Arawhata Cemetery. near Jackson Bay. New Zealand.
S 43° 59.810 E 168° 38.890
59G E 311431 N 5125789
The Arawhata Pioneer Cemetery is hardly noticeable on the road to Jackson Bay, lost in the dense West Coast bush. There is only a small wooden sign beside a stone memorial, almost hidden on the roadside, to show where this historic place exists.
Waymark Code: WM77XF
Location: North Island, New Zealand
Date Posted: 09/15/2009
Views: 7
Please Note: This waymark is a genuine abandoned cemetery.
Situated between Neils Beach and Jackson Bay, the Arawhata Pioneer Cemetery lies abandoned in the bush among the trees and ferns of the West Coast forest. It is the burial site for some of the first European settlers to come to Jackson Bay as part of the unsuccessful settlement programme in 1875 on the ambitious immigration and public works programme that was a failure.
The graves have fallen into disrepair and yet there is a peaceful beauty surrounding this lonely historic cemetery, where gravestones and iron railings lie in disarray.
The forest has reclaimed most graves with only about 13 sites still discernible. The story of an unsuccessful settlement at Jackson Bay is one of hardship, premature death and unrealised dreams.
Along the roadside, the only indication of a historic place is the old wooden cemetery sign and a rock memorial almost hidden on the edge of the bush, both of which could be easily overlooked by anyone passing by.
The rock is engraved:
TO THE MEMORY OF THE EARLY PIONEERS WHO LAY AT REST HERE OR IN SOME OTHER LONELY GRAVE.
THIS ROCK FROM JACKSONS BAY IS UPPER PALEOZOIC. VOLCANIC CONGLOMERATE GLACIALLY DERIVED FROM THE MOUNTAINS TO THE SOUTH WEST.
Earliest Burial: Not listed
Latest Burial: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
Take a photo of at least one grave marker and including a qualitative and quantitative description