Vandals callously desecrate 31 graves at the Pioneer Cemetery in Port Lincoln

The local council says it is now investigating how much can be fixed after at least 30 memorials were desecrated.

Vandals have rampaged through a cemetery at Port Lincoln over the weekend, callously destroying a number of historical gravestones many standing the test of time for well over a century.

Police were called to the Pioneer Cemetery in Happy Valley around 10am on Saturday 18 May, after a member of the public reported the damage.

They found 31 irreplaceable headstones damaged, some smashed but still standing, others toppled over shattered into pieces.

Port Lincoln Mayor Diana Mislov said she was appalled by the damage.

“It amounts to sacrilege of numerous individual memorials and plots, some of whom are well known families, with ancestors still living in Port Lincoln,” she said.

Vandals have callously desecrated 31 graves at the Pioneer Cemetery in Port Lincoln. Picture: Supplied

The Port Lincoln City Council has begun cleaning the site and repairing the damage but Mr Sawyer said some of the headstones are beyond repair. Picture: Supplied

A spokesperson from the Port Lincoln City Council said they had begun cleaning the site and were looking into how best to repair the damage. Picture: Supplied

“I trust SAPOL investigations are continuing to take place and anyone with information should contact them.

“Council will be working with the Port Lincoln History Group to assess the damage and consider remedial works.

“My thoughts are with all the families impacted by this act of wilful destruction.”

Port Lincoln historian Steve Sawyer told Nine News the damage was “unbelievable” and that local residents were outraged.

“They (the perpetrators) need to hide themselves because if the general public got hold of them, there could possibly be a lynching, it’s that serious,” Mr Sawyer said.

The cemetery dates back to the 19th century and contains around 3000 graves – including some of the first European settlers to the region along with Indigenous Australians.

A spokesperson from the Port Lincoln City Council said it had begun cleaning the site and was looking into how best to repair the damage.

“Given the significance and history of the cemetery, council will investigate funding options with the intent of working towards rectification, but the scale of rectification will be dependent on the overall cost,” they said.

No time frame was given for the repairs given the complexity in assessing each headstone and the specialised skills needed.

“It could take more than twelve months depending on the cost to repair, extent of the damage and the availability of contractors,” they said.

“There is also a complicating factor of Council needing to contact interment right holders which may be a complex process given the age of the graves.”

But Mr Sawyer said some of the headstones were beyond repair, likening them to a “jigsaw puzzle”.

“It’s very sad that this part of our history is being destroyed for no good reason,” he said.