Rodney Stevens

Residents concerned about accessing graves at the overgrown Old Maclean Cemetery and the threat of snake bites can breathe a sigh of relief that they will now be able to mourn their loved ones safely after council staff began mowing the site last week.

The Clarence Valley Independent was contacted by several readers, and people shared photos on social media expressing concern about accessing graves due to long grass and the overgrown state of the cemetery near Maclean High School.

A Clarence Valley Council spokesperson said council had not been advised of public access issues at the Old Maclean Cemetery.

“Clarence Valley Council maintains 13 cemeteries within the Clarence Valley including the Old Maclean Cemetery,” the spokesperson said.

“All cemeteries have a mowing schedule which Council aims to ensure all sites are safe and presentable.

“At present, we have not been advised by the public of access issues to gravesites, but we were aware this site needed maintenance and actioned this as soon as staff were available.”

The spokesperson said recent hot and wet weather posed challenges for staff maintaining some sites.

“Maintenance at the Old Maclean Cemetery has been carried out generally in accordance with Council’s adopted mowing schedule, though it has been difficult to keep on top of all cemetery lawns this summer season due to the amount of hot and wet weather,” the spokesperson said.

“Mowing for the Old Maclean Cemetery commenced this week beginning March 4 and will be complete by early next week.”

The spokesperson said Clarence Valley Council strives to ensure all Council cemeteries are presentable and safe for families to access gravesites of their loved ones.

“The Old Maclean Cemetery requires a lot of hand mowing due to the layout of the graves,” the spokesperson said. 

“This means that it is a lot more time consuming to mow than other cemeteries where most of the mowing can be done on a ride on mower.”