DARWIN CEMETERY NEEDS ATTENTION

Most people regard the letters R.I.P. as standing for Rest In Peace. When it comes to Darwin’s Pioneer Cemetery , Goyder Road , it currently means Rest In Prickles. The cemetery is infested with sharp grass seeds which attach to footwear in clumps and stick in feet, causing pain . The grass is particularly thick around the graves of Police Inspector Paul Foelsche and his wife . A variety of weeds is growing within the Foelsche plot which bears a placard saying it is maintained by the nearby Foelsche Masonic Lodge . Earlier this year , there was a special memorial service at the Foelsches’ grave attended by the Adminstrator ( in plaster) , the mayor, police commissioner , a bugler and mounted police .

Also surrounded by feral weeds is the tombstone of early Labor politician Tom Crush whose wife was the redoubtable Fannie Haynes of Brock’s Creek who inspired author Xavier Herbert . Nearby is the grave of John George Knight after whom Nightcliff is named. This important cemetery deserves better maintenance .

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