Cade Lucas
Visiting the graves of loved ones is usually an emotional experience, something Hoppers Crossing’s Margherita Loviscotto knows better than most.
Since her son Gabriele’s death in 1985, Ms Loviscotto has visited his burial site at Werribee Cemetery on countless occasions, often attending two to three times a week.
But after nearly 40 years, the 86 year old has had to scale back her cemetery visits, with a recent illness forcing her to go three weeks without tending to Gabriele’s grave, her longest absence since his passing.
Her eventual return on Tuesday January 30 left Ms Loviscotto more emotional than ever.
“Werribee Cemetery is a disgrace,” she said of the condition she found it in.
“The grass was my height, there was grass everywhere. The weeds were everywhere.
“I felt like crying.”
Ms Loviscotto is far from alone in being upset with the condition of the cemetery.
A subsequent social media inquiry by the Star Weekly attracted a stream of angry responses from Wyndham residents, with the cemetery variously described as ‘a disgrace’, ‘disgraceful,’ ‘crap,’ ‘grim and very unkept,’ and ‘not good enough.’
Like Ms Loviscotto, many remarked on the amount of grass and weeds that have been allowed to grow on the cemetery grounds.
Vegetation overgrowth has been an issue across many public green spaces throughout Wyndham following unseasonably heavy summer rains.
Wyndham council recently advised that it was struggling to deal with the amount of vegetation growth over the Christmas and New Year period and that mowing and lawn maintenance would take longer than usual.
However, Werribee Cemetery is no longer the responsibility of Wyndham council, with The Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust (GMCT), that also operates cemeteries in Altona and Fawkner, taking over management in 2010.
Margherita Loviscotto said she’d noticed a decline in the condition of the cemetery ever since.
“Since the trustee took it over, the cemetery is neglected,” she said.
“Before when the it was the council in charge, they cut the grass every two weeks and it was nice and clean.”
Chief operations and people officer at GMCT, Dimi Patsisas, said the cemetery was mowed only days before Ms Loviscotto’s January 30 visit.
“We are committed to maintaining Werribee Cemetery with care and respect,” he said.
“We deployed additional staff there last Thursday (25 January) for maintenance, as a result of grass and weeds growing faster due to the unusually wet summer.”
While GMCT is responsible for public spaces at the cemetery, care and maintenance of individual grave sites is up to family members, with many using their own equipment to cut grass around them.
Despite criticism, few complaints about the condition of Werribee Cemetery are believed to have been lodged with GMCT.
