At the New Zealand Cemeteries and Crematoria Awards dinner held in Wellington this week, the Eastern Southland group won the community contribution award in recognition of its significant impact on the community through its work in the industry.
Together with the Gore District Council, the support group, and its volunteers have turned the previously unkempt and unmarked cemetery into a serene location.
Creating all-weather access has been established to enable the elderly and disabled to visit the graves of their loved ones, alongside a kiosk and informative panels detailing the history of Pukerau, their ancestors, and the people laid to rest.
Former Gore Mayor Tracy Hicks said the award was thoroughly deserved.
"Over the past few years I have had the absolute pleasure of working alongside, and witnessing the friends of Pukerau cemetery develop what was, at best an adequate community facility into a place of pride in the hearts and minds of all who call Pukerau home," he said.
One of the main drivers of the development was Margaret Pullar.
She said the group was absolutely delighted to win the award.
It had put in six years of work to get the cemetery up to scratch and it was now something to be proud of.
She said all the work could not have been done without the help of the district council and staff.
Many community members had helped out, not just through physical but helping out through contributing with their professional skills and monetary assistance.
The group had worked with 46 unmarked graves and all but six of them had been discovered and information given to descendants.
The development was officially opened last year by former prime minister Dame Jenny Shipley.
Her father, the late Len Robson, was a former Pukerau Presbyterian Church minister and Dame Jenny was born in the area.
