JourneyOnline
THE RELOCATION of headstones from a historic graveyard at Rosevale was marked by a thanksgiving service in June.
After extended conversations with descendants of the early white settlers in the area, the Church moved the headstones to a nearby park and established memorials to commemorate the pioneers.
Bremer Brisbane Presbytery Minister Rev David Baker, who led the service at the site of the original Rosevale graves, said the memorial now in place listed the names of the people known to have been buried there.
“We then met on the bank of the Bremer River to commemorate the establishment of the newly placed gravestones there and unveil a plaque to commemorate the pioneers of the area.”
The land on which the burial place was located was originally given to the Methodist Church in the 1800s and subsequently became Uniting Church land in 1977 at the time of Church Union.
The land was sold in 1989 after legal advice that the land was not gazetted as a cemetery and there were no legal or health reasons that the land could not be transferred.
The Moderator of the Uniting Church in Queensland Rev Dr David Pitman said, “The church understands that the existence of such monuments can provide people with a sense of connectedness with those they have lost and helps them to cope with their loss and grief.”
Mr Baker said he was very pleased the church and the families will have a sense of closure on the matter.
