Madison Gatti is calling on the community to save her deceased father's plaque, which could soon be removed by Griffith City Council.
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It's already been removed once before in 2018 for not meeting council guidelines, which state all plaques in the lawn cemetery must be made of brass.
When Miss Gatti visited her dad's grave last year she was shocked to discover the granite plaque had been removed without her knowledge.
She said there was no mention of those requirements on council's 2009 cemetery management plan, but council's infrastructure and operations director Phil King said the guidelines were on the cemetery application forms.
The plaque has since been temporarily returned to the grave, and council's draft 2019 cemetery management plan explicitly states all lawn cemetery plaques are to be made of brass.
Residents have until 4pm on October 25 to send their feedback, and Miss Gatti is urging people to send in a submission asking council for more flexible plaque guidelines.
"This is not just about dad's plaque, it's more than that," Miss Gatti said.
"It's unfair that just because we're in the lawn cemetery we don't have a choice."
Miss Gatti said she chose the plaque because her father was a cabinet maker who loved working with granite.
"It was a reflection of dad, in my eyes," she said.
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Mr King said the Griffith Lawn Cemetery had always required plaques to be made of brass.
"This provides a consistent product and consistent pricing in order to have uniform recognition with a known cost," Mr King said. "Every previous burial in the Griffith Lawn Cemetery has complied with this requirement."
He said they would hold discussions with Miss Gatti about the replacement of the plaque.
He also said Miss Gatti could have opted to bury her father in the monumental section of the grave, which has no such restrictions.
"The monumental section of the cemetery provides opportunity for graves to be marked with granite headstones ... this would have been made clear by the funeral director when the burial was arranged," Mr King said.
However Miss Gatti said the monumental section was never an option, as she was a year 12 student at the time.
"As a 17 year old how could I pay for something like that?" Miss Gatti said.
Copies of the draft 2019 Cemetery Management Plan can be found at council chambers and at their website.
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