There is something about old graveyards that fascinates me.I find them very peaceful places where time stands still for us mortals and we recognise that all our lives come to an end.The stories on the gravestones in this graveyard tell of lives lived long ago and the stories of lives cut short or lived long in a country most landed in far from their homelands.
New Zealand was only colonised in the mid 1800's by migrants from mostly Britain and the U.K.It was a rugged land then and life was harsh as they tried to build a new homeland at the bottom of the world.
This graveyard was created in those (for us )early times and is now over 180 years old-not much by European standards but ancient by ours! It lies in the centre of Auckland, a city of 1.5 million,and covers quite a few hectares near the city centre in parklike surrounds and bush.
Many of the grave sites have long since been abandoned by families long dead and although the city council maintains the grounds of the graveyard most of the now forgotten graves are left to slowly deteriorate, and after 180 years some have almost disappeared into the ground with their occupants. Father Time never stops working and I guess in another 180 years nothing will remain apart from a few broken gravestones and rusted iron-or maybe it will be a block of apartments by then.
This first image shows a typical gravestone in the graveyard-long ago abandoned. I love the way the stone has been overgrown with moss and rust coloured lichens, and the engraved details have faded and been smoothed away over time. The ornate iron railing around the grave and the size and ornate carving suggest the occupier was a man of wealth. Now most of the iron has been stolen or simply rusted way.
In those times much craft was used to mark a person's burial-ornate ironwork and hand carved gravestones. Nowadays such taking of space for a single grave would be rare-and how many people are still buried-and the cost astronomical.
The next three images show just how old these graves are and how Nature has almost reclaimed them. This huge tree has swallowed up most of the iron railing and the concrete of the grave over decades since it started growing as a seedling.
This tree has grown up in the grave itself and is gradually destroying everything in it
This grave has it's beautiful ornate ironwork fence still intact but a huge tree is taking over the grave,maybe fertilised by the occupant!
Details of the beautiful ironwork and the toll Nature is taking on it.
Finally a very ornate family grave-I love the fading of the beautifully hand carved and painted engraving and the moss and lichen on it.Sadly these people died at early ages-12,17,31 and 34 years old either together or separately-and no reasons are given.
I hope you enjoyed seeing a part of the world that is from times gone by.
All photos taken on my Huawei P30 Pro.
