The Grave Guardians

19/01/2026

A local West Auckland family is struggling after the diagnosis of MPNST (malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour) a very aggressive grade 4 cancer. The diagnosis came just 9 months after Effie and her husband Diksa bought home their beautiful adopted young daughter. When they should have been preparing for the best years of their lives as new parents, they are instead preparing for Effie to begin palliative care.
We haven't had the pleasure of meeting Effie or Diksa personally, but they are very much loved by one of our amazing volunteers. The very least we could do to help support their journeys is to share the give a little set up to lift some of the financial burden so as much time and memories can be had.
If you are able to, please help support Effie and her wee family.

All our love, George and Carter

Effie is facing an aggressive cancer diagnosis (MPNST) only nine months after she and her husband adopted their young child.

08/01/2026

It was with deep sadness that I read of the passing of Sir Tim Shadbolt today.

Kua hinga te tōtara i Te Waonui a Tāne.

Sir Tim was, in his own opinion, colourful. I'm sure I'm not alone in having to agree. He had a wonderfully wicked sense of humour, most often self deprecating and a ready smile that he shared with everybody equally. Tim was infectious in the most incredibly positive way.

I am honoured to have met Sir Tim a number of times and was the recipient of what was always sage advice. Tim was champion of many, with his enthusiastic energy that drew people in no matter what the cause.
If Sir Tim was in, he was in boots (concrete mixer) and all. He was a learned but natural public speaker, confident, unapologetic.. And Invercargill is testament to his dogged loyalty and belief...

You will be greatly missed, Sir, but the legacy you have left behind will echo through many generations to come ensuring you will never be forgotten.

Thank you Tim, for all that you were and all that you gave.

Father; Husband; Life Partner; Friend; Activist; Leader; Concreter; Mayor; Politician; Comedian; KNZM; JP; but most of all, just Tim.

As you said "I don't care where, as long as I'm mayor", I'm confident you're planning your next campaign already.

Kua whetūrangihia koe

Moe mai rā

Sir Timothy Richard Shadbolt
19 February 1947 ~ 8 January 2026

Image credits Te Papa Online; Tim Shadbolt 1970 Albert Park ~ (his public speaking and use of the word bu****it saw him arrested twice as well as giving title to his epic book "bu****it and jellybeans") and Getty Images for New Zealand Herald

10/12/2025

**we can confirm that we have a witness, with an excellent description and police are being updated**

We are actually starting to take this very personally.

The McLaren cluster of headstones just seem to be a magnet. We have repeatedly arrived to continue work to find the wrapping lifted off and further attempts made on the stones. This hampers efforts to finish the work because we spend an hour or two having to fix the mess that undoes everything we had done.

This time someone decided to tear holes in the poly, only to cut the tape and remove it, then attempt to put it back on. Im dumbfounded. Why tear holes if you were just going to take it off? It would have taken a fairly decent amount of effort to tear the holes in the first place because we use a heavy weight poly, so that nice circle would have been tedious. If only you could put that kind of effort in to keeping your hands in your pockets!
How did you go getting the paint marker off your hands? Because we noticed that in tearing the poly it cracked and powdered the paint marker we wrote with. Sticks to skin quite well Im sure you'll agree.

But why did you feel the need to heavily spray the stones with bleach? Again. This is the third go round with it.
Bleach does huge amounts of damage to headstones. Absolutely nothing good comes from its use.

And what on earth did you rub all over Bruce and Patricias stone? It left patches of sticky nasty residue that proved time consuming to remove safely.

Just stop.

Its no longer being considered a well meaning but uneducated attempt, this is deliberate and calculated.

We were going to post this on the 6th of December when it was first discovered but wanted to wait on confirmation regarding the witness.

09/12/2025

This service stone was only installed on the 25th of November. We checked on it the following day to ensure the wrapping was secure. Wrapping newly installed or updated headstones is a common practice - it protects the face of the stone for unveiling.

On Sunday 7th December, we went to check the wrapping again to find someone had taken it upon themselves to remove it entirely. They hadn't removed it just to look because the poly was gone altogether. With the pigeon population so out of control in this area of Waikumete, the wrapping is even more important.

This is exceptionally INAPPROPRIATE and exceptionally DISRESPECTFUL.

It does not matter where in a cemetery a new stone is placed or updated, noone has the right to remove or damage wrapping that is placed. Just because this is in a service area makes no difference.

DON'T DO IT!

If this was indeed council staff as alleged by a dog walker, then DO BETTER! Council staff should 100% know better than to disturb wrapping on a headstone!

10/11/2025

At 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month 1918, the guns on the western front fell silent.

The Armistice, an agreement to end the fighting of the First World War as a prelude to peace negotiations, began at that moment, having been signed at 5am that morning. Marshal Foch sent word to Allied commanders that “Hostilities will be stopped on the entire front beginning at 11 o'clock, November 11th (French hour). The Allied troops will not go beyond the line reached at that hour on that date until further orders.” The Armistice between Germany and the Allies was the first signed, and the first step to ending World War 1.

Armistice is Latin for to stand (still) arms.

We are choosing to observe 2 minutes silence at 11am in remembrance of all those who have gone before, men and women, lost to this life, but never forgotten.

Lest we forget.

06/07/2025

Our hearts and minds are with the families still waiting for their girls to be found after serious flooding wiped out summer camps in Texas. Camp Mystic for 8~17 year old girls has 27 missing.
We are parents of daughters, we also lost a lot to the anniversary weekend and cyclone Gabrielle flooding.
We feel your fear.
We share your tears.
We join you in holding on to hope.
Love from New Zealand.

04/07/2025

PART TWO

We were uncomfortable with the knowledge that memorials had been damaged, and left coated in mud, grass clippings, scrapped in paint and in some cases knocked from the mortar and left askew or buried.
So we headed back to Waikumete Cemetery on Tuesday morning and set about tidying up the rest of the mess.
We took an awful lot of 'before' pix in case anyone wanted to make a police complaint ~ council tells us this is the ONLY option ~ and we took a lot of 'progress' and 'after' pix. We did a deep clean of each of the memorials impacted, and put new faux flowers in place.
We would like to make an offer, to any of the families who had the memorial of a loved one impacted by this incident.
We would like to do a full refurb of each memorial which would include a reback of any etching and buffing of the stone. If its a bronze, then it would include a complete refinish. Free. 100% free.
This was not the fault of families, they should not have to wear the cost of restoration. Just get in touch. [email protected]

We've attached pix of the memorials impacted.
Edna & Leonard Small (veteran, WW2)
Herbert & Clarice Lynne
Lorraine & Alan Holt
Victor & Una Watson
Arthur & Irene Jones
Eleanor & Owen Young
Henry Ashford
Norman & Edna Elliot
Colin Holloway

04/07/2025

PART ONE

Im not sure how many people were aware, but some time last weekend (the 28th & 29th June) an incident occurred at Waikumete Cemetery in the chaple carpark. The result was that a vehicle went over the rose gardens, lawn and worse, a handful of the memorial tablets of Garden G.
Council contractors pruned the damaged roses and replanted them. They did a tidy up of the soil and mowed the lawn to reduce the 'visual' impact of the damage.
But they wouldn't/couldn't do anything about the memorials.
We couldn't get a direct answer to the question of "has the council notified families of the damage"....
We learned of this late on Monday afternoon ~ the 30th.

01/07/2025

We happily did a free clean and buff for a visiting family yesterday.

In remembrance of
Mum & Dad
Jack Allen
Died 4th May 1986 aged 82
Hilda Allen
Died 1st March 1997 aged 86
Together again
Sadly missed

Remembered at Waikumete Cemetery, Auckland

17/06/2025

Such an awesome afternoon. Looking forward to our return visit

Lovely article in the Pōhutukawa Coast Times about our workshop and project at Hūnua Presbyterian Church Cemetery ~ many thanks to Christine for bringing this heritage cemetery to our attention and the pleas for help.
If you live in Hūnua or surrounding areas and would like to help us with this, or if you'd like a workshop run in your area, led by one of our regional co-ordinators with over 30 years industry experience, please email [email protected]
Not able to help hands on?...you can make a donation to our charity account using Hūnua or Auckland Region as the reference detail instead.

27/05/2025

Join us in supporting this very worthwhile project

https://www.facebook.com/share/16ktTp4bAz/

Knit, weave or crochet for a veteran.

In acknowledgment of 2025 being 80 years since the end of World War 2, 75 years since beginning of Korean War, 65 years since end of Malay Emergency and 50 years since end of Vietnam War.