Demi Willis was disappointed to see the damage done to her great-grandparents’ graves.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Mooroopna resident Demi Willis could hear her paternal great-uncle Tony’s voice crack when she called to speak to him about the vandalism at his parents’ graves.
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Ms Willis discovered the damage when she visited Mooroopna Cemetery after her maternal grandmother messaged her about damage to the portrait of her husband, Ms Willis’ maternal grandfather.
Ms Willis initially thought that the damage to her maternal grandfather’s portrait could have occurred after a stone was kicked up by a lawnmower, but she reconsidered this after she also found damage to her paternal great-grandparents’ graves in a different part of the cemetery.
The acrylic cover and an internal vase at her paternal great-grandparents’ graves had been shattered.
Artificial flowers, a statue of Mary and the lock that secured the chamber where the statue was kept were missing as well.
The missing items made Ms Willis realise that this must have been a deliberate act.
Ms Willis was glad that her great-uncle was not the one to discover the damage.
“Why someone would think that they could do that, I don’t know,” she said.
“That was very disappointing to see and emotionally exhausting because they’re loved ones.”
Ms Willis’ paternal great-grandparents, Filippo and Concetta Barca, migrated with their children from Italy after World War II and owned an orchard in Undera.
The couple passed away before Ms Willis was born but her family still holds on to their memories.
Ms Willis said they were stern people, but they were very loving and when they received visitors, Concetta “always had food on the table, doesn’t matter who it was”.
Ms Willis recalled her father speaking of Filippo and how he would melt when the grandchildren visited.
Another pair of graves behind Filippo and Concetta’s also had damage to the acrylic cover.
Ms Willis is also concerned about the general maintenance of the site, as headstones near her great-grandparents’ graves are leaning at a worrying angle, with one nearby headstone shattered on the ground.
Mooroopna Cemetery Trust secretary Jim Hepworth said the trust was investigating whether its insurance covered vandalism, and that families who noticed vandalism on graves should report the damage to police.
Mr Hepworth said that the maintenance of headstones was the legal responsibility of families, and “we don’t like the thought of them being vandalised, but it is a public space”.
The trust has the responsibility of maintaining the cemetery grounds and can only repair graves if they are unsafe and there are no living family members who can manage the gravesite.
Mooroopna police Sergeant Warren Funston encouraged the public to submit a report to police, even if they think nothing will come of it, and said “online reporting is the way to go”.
Reports can indicate patterns and can assist police in making decisions about patrols and other preventative measures.
Reports can be made to the Police Assistance Line on 131 444 or online at police.vic.gov.au
A statue of Mary was stolen from the locked chamber in the headstone.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Another pair of graves nearby had a damaged acrylic cover.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
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