Vandals damage Waikumete Cemetery
An estimated $300,000 worth of vandalism was carried out at Waikumete Cemetery on Saturday night, destroying historic gravestones and damaging roads, plaques and signage.
Cemetery neighbours were alerted to the incident late on Saturday evening when large numbers of young people entered the site and began smashing up graves in the south-eastern section of the cemetery, near the newly refurbished Chapel of Faith in the Oaks.
Waikumete Cemetery manager Daniel Sales says that 87 headstones have been smashed, damaged or pushed over and estimates that in excess of $300,000 worth of damage has been done.
"Iron railings used to adorn old graves were used to smash these invaluable headstones - some of which are very intricate and likely to be beyond repair.