Headstones and Epitaphs .

Afew weeks ago I joined a group of people here in Hamilton on an interesting and informative stroll through our cities`s oldest cemetary - Hamilton East. I love history and I believe a town`s cemetary is a very good barometer of it`s history. I really liked this headstone above, the hands clasped together was such a loving gesture, the grave itself had a small pot of rosemary ( for remembrance) left on it . .

The picture above is of quite a wealthy looking grave site, the family being one of the forefathers of the town - being able to afford this sort of memorial was not common back then. Hamilton or Kirikiriroa as it was known before the English arrived in 1864, was a Maori kianga (village) with a number of different pa sites along the river bank, the English arrived and built a redoubt for the millitary.

Linda, the historian who guided our tour, standing beside the earliest grave found and on record, it is of a young man who drowned in the Waikato river 1864 - it is very hard to read and the fact that it is still standing upright astounded me, stronger looking headstones had collapsed over time. Reading many of the headstones I discovered that many people had died of drowning before the first bridge was built to unify the east and west sides of the town.

I spent 2 hours just wandering around after the tour had finished, it is a peaceful place with very few visitors now - just me and the birds and the odd rabbit or 2 .