A St Clair woman is disgusted at the state of her grandchild’s grave at Pinegrove cemetery.
Larraine Bemrose had her still born granddaughter, Aimee Jessie Miranda, laid to rest at Pinegrove Cemetery 28 years ago and has seen the grave fall into disrepair.
Flowers sit at the site dead for weeks, dirt and grime have built up, and nearby plaques are twisted and coming off from the stone.
“To me it is absolutely disgusting,” Bemrose said.
“It doesn’t take much to remove flowers, they’re sitting here for three weeks at a time, and we can’t keep coming down all the time.
“When we bought the plot, we were told that they maintain it, so we didn’t have to come down… and yet they’re not doing it.”
Bemrose said that she was willing to do the maintenance herself but was told she couldn’t.
“I came down and it hadn’t been [cleaned], so I contacted them, and I told them I was going to bring my own whipper snipper, and they told me I couldn’t do that, I wasn’t allowed,” she said.
“I’m not allowed to clean it and yet they’re not doing anything to it. This is now three months that we’ve had to come down and clean it and maintain it ourselves.
“I paid $600 28 years ago for the little space, which was a lot of money back then, and they said to me ‘We will maintain it, so you don’t have to come’.”
Bemrose’s daughter lives in Queensland and can’t come and visit her daughter often, and Bemrose said that it’s hard when they do visit.
“We’ve only been coming for the last three months this often,” Bemrose said.
“Sometimes it’s hard coming here, it brings back memories and I don’t like coming here.
“That’s why we chose this place, to make sure it would always be looked after and it’s not.”
Bemrose spoke to the cemetery and was told that a request would be made but since then nothing has changed.
“It’s just not right,” Bemrose said.
“If I’d known what it’d be like I’d have never put her here.
“They are degrading her.”
A spokesperson from Pinegrove Memorial Park said in a statement that an urgent review of the maintenance roster will be conducted.
“Pinegrove Memorial Park is committed to ensuring all areas of the site are maintained and presented to the highest standards for all families when they visit their loved ones,” the spokesperson said.
“We take any concerns raised with us seriously and our team review these as a priority and conduct any necessary remedial work.
“When made aware on June 20 of the family’s issues with the memorial site, the Pinegrove team acted to ensure the site was tidied within the week and the flowers were removed.
“In response to the family’s concerns, Pinegrove has also initiated an urgent review of its general maintenance roster to ensure this situation is not repeated.
“Unfortunately, the site involved is located within an older area of the park and plaques and memorials can be impacted during times of increased rainfall, resulting in the need for additional maintenance attention.
“It is important this maintenance is carried out by the team at Pinegrove to ensure the integrity of the material used on memorials.
“At the request of the family, Pinegrove Memorial Park has provided this update to the Western Weekender and also management contact details for the family so they can offer any further support.”
Emily Chate
Emily Chate joined The Western Weekender in 2024, and covers local news - primarily courts and politics. A graduate of the University of Wollongong, Emily has contributed to The Daily Telegraph and worked as a freelance journalist.