A dedicated team of locals are doing incredible work, preserving the history of the Matakana area, while restoring headstones at the Matakana Graveyard.

The first recorded burial in the Matakana cemetery was in 1861, so it is understandable that some of the gravestones are looking a little worse for wear.

The land the cemetery sits on was donated in 1868 by the Matthews family, the official opening was on 23rd October 1875, and since then it has been in the care of a trust, but without funding or interest very little has been done to improve or sustain the graves.

In 1908 the burial site register was created, and many local families bought plots and were responsible for their maintenance. However, as people moved out of the area the keeping of the cemetery has fallen into the hands of a few local volunteers. 

As well as restoring headstones to their former glory, the team does in depth research of the person that was laid to rest there. With the hustle and bustle of present-day Matakana, a lot of us forget the rich history of the area, and how those before us shaped Matakana into what it is today. 

They post their findings on the Matakana Cemetery Facebook page (you can find it here), which was established to highlight the facts, memories and stories of the people who are laid to rest in the Cemetery. They tell the stories of those who may have been forgotten.