![\"Tania](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/tania-kingston-believed-her-mothers-headstone-was-damaged-af-SATUBNVEDJASXDSI72JS5FNUUY.jpg\")
<\/p>\nNelsonians have been left \u201cdisgusted\u201d by damage to their loved ones\u2019 headstones at Marsden Cemetery.<\/p>\n
By Max Frethey, Local Democracy Reporter <\/p>\n
Tania Kingston visited her mother, who is interred at the cemetery, about five weeks ago to discover that her headstone\u2019s photo tile had been broken.<\/p>\n
She attributed the damage to the headstone being run over by a mower during the cemetery\u2019s routine maintenance and upkeep activities.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an emotional thing anyway, when you come up. To find that your mum\u2019s headstone\u2019s been damaged, it\u2019s just so disheartening.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kingston said she called the council, was redirected to its open spaces contractor, Green by Nature, and subsequently experienced four weeks of \u201ctoing and froing\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one wanted to take ownership of the damage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frustrated by the lack of action over the damaged headstone, she took to a local community Facebook page to voice her complaints.<\/p>\n
Her post was \u201cinundated\u201d with messages from others who had loved ones\u2019 headstones damaged or marked by muddy tyre tracks, leaving her \u201cshocked, disgusted, [and] sickened\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt made me so sad and sick to hear all these other people with their concerns for their loved ones, the damage that\u2019s been sustained on their headstones. There\u2019s just no need for it,\u201d Kingston said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe lack of empathy that [the] workers have in a cemetery is disgusting. It\u2019s not okay.\u201d<\/p>\n
She expected more care should be given in a ratepayer-funded cemetery.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Tania Kingston believed her mother’s headstone was damaged after it was run over by a lawnmower and wanted it to be fixed. (Source: Local Democracy Reporting)<\/p>\n
\u201cThere should be no damaged headstones, especially by a contractor who\u2019s put the bid in to maintain the place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Christine Robertson said having headstones damaged by mowers was nothing new, with her son\u2019s grave being damaged several times since he was first interred almost four decades ago, a period well before the beginning of Green by Nature’s contract.<\/p>\n
The plaque on her parents\u2019 headstone had also been knocked off in recent months.<\/p>\n
She also attributed the damage to mowers at the cemetery.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt seems obvious there\u2019s an issue there,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf this is going to be a constant problem, it\u2019s going to be a constant expense to get it fixed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robertson expected the contractor to investigate and rectify the causes of the damage so that families did not have to bear the cost of repair.<\/p>\n
\u201cThings happen, but\u2026 there\u2019s a feeling of lack of care and lack of respect.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added that it would be good for families to be notified if their loved ones\u2019 headstones were damaged.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor some people, it\u2019s really upsetting, and quite devastating really. At least if they get a heads up\u2026 you can prepare yourself for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both women also said that Marsden Cemetery was less well-kept than it used to be and hoped it would be maintained to a tidier standard.<\/p>\n
![\"Following](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/following-the-outpouring-of-community-concerns-nelson-city-c-E7F7S3CKQBDM3CISN2HL72HTFE.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Following the outpouring of community concerns, Nelson City Council said it had discussed its clear expectations about cemetery maintenance with its contractor. Photo: Max Frethey. (Source: Local Democracy Reporting)<\/p>\n
Nelson City Council\u2019s manager operations delivery, Eddie Powick, acknowledged the community concerns.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are currently reviewing the concerns raised and have been in contact with our contractor to discuss our expectations around cemetery care, so they are clearly understood and met going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the council had clear standards for how cemetery maintenance work was conducted, and addressing concerns was a priority.<\/p>\n
Residents should email the council\u2019s customer service team at enquiries@ncc.govt.nz if they believe headstone or memorial damage occurred during maintenance activities.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will arrange for the damage to be assessed and, where appropriate, remedied,\u201d Powick said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe recognise this is a deeply personal matter for families who have loved ones buried at Marsden Valley Cemetery, and we are committed to ensuring the space is maintained with the care and respect the community expects and deserves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Green by Nature has been approached for comment.<\/p>\n
Since making her Facebook post on Monday, Kingston said that Green by Nature had agreed to repair her mother\u2019s headstone at no cost to her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m glad that they\u2019ve finally come to the party, but it\u2019s sad that I had to push.\u201d<\/p>\n
Green by Nature took over the parks and open spaces contract from K\u016bman\u016b \u2013 formerly known as Nelmac \u2013 in July 2025.<\/p>\n
Local Democracy Reporting is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nelsonians have been left \u201cdisgusted\u201d by damage to their loved ones\u2019 headstones at Marsden Cemetery. By Max Frethey,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":405757,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,91,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-405756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-nelson","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=405756"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405756\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/405757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=405756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=405756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=405756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}