Cemeterist catches eye of Google
Cemeteries are being taken into the digital age with YouTube tours and 360 degree images, thanks to the work of self-described cemeterist Lia Trevarthen.
It might seem morbid to some of us, but the Waiuku resident spends her free time hanging out at cemeteries around Auckland and she’s helped thousands of people by doing it.
Trevarthen has spent the last five years documenting the region’s cemeteries online and her efforts landed her an invite to a Google event in October — where she was the only New Zealander in attendance.
‘‘My husband and other people think I’m a little bit mad,’’ Trevarthen said.
‘‘When we go to a town, I’ll be like ‘where’s the cemetery?’.’’
Trevarthen’s curiosity was sparked after organising grave visits for a large family reunion five years ago.
She began uploading images and details from gravestones to various websites, but soon identified a significant issue – there was no dependable way to locate cemeteries online.
‘‘I relied on Google Maps to get to the cemeteries in the first place, only to find many incorrectly listed, or not listed at all. You can piece together information from council websites, but it can still be a headache to locate a cemetery,’’ Trevarthen said.
‘‘People are interested in visiting the resting places of their family or ancestors. There’s going to be a real problem if they can’t locate cemeteries.’’
In 2016, she joined Google Local Guides, a community of people who contribute to Google Maps.
She started attending local meetups with other local guides and is now an active member of the programme. She adds everything, from amenities to notes about Ma¯ ori burial protocols, to Google Maps.
She was selected as one of only 151 local guides worldwide to attend Connect Live this year, the annual global event for local guides held in San Francisco.
‘‘Because of the number of contributions, the reviews and the edits I was putting on, I was invited to attend the summit.
‘‘It was such a buzz. I was blown away by how excited everybody was about Google Maps.
‘‘I was the only one who did cemeteries. I said at one of the sessions, ‘believe it or not – I make a point of seeing dead people.’ ’’
During the event, Trevarthen visited the Google campus where she met with the teams responsible for Google Maps and put forward her own ideas to improve the map and local guides programme.
Trevarthen said she had never been into genealogy before she started her cemeterist work.
‘‘I’m a fairly organised person and I like to collect information – plus I enjoy photography. There just seemed to be a gap.’’
She said it was amazing to connect people to their lost relatives’ resting places.
Next Trevarthen plans to add YouTube tours, along with 360 degree images, and has started documenting cemeteries in Rotorua, as well as Hong Kong and the UK.
‘‘I was the only one who did cemeteries. I said at one of the sessions, ‘believe it or not – I make a point of seeing dead people.’ ’’