Omaka Cemetery Explained

Omaka Cemetery
Country:	New Zealand
Location:	Blenheim
Coordinates:	-41.5378°N 173.94°W
Owner:	Marlborough District Council
Graves:	10,000 +
Footnotes:	https://www.marlborough.govt.nz/services/cemeteries/cemetery-records-search
Findagraveid:	2179169

Omaka Cemetery (also known as Blenheim Omaka Public Cemetery) is a historic cemetery in Blenheim, New Zealand founded in the 1850s.^[1] It consists of over 10,000 burials and is the largest cemetery in Marlborough due to its proximity to the region's capitol. The cemetery closed for burials during the later half of the 1970s but was reopened in 2011.^{[2] [3]} The cemetery consists of three separate lawns numbered one to three with lawns one and two being established in the mid-nineteenth century. Lawn three was established during World War I and was used as a cemetery for returned serviceman but over time became the main cemetery for the Marlborough region. Fairhall Cemetery is now Marlborough's foremost cemetery.

Burials

See main article: category. Notable burials in Lawn One (Old Cemetery) and Lawn Two (Catholic Cemetery) include:

• Kimball Bent (1837–1916), soldier and adventurer who joined the Māori rebellion during the New Zealand Wars
• Arthur Carkeek (1843–1897), New Zealand Cross recipient
• Thomas Carter (1827–1900), third superintendent of Marlborough Province
• Henry Dodson (1828–1892), brewer and early mayor of Blenheim
• William Girling (1882–1973), politician
• Thomas Grace (Archdeacon of Marlborough) (1850-1919), Vicar and Archdeacon of Marlborough. Son of Thomas Grace (missionary)
• Richard McCallum (1863–1940), politician
• Mary Müller (1820–1901), suffragist
• William Gilbert Rees (1827–1898), founder of Queenstown
• James Sinclair (1817–1897), founder of Blenheim

Notable burials in Lawn Three (New Cemetery) include:

• Fen Cresswell (1915–1966), cricketer
• Gunner A. J. Healy (1895–1966), soldier whose arrest in 1917 sparked the Étaples mutiny
• Ted Meachen (1895–1970), politician
• Charles H. Mills (1843–1923), politician
• Edith Rudd (1882–1967), nurse, Florence Nightingale Medal recipient
• Charles Saunders (1902–1994), Olympic rower

External links

• Marlborough District council website

Notes and References

1. https://www.marlborough.govt.nz/services/cemeteries/cemetery-records-search Cemetery Records Search – Marlborough District Council
2. https://gazette.govt.nz/notice/id/2011-go5666 Reopening of Omaka Cemetery, Marlborough, Order – 2011-go5666 – New Zealand Gazette
3. Book: New Zealand. Census and Statistics Department. The Municipal Handbook of New Zealand. 1918. J. Mackay, Government Printer..