‘No rhyme, no reason’: repairs begin after devastating vandalism on gravestones

A Toowoomba man spotted a broken stone cross lying in the middle of the Drayton cemetery on his way to visit his late father’s grave. A year later he is working to rebuild more than 150 headstones that were destroyed in a horrific act of vandalism.

Michael Wagner and Ben Dawson working to restore the gravestones in Drayton Cemetery that were vandalised last year, as part of the Headstone Healing Project.

Michael Neil Wagner spends a lot of time in the Drayton and Toowoomba Cemetery as a stonemason, but one day last August, while he was visiting his dad’s grave he stumbled across a devastating act of vandalism.

Mr Wagner’s dad had passed away just two months before the devastating attack, and while his gravestone was left untouched, more than 150 other graves and memorials were destroyed in a shocking act of vandalism.

Two people desecrated the graves overnight, kicking and pushing them over leaving them shattered in pieces.

Some of the more than 155 graves damaged in Drayton Cemetery are over 145 years old. They are being repaired as part of the Headstone Healing Project.

Some of the graves and monuments were as old 145 years old and others as new as a day old.

Mr Wagner said one of the monuments had only been finished the day before the attack, and the client based in Western Australia had it built to commemorate their mother.

“The fact that people desecrate things that are so sacred to families is obviously distressing,” he said.

“We, like everybody else, have relatives and friends and anybody else in the cemetery.

“You can imagine what it’s like.”

Michael Wagner working to restore the gravestones in Drayton Cemetery that were vandalised last year, as part of the Headstone Healing Project.

He said the attack was senseless.

“There was no rhyme, no reason,” Mr Wagner said.

“Don’t do it in a cemetery. Don’t do it at all.”

The Headstone Healing Project is underway to repair more than 120 headstones that were destroyed in a vandalism attack last year.

Some families have taken it upon themselves to repair gravesites, but the remaining sites were left face down in the dirt, until a group of dedicated volunteers got together.

Chronicle columnist Greg Johnson and local businessman Jim O’Dea have led the Headstone Healing Project, and on May 21 2025 the project picked up its first headstones ready to be repaired.

“We wanted to make sure those headstones and graves are back in the position they were 150 or so years ago when a group of sobbing relatives stood there to say farewell to the beautiful people in their lives,” Mr Johnson said.

“We are a group of volunteers who care about our community, but we’re not paid.”

Greg Johnson one of the leaders in the Headstone Healing Project to repair the damaged gravestones in Drayton Cemetery.

Through support from council, local businesses, and TAFE Queensland, the project has come to life but it will be a long slow process and they have raised nowhere near enough to repair the damages.

“This is not going to be an overnight thing,” he said.

“But we haven’t raised enough money.”

Greg Johnson and Ben Dawson working to restore the gravestones in Drayton Cemetery that were vandalised last year, as part of the Headstone Healing Project.

The cost estimate for the repairs is $300,000 and the group have currently raised about $12,000 so far, with a long way to go.

Mr Wagner, the Managing Director of J.H Wagner and Sons, has played a major role in the Headstone Healing Project, and is helping relocate the headstones, many of which will be repaired in Brisbane by TAFE stonemason students.

The Headstone Healing Project is underway to repair more than 120 headstones that were destroyed in a vandalism attack last year.

Mr Wagner said it will be a long process especially without the sufficient funds.

“It has taken until this stage to get this thing started,” he said.

“If you’ve got any people out there that are willing to donate to a very good cause then that will make things quicker.”

More information can be found at headstonehealingproject.com.

Michael Wagner and Ben Dawson working to restore the gravestones in Drayton Cemetery that were vandalised last year, as part of the Headstone Healing Project.

The Headstone Healing Project is underway to repair more than 120 headstones that were destroyed in a vandalism attack last year.

Michael Wagner working to restore the gravestones in Drayton Cemetery that were vandalised last year, as part of the Headstone Healing Project.

Michael Wagner and Ben Dawson working to restore the gravestones in Drayton Cemetery that were vandalised last year, as part of the Headstone Healing Project.

Michael Wagner and Ben Dawson working to restore the gravestones in Drayton Cemetery that were vandalised last year, as part of the Headstone Healing Project.

The Headstone Healing Project is underway to repair more than 120 headstones that were destroyed in a vandalism attack last year.