Cemetery

Another project that has been undertaken by members of the Aberdeen Ratepayers Association is the restoration of the town's cemetery. With all the rain at the end of last year, the weeds have almost taken over large areas of the cemetery, and many graves are almost hidden from site.

At the end of last year, a donation of Roundup weedkiller was obtained from the municipality in Graaff-Reinet, and a large area was sprayed in December. Unfortunately there was not sufficient weedkiller to cover the whole area, but a start was able to be made. Last week a team of municipal workers cleared up a small area of the weeds, which have been left in heaps around the cleared area. Ratepayers Chairman Tienie Appel has had discussions with the municipality, who have agreed in principal to provide a tractor and trailer to remove the rubbish. A few farmers from the Aberdeen district have offered to bring their labourers to help clear the weeds and load the trailer.

Another problem at the cemetery is the large amount of litter scattered around, from broken bottles to plastic bags. Apparently many youngsters have been seen hanging around there in the evenings, and from some of the rubbish found, it is suspected that drugs are also being used there.

The front wall near the main entrance has been broken down for well over a year. Under Appel's leadership, the Ratepayers have plans to rebuild the whole wall, as there seems to be no sign of anything being done by the municipality. An insurance claim has been pending for a long time, but the Ratepayers have decided to go ahead and fix it themselves, with donations given by many members of the community and farmers who have family members buried there.

It was noticed that the railings around the Anglo-Boer war graves, which were broken when a tree fell across them in the big storm of December 2010, have still not been repaired!

 

Overgrown area

Cleared area

Broken wall