Queenstown Cemetery Restoration
A ceremony to officially reopen Queenstown Cemetery / Te Urupā o Tāhuna took place on 21 December 2023. This follows the recent part closure of the cemetery’s grounds to allow for restoration works following a severe weather event in September 2023. There will be short intermittent closures in summer/fall 2024 to allow for remaining log removal and grass remediation.
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Whakatuwhera Ceremony
A moving ceremony to officially reopen Queenstown Cemetery / Te Urupā o Tāhuna was held on Thursday 21 December 2023 in partnership with Kāi Tahu Mana Whenua with the support of Skyline. Over 100 community members gathered on Brecon Street to share the milestone moment and hear from mana whenua, the Mayor, QLDC reps, and local waiata groups from Ngā Manu Hou and QLDC.
We’d like to acknowledge and thank impacted families and community members for their patience and support throughout the restoration project. We’d also like to give special thanks to Mike Hurring contracting team for their care and expertise during the excavation works and Dunedin Monumental Masons for their role in restoring headstones.
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Paulette Tamati-Elliffe (Kāi Tahu)
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Mayor Glyn Lewers
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Tarsy Koentges (cemetery manager)
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Ngā Manu Hou and QLDC waiata groups
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Whakawātea Ceremony
In partnership with Kāi Tahu mana whenua and with support from Skyline, we held a whakawātea ceremony on 3 November to mark the start of restoration work inside Queenstown Cemetery. Work to clean up the area is expected to take at least a couple of months. When the restoration is completed, we’ll host a reopening ceremony for the community.
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Over 100 people attended the service at Upper Brecon Street just outside the cemetery.
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Paulette Tamati-Elliffe from Kāi Tahu led the karakia and waiata.
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Paulette Tamati-Elliffe from Kāi Tahu led the karakia and waiata.
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Ian Guy from Wakatipu Community Presbyterian Church.
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Michael Godfrey from Anglican Parish of Wakatipu.
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Cemeteries Manager Tarsy Koentges.
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Councillor Craig Ferguson
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Ceremony MC and QLDC Parks Manager Dave Winterburn.
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Blessing of the Queenstown Cemetery
A blessing was held at the cemetery on 5 October 2023. The private ceremony was attended by people with family graves that were affected, local religious leaders, the Mayor, other elected members, and Council staff. It included blessings from local kaumātua and faith denominations. This was an important milestone toward restoration work beginning.
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Mayor Glyn Lewers speaking at the whakamoemiti ceremony in Queenstown Cemetery.
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Local kaumātua Ned Webster.
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Local kaumātua Darren Rewi.
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St Margaret’s Presbyterian Church Minister Clay Peterson de Oliveira.
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St Joseph’s Catholic Parish Priest Cipriano Fernandes.
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Process to restore the cemetery
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Queenstown Cemetery Restoration Roadmap (JPG, 1.75MB)
QLDC has worked closely with Skyline who carried out the restoration work. This included stabilising the site above the cemetery prior to starting to remove debris.
We are currently in the detailed cleaning phase allowing us to safely accept help from volunteers.
Stay up to date
We have been sending regular email updates to impacted plot holders since the event occurred. If you would like to subscribe to these updates on our progress, please email: cemeteries@qldc.govt.nz