I explored Sinclair Cemetery again and, just like 56 years ago, I wondered about those holly trees.
Back in the late 1960s and early 70s, the Sinclair Cemetery wasn’t known about. Us kids simply called it “The Bush” and it was directly behind our property. It was our go-to playground for epic games of cowboys and Indians or a good round of hide and seek. One day as a kid, while hiding in the undergrowth, I noticed something odd: the holly trees formed a near-perfect line, then abruptly turned 90 degrees and continued in another straight row. It struck me as strange, especially since I had never noticed that before due to the dense patch of bush.
Decades later, the mystery was solved. That oddly tidy line of trees marked the boundary of what turned out to be one of the earliest burial grounds in Wainuiomata, the cemetery of the pioneering Sinclair family. Turns out, even back then, I was stumbling onto local history without even knowing about it.
Today, I returned to check out a different patch of holly trees, this time forming the southern edge of the Hine Road Recreation Area, right next to the cemetery. If the holly trees marked the boundary of the cemetery, then what was the purpose of these other holly trees? Were they deliberately planted, or had they self-seeded from the original grove? I was keen to find out.
Starting near Top Pool Bridge, I followed the new track extension on the Gums Loop Walk toward the cemetery. Once the path ended, I bush-bashed the remaining short distance through to the cemetery. Sure enough, the holly trees in this section were old and substantial, almost as large as those in the cemetery. And just like those earlier trees, these too formed a line. That alone suggests intentional planting. To back that up, an old, faint track runs alongside them.
Could this have once been an elaborate entrance to the cemetery? Or perhaps part of the long-lost Sinclair Track? I’ve long suspected that the older Whakanui Track just above might have been part of the original Sinclair route in this section, though now I’m not so sure.
Either way, the old 1880s photo that clearly shows the cemetery does not show these holly trees, so they must have been planted later — probably to mark the perimeter of the farmland here. At one time, there were also holly trees growing in the centre of this farmland. Perhaps a later owner planted them, such as John Wakeham, or maybe they were planted by Jack Cullen, who leased the land for a time.
Convinced these holly trees were deliberately planted, I followed the faint old track toward the cemetery and continued along the western bank, down toward the property where I grew up. There, I noticed a large slip and what appeared to be a fallen holly tree, or at least a similarly sized species, sprawled down the slope. Further south, a noticeable cut in the bank leads down to the Sunny Grove properties. It offers access up the slope, though I doubt it dates back to the Sinclair era. More likely, it was cut later by a local seeking a shortcut. Still, I wouldn’t completely rule out an earlier origin. The clearest photo we have of the cemetery from the 1880s shows what looks like an entrance in roughly this same spot.
On a separate bush bash, I confirmed that the southern perimeter of the cemetery also features a line of holly trees, with old fence wire embedded in at least two of them, suggesting that the line I discovered today is likely an extension of the same planting.
Taken together, it seems the cemetery’s perimeter was once marked out by holly trees, and the southern border of Holly Trees was later entended and ran toward Top Pool above the recreation area and below the older Whakanui Track.
Today’s small adventure came to an end due to limited time and I headed home.
