Spickman – Nisbett Cemetery Restoration Project

In December 2019 the remains of a 178-year old family graveyard which threatened to spill out over State Highway 10 were relocated to Kaeo Public Cemetery. The remains belonged to the early settler Spickman - Nisbett family and were disinterred by archaeologists in accordance with all related legislation and moved to the historic area of the Kaeo Public Cemetery.

Special Services were held, and the 13 ossuaries (bone boxes) were reburied with care and dignity by Council gravediggers. The Spickman - Nisbett family patriarch William Spickman was one of the first pakeha settlers in the Kaeo area. He had helped construct the Waimate Mission Station and House prior to settling in Kaeo when he married. (Sited Bay of Islands - Whangaroa Community Board Meeting, 3/2/2020)

At the end of June 2020 NZTA approached us about relocating and restoring the memorials for the Spickman-Nisbett family. At that point the graves had already been moved to the historic area of the Kaeo Public Cemetery. We were called upon to re-locate and restore 4 memorials including the large 2 metre pillar and create 3 new memorials for members of their family that didn’t have headstones. In addition to this we supplied a large ceramic photo plaque which incorporated the Spickman-Nisbett family tree including photos of their ancestors which was mounted on a granite recumbent desk.