By KATRINA BRANDON
BIZARRE events are happening at the Moe Memorial Park Cemetery.
Vandalism has occurred, but it isn’t your everyday type of damage.
On January 24, around 9am, an unknown person entered the cemetery with a chainsaw, causing significant damage to 23 trees.
What makes the event so strange is that only a certain type of tree was cut. All the natives were left unattended.
The trees run along the 180 metre northern fence alongside the bottom of the cemetery property.
Trust committee member of the cemetery, John Worters, notified police once he became aware of the issue.
Talking to neighbours along the fence line, he said they thought it was just a volunteer doing some work when they heard the chainsaw in action.
The damaged trees are Pittosporums, which, if cut back, don’t often regrow, so the cemetery volunteers had to prune the damaged branches back to the trunk. Two of the damaged trees will have to be replaced.
According to one of the neighbours, some of the vandalism took place on the evening of Friday, January 23 around 8.30pm, and more the following morning.
Following the event, the cemetery shed was also allegedly broken into overnight on Monday, February 2. Fuel was taken from the shed. This is the second time the shed has been raided, and the door now needs fixing.
In light of the events, Mr Worters urges anyone with further information about the tree vandalism to contact local police.
