Carved stones tell old stories

A flowers and bow design on a headstone, carved from Italian marble. The headstone would have been fashioned in Italy and imported to New Zealand, with the lettering hand-carved in Dunedin. Photo: Gerard O'Brien.

The Southern Cemetery was opened in 1858 on a site known then as Little Paisley.

Little Paisley was named by a group of Scottish settlers from Paisley, Scotland who arrived in Dunedin on Philip Laing in 1848. Dunedin monumental mason Craig Morton said many of the gravestones in the cemetery were imported, and on the trip to New Zealand in sailing ships were used as ballast.

• Dunedin's cemetery heritage

Mr Morton said cemeteries had changed over the past 150 years and taller stones were no longer permitted under height regulations.

World wars  made a big difference last century. In the World War 2 period, smaller concrete headstones with granite panels were used, as other materials were not available, and could not be imported.

"That really changed the whole look of the cemeteries," Mr Morton said.

The cemetery originally had sections for general (or Presbyterian), Anglicans, Roman Catholics and Jews.  Later, a Chinese section was added.

The cemetery, designated Heritage New Zealand category 1, was closed for burials in 1980 and has 23,000 graves. 

Among those buried there are early Dunedin figures Thomas Burns, William Cargill and Johnny Jones.

The earliest recorded burial is for David, fourth son of John MacGibbon who died aged 6 years and 4 months on March 20, 1858.