The sooner we can understand that, the sooner we can deal with it and guard places like Ross Bay against it. Vandalism has been a problem in Ross Bay Cemetery throughout its existence. Vandalism in a cemetery is much worse than a spray-painted wall on a corner store. The store owner can repair that vandalism for the cost of a coat of paint, and the wall is like new. The result of a night's vandalism in Ross Bay Cemetery is much more costly because, in most cases, the damaged objects can never be restored to their former state.
Many head stones are over one hundred years old.
Many of the families no longer live in the area, so there is no one to pay for complete repairs. Most of the time, the repairs, if done, are done by volunteers who can only put the tombstone back upright and mortar the broken pieces back together. The success of a repair depends on the skill of the person doing it and on the amount of damage. The friends of Ross Bay Cemetery, most notably the Old Cemeteries Society, have been asking the Victoria City Council to improve the security of the cemetery for more than 15 years. As a result, the city set up security patrols every night.