Call to restore Mapleton pioneers’ resting place

Mapleton descendant Donna Klease is leading a plea for Sunshine Coast Council to urgently upgrade the historic Mapleton Cemetery before her father’s ashes arrive from Texas for interment.

Established in 1891, the Delicia Road site is the final resting place of approximately 180 pioneers, including the Smith brothers who founded and named the town. For Donna, a direct descendant of Thomas Smith, the cemetery’s current state is a source of “anxiety and embarrassment.”

“My latest visit was quite upsetting, knowing my father’s ashes will be interred in a mouldy, dirty niche wall,” Donna said.

“I’m embarrassed that overseas family travelling for his memorial will be disappointed with his final resting place.”

The Smith family’s legacy is etched into the Blackall Range. They carved orchards out of raw scrub and petitioned for the cemetery’s gazettal in 1900. Today, however, Donna says the site suffers from decades of minimal investment.

Her primary concerns centre on the cremation niche wall, which she describes as weathered and unprotected. She is calling for: A thorough pressure clean of the brickwork and bronze plaques; A heritage-style gable-roofed shelter to protect the wall; and Flowering shrubs along the boundary to block dust from the unsealed road.

A Sunshine Coast Council spokesperson said the cemetery was maintained to “standard service levels for rural sites,” with the niche wall scheduled for cleaning every two years. While Council has “no current plans” for a shelter, they noted future improvements are considered under the Cemetery Plan 2019–2028.

Donna is now urging the community to help. “These families built Mapleton and Montville. They deserve a resting place that honours them,” she said.

HOW TO HELP: Support the restoration by emailing cemeteries@sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au, quoting reference CST2600028R. For more information on this story see www.rangecommunitynews.au.