news, local-news, bathurst cemetery, stephen beer, norwood park

NORWOOD Park general manager Stephen Beer has asked the community to show a bit more respect at Bathurst Cemetery after multiple issues have arisen. A big issue is vandalism, which the cemetery has again been subjected to. It was less than two years ago that $5000 worth of brand new furniture was stolen from the gazebo. Despite being reported to police with a good description of a vehicle seen in the cemetery around the time the furniture was stolen, the items were never recovered and the culprits never caught. Now, Mr Beer says the new sprinkler system and trees planted around the reflective pond have become the target of vandals. He said people have come into the cemetery and broken the sprinklers, while the new trees that were part of Norwood Park’s beautification works have been damaged. “It appears that nobody has caught them or no one has seen them,” Mr Beer said. Anyone who has witnessed the vandalism should contact the police. Another issue encountered at the cemetery is damage being done by dogs that have been let loose. Mr Beer said people enjoy walking their dogs through the cemetery because it is such a nice area, but they aren’t keeping them on their leads. When the dogs are loose, they then run over the graves and also cause damage to the plants. “They urinate on the box hedges, which then kills the box hedges,” Mr Beer said. “We don’t mind [the dogs] being there. It is a lovely area to walk in, we just ask people to bring a doggy bag and keep control of them.”

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