17 UNKNOWN

Many early grave markers were wooden with a painted inscriptions, often as a temporary measure until a monumental mason could be afforded, but some became permanent. Unfortunately, painted inscriptions do not last many years, and there is no pictorial record of whose grave this is.

The oldest plans of the churchyard appear to have been made on the basis of recording from headstones. Our oldest extant plan (see below) dates from June 1927, and also records an earlier survey from some unknown time in the 19th century. This plot does not appear on it. Nor do the burial registers give us any help, as the graves are not arranged in date sequence in this area of the churchyard, and the registers record more than 800 deaths in North Taranaki between 1845 and 1879.