Humble farmers, fortune seeking miners, hardworking mothers, brave soldiers, and children forever young.

These are among the more than 10,000 people who lived long and short, beautiful and brutal, fortunate and unfortunate lives, who now feature on the Central Otago District Council's (CODC) digitised database of cemeteries.

The digitisation of the district's cemeteries started some years ago and was continued by CODC cadet Jocelyn Ryan last year. 

The online database contains records for the Alexandra, Clyde, Omakau (Blacks), Nevis, Cromwell, Litany St (Cromwell), Naseby, Ranfurly and Roxburgh cemeteries, with Ettrick and St Bathans cemeteries now completed and added.

The public can search for relatives and people of interest online, and the service means some of the older records were not just paper versions.

“This project has highlighted the importance of record keeping, storage of information and sharing of historical information with each other,” Jocelyn said. 

People can now search for loved ones across many of the district's cemeteries thanks to an online record compiled by the CODC. PHOTO: CODC

“It shows how one small fire, flood or mouse can destroy some of our most important records.

“Each of our district cemeteries have unique features about them. The one thing all cemeteries have in common is that the people within our cemeteries were all loved by someone, and like the epitaph at the Lonely Graves in the Teviot Valley, they were somebody’s darling,” she said.

“A massive thank you to the previous trust members, community groups, archives, and members of the public for their help and information during this project. This has been a hugely satisfying project for me personally that I could do for my community.”

CODC chief information officer Nathan McLeod said it was an achievement to have produced an enduring record of the district’s history.

“It has preserved key details of our earliest inhabitants and future-proofed this valuable resource digitally.”

CODC parks and recreation manager Gordon Bailey encouraged people to use the resource.

“Look up your ancestors, family, or friends within our cemeteries, and check their digital record. If you find that a record is incorrect, or you have information that can be added to a record, please let us know.”

People can use the online form: Amend Cemetery Record - My CODC and supply the cemetery team with supporting documents.