The Headstone Project has identified 162 World War I veterans’ graves with no engraved headstones at the Carr Villa Cemetery, and aims to identify and commemorate them by the end of the year.
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The group has already completed restoration works on 207 veterans grave sites in the South.
Project chairwoman Andrea Gerrard said many veterans’ families did not have the means to provide proper headstones.
Nor did they know assistance would have been available at the time.
“Right from the time they came back they had to go to the [Defence Forces] Repatriation Commission asking for whatever help you wanted – they weren’t going to come to you,” Mrs Gerrard said.
Deputy Opposition Leader Michelle O’Byrne and Bass Labor candidate Adam Gore pledged $40,000 for the project to do restorative work at unmarked graves in Launceston, on Wednesday.
“My pop was in World War I at [the battle of] Pozieres, so he would have been fighting alongside a lot of these guys,” Mr Gore said.
“He would have been devastated to know that his mates weren’t being looked after.”
The Headstone Project also called on the City of Launceston to waive the $145 permit fee, per grave site, it charges for these works.