Friends of Cromwell Cemetery (FoCC) hope to work alongside the Central Otago District Council and other groups to make Cromwell Cemetery a place the community can be proud of.
The group held its first meeting in September 2024 with the aim of ensuring the cemetery is restored to a well-maintained state so it can honour and respect the dead.
FoCC member Linda Gordon said the main problem facing the cemetery was rabbits, whose burrowing had caused some of the graves to cave in.
The damage caused by rabbits had also proven to be a health and safety issue because loose ground and holes were creating tripping hazards for visitors.
One of the main goals of FoCC was to install rabbit-proof fencing around the three boundaries surrounding the cemetery, as other work could not be done until the fences were installed, she said.
FoCC member Beverly Fraser said it was hard to do other work on the cemetery until the rabbit problem was resolved.
The gravesite is also surrounded by industrial buildings, which is another issue the cemetery the group is addressing.
Ms Gordon said with a backdrop of industrial buildings and a lack of trees, the cemetery was neither an inviting place for visitors nor a pleasant resting place for loved ones.
FoCC member Katie Seymour said once the rabbit-proof fence was in place, an irrigation drip line would be installed around the boundary and work could be done to plant trees and create a more secluded area.
Trees would also be planted for shelter.
Historically, Chinese gold miners were buried in the cemetery, as well as other miners in unmarked graves. They were recognised by a stone and a plaque that had been dedicated to them.
But to fully understand who had been buried in the graveyard and where, the Otago Heritage Goldfields Trust had funded ground radar to analyse the ground underneath the cemetery. It was hoped the scanning would begin next month, Ms Gordon said.
