Whitsunday council votes to lock historical cemetery gate, remove sign

Authorities are calling for measures to be put in place to stop tourists travelling to Bogie, which is still reeling in the fallout from a mass shooting tragedy.

A Whitsunday councillor has called to temporarily lock the gate to a historical goldfield cemetery that sits a few hundred metres from the site of the Bogie mass shooting tragedy that wiped out three members of a family.

It was also suggested a sign directing traffic to the site from a main road be removed.

Bogie shooting victims have been identified as Maree and Mervyn Schwarz Picture Supplied

Owners of a Sutherland Rd property Mervyn, 71, and his wife Maree, 59 Schwarz and her son Graham Tighe, 35, were gunned down allegedly at close range early on August 4, 2022.

Maree’s other son Ross Tighe survived telling police he was forced to run and hide in bushes with a bullet wound to his stomach as gunshots continued to ring out before reaching a farm ute and driving about 40km to a neighbouring property to raise the alarm.

Graham Tighe – the son of Maree Schwarz who with her husband Mervyn died from gunshots wounds, in a mass shooting in Bogie, central Queensland on 04/08/2022

Police allege neighbour Darryl Valroy Young, 59, who owned a Shannonvale Rd property invited the family to a meeting at his front gate to discuss ongoing boundary issues before shooting them.

He is charged over the alleged triple murder and an attempted murder and was remanded in custody. No bail application has been made – bail for anyone charged with murder can only be applied for in the supreme court.

Darryl Young is charged with murdering three family members allegedly over a property borderline dispute.

During Wednesday’s meeting Councillor Michelle Wright put forth a motion to temporarily lock the gate to the historical site off Normanby Rd and remove the sign directing people to the location out of respect for the Schwarz family and their neighbours.

The sign is at the Normanby Rd turn off from Peter Delemonthe Rd, which transitions from Bowen Developmental Rd.

Whitsunday Division 4 councillor Michelle Wright moved for the gate to a historical goldfield cemetery near the Bogie mass shooting site be locked. Photo: Elyse Wurm

The motion was to limit tourists to the area while the Bogie community was still reeling in the wake of the tragedy.

The Normanby Goldfield Town Sites and Cemetery are about 64km south of Bowen, 43km east of Collinsville and 41km southwest of Proserpine. Council information states there are five marked burial sites in the cemetery.

There are five graves within the historical goldfields cemetery. Picture: Supplied

Cr Wright said the move was to “give families in that area a bit of time”.

Cr Mike Brunker, who also offered his condolences at the start of the meeting before all present held a minute’s silence, seconded the motion before highlighting the main issue was the removal of the sign off the main road as this might help deter people from visiting the site.

Cr Brunker said the cemetery was on private property.

Whitsunday Regional Council has voted to lock the gate to a historical goldfields cemetery and remove the sign from the main road out of respect for the families and neighbours in the wake of the Bogle mass shooting. Picture: Supplied

“The fact we want to take the sign down I think is very important because I’ve asked for this before,” he said.

“We don’t need to be pushing people 77km up this rural road.”

Cr Brunker said the sign gave the impression any vehicle could be used on the rural road.

He suggested council staff take high resolution images to be display at the Bowen or Collinsville council office. It was also suggested a sign be placed at the cemetery gate directing people to the council office “to save people jumping fences”.

The motion passed in a unanimous vote.