VANDALS IN CEMETERY.

Taranaki Daily News, 18 June 1921, Page 11

VANDALS IN CEMETERY.

" HEADSTONES DAMAGED. •PROBABLY WORK OF BOYS. Christchurch, June 10. ‘A particularly seiweless act of vandalism was committed between Monday evening <and Tuesday morning, when some 48 headstones in the Church of England and Roman Catholic cemeteries, in Barbadoes 1 Street, were wantonly damaged. In the Church of England section 33 headstones were found to be damaged, including slabs stripped off, caps broken, and stones pushed over. More than a dozen crosses were snapped off, while others were pushed over and broken. The Barbadoes Street cemetery is the burial place of many of Canterbury’s pioneers, and the act of the despoilers has caused widespread indignation. The. church property trustees have offered a substantial reward for information leading to a conviction of the offenders. Some very beautiful and old headstones of the late Bishop Harper, first Bishop of Christchurch, and Henry Jacobs, first Dean of ' Christchurch. The despoilers have not confined their attention to one section of the cemetery, for in the Roman Catholic part 15 headstones: have disturbed or broken. Investigation of the sdil about the disturbed area revealed a number of footprints, and these, together with the fact that a number of glass jars have been removed from graves, have led the authorities to think that the damage is the work of boys.