Graveyard’s past haunts school field

Canterbury schoolchildren had played on their school field for decades, with more than 350 graves lying beneath their feet.

In 1872 a cross was erected in a cemetery adjoining the Rangiora Catholic church. That same year the first parishioner was interred. The last burial was of Catherine E Fitzgibbon in 1967.

A year later the headstones were removed. The names of those buried there were inscribed on a monument at one end. The field itself was levelled to give St Joseph’s School more room. Children played on the field for more than 47 years.

Now, thanks to a new understanding of tapu, the field has become a place of quiet reverence once again – the goalposts removed, the playing stopped.

St Joseph’s principal Ben Gorman said the issue of whether or not to use the field for play was contentious within the school. Many believed it was a waste of land used for years. ’’We’ve got lots of students whose parents went here and played on it. Many of them think we should still be playing on it.’’

During the years the field was played on, the school celebrated special liturgies and prayed for those whose remains lay buried there and would continue to do so.

‘‘The board chair and myself had the same opinion, [but] regardless of what’s happened for the last 50 years, we need to look at it now. Just because it’s always happened doesn’t mean it’s right for now.’’

Some families had told their children not to play on the field in the past, Gorman said.

Not playing on the field took into consideration cultural sensitivities of pupils and their families. In the end, it was the Catholic Diocese of Christchurch that made the call in March, as the church owned the land.

‘‘The board can decide what we do with our students, but because it’s not our land we don’t really decide what happens to it,’’ Gorman said.

Father Denis Nolan of the Waimakariri Parish, said the decision was not made lightly and was the culmination of opinion that had ‘‘grown like a wave’’.

‘‘We’ve got a bit more of an understanding of the whole thing of tapu and sacredness. We’ve come to the conclusion that it needs to be respected as such.’’

While Nolan believed the initial decision to convert the graveyard to a playing field had come from the graveyard’s state of disrepair, the field now made a fitting place for events such as All Souls Day or Anzac Day.

The new rules were introduced in April, after the school’s Anzac Day ceremony.

‘‘We explained to the children why. We’re respectful when we go to the church, this is another sacred place. So we’re respectful and we don’t play sports there,’’ Gorman said.

Gorman said people still came to visit relatives and ancestors, about one or two a term. ’’Because it’s enclosed within our gates they have to come and sign in at our office, which is a bit of an inconvenience for them.’’

Gorman said the parish would now further develop the land in line with its memorial nature.