plots Floods, pollution, mould and neglect have left the graves worse for wear

Floods, pollution, mould and neglect have left the graves worse for wear Douglas and Sue Barrie are fighting to preserve the history of the site

The north Queensland couple divide their time between running the Seymour Hotel at Bemerside and restoring damaged headstones at the Old Ingham Cemetery.

"If you don't value your past, you're really not going to have much of a future," Mr Barrie said.

The cemetery, which has more than 2,000 plots and countless unmarked graves, is the burial place of early settlers and pioneers of the town, but the site has fallen into disrepair after decades of flooding, pollution, vandalism and neglect.

"Each grave we've restored has had a story to tell," Mr Barrie said.

"I can see [the cemetery] surviving now because people can see the work that's been done, but it wouldn't have survived without volunteer work."

Douglas Barrie says restoring old monuments is hard work. ( ABC North Queensland: Dwayne Wyles )

Who is responsible for old gravestones?

When a person dies, family members may buy or lease a cemetery burial plot.

Although the landowner — often the local council — will maintain the site, it is up to relatives to look after the headstone or monument.

The Old Ingham Cemetery has more than 2,000 burial plots and countless unmarked graves. ( ABC North Queensland: Dwayne Wyles )

"It'd be a significant resource on the community if [council] had to look after and maintain in pristine condition every single grave," Hinchinbrook Shire Mayor Ramon Jayo said.

"It's not just a problem that is endemic to Ingham — it's everywhere, and it's standard practice that families look after their graves."

The volunteers are hoping to recruit others to help with future cemetery restorations. ( ABC North Queensland: Lily Nothling )

But University of Queensland archaeologist Jon Prangnell said as descendants died off or moved away, it often fell to volunteers to look after heritage sites.

"Relatives will bury someone there and families will move out of the district and there is no forward planning," Dr Prangnell said.

"To have a group [of volunteers] that wants to do this kind of work … I think that's a great idea — they do plug that gap."

Flooding, mould and pollution from the nearby highway has posed a challenge for volunteers. ( ABC North Queensland: Lily Nothling )

Uncovering forgotten graves

During their work at the cemetery, the Barries have unearthed lost stories from the early days of settlement.

"There's a large number of unmarked graves — it goes back to having wooden memorials originally that don't last more than 10 or 20 years," Mr Barrie said.

In 1894, five children and their parents drowned in a devastating flood that swept through Ingham.

Any record of the family's burial at the cemetery has been lost, so the volunteers are hoping to build a monument to honour the dead.

"For me, that's been really important — to make sure the children's graves are marked and registered, even though some of them only lived for months or early years of their lives," Mrs Barrie said.

Douglas Barrie has used old maps to piece together the history of the Old Ingham Cemetery. ( ABC North Queensland: Lily Nothling )

The Barries, both now in their 70s, admit repairing and documenting the graves is demanding on their time and their bodies.

They are eager to recruit new volunteers so restoration efforts can continue for decades.

"If we live to be 200, we would never get this all done — so help would be much appreciated," Mrs Barrie said.

"[The graves] are an integral part of the heritage of the area and it will be lost if it isn't recorded soon."