Ian McLean Green Scene Spokesperson for the Green Party

My children and I often explore the old city cemeteries. We even clean the graves, which we now learn is wrong according to Tauranga City Council.

Kelly McLean (no relation) and his water blasting aside, there are others who also work on restoring those graves. Recently, somebody rebuilt a headstone that had long-since fallen over; and we discovered the grave belonged to a whanau tupuna (family ancestor).

He died of drowning in 1886 and his grave was unknown to the family. His appearance in Tauranga was a surprise, as our only knowledge of him was he was raised in the Bay of Islands and trained as a ship's carpenter.

We now regularly visit him, keep his grave tidy; and the children have learned something of their history. All of this arose from the intervention of a stranger.

We give thanks to whoever restored the gravestone. We also thank Kelly McLean for supporting his community, for drawing attention to the slow loss of history as the old graveyards decay, and for showing being unemployed doesn't mean you have nothing to offer.

Kia kaha Kelly, and be aware your intentions are valued and appreciated by the community you aimed to serve.