A grieving whānau from Manakau, whose mother's reserved plot at a cemetery was mistakenly re-sold by the Horowhenua District Council, wants the man buried there to be exhumed.
Linda August died in July last year and had planned to be buried in a specific row at Manakau Cemetery, near Levin, next to her late husband.
But when she died her children were horrified to learn it was already occupied.
"It's a little bit eerie coming to visit when there's someone else in your line," said daughter Elaine August.
"I can come here and sit on dad because he's my dad, but I can't touch this area because its not our family."
A deceased man's family unknowingly purchased the reserved plot and buried him there last year, a month before Linda's death.
Linda's children needed to find a solution fast.
"It was a burden right from the start when we were told her plot had been taken. Our cousin had the plot next to my dad on the other side, so we asked him we could borrow it, and he let us," said Elaine.
"It was just another stab in the heart."
The entire row is already occupied or reserved by other members of Linda's whānau, including siblings and in-laws.
She paid for her plot in the late 90s.
Elaine has asked the Horowhenua District Council to exhume the man currently buried there.
But she feels very sad for members of his family, who haven't done anything wrong.
"We need to get him exhumed because he's in our family line," she said.
"I have no hatred towards the man's family, I just feel bad and I feel sorry for them, but I didn't mean for this to happen."
The Horowhenua District Council has acknowledged it lost the reservation when it transferred its paper records to a digital system.
Its chief executive Monique Davidson said it was an extremely unfortunate situation.
'A really sensitive issue'
"This is a really sensitive issue and certainly not a position we want to find ourselves in, and we really feel for the whānau involved," she said.
"The reservation was not captured in our electronic database back in 2009 and here we are, in 2022, and obviously we're having to work with the whānau on how we move forward."
But exhuming the man was not a consideration at this stage, she said.
"The council has been working with the whānau and has offered some options on how we might find resolution, our position is that exhuming the plot isn't an option."
It's offering to move Linda to an alternative plot free of charge instead.
"We're mindful that this situation could have additional impacts and so our obligations are broader than just the August whānau," said Davidson.
When asked whether the Council had an obligation to honour the original agreement, she said, "our obligation has been to acknowledge that there was a mistake".
'They had a contract'
But Property Lawyer Joanna Pidgeon believed the council could be legally compelled to comply.
"They had a contract with the council when they purchased that plot," she said.
"What they would need to do is apply to court for a order for specific performance to get the council to co-operate."
She said the August family would need to involve the buried man's family too, because an application for a disinterment license requires the consent of immediate family.
Elaine August said the whānau was considering their options, and the situation was a heavy burden to carry on top of their grief.
"I actually can't explain it without breaking down," she said.
"When I go to the cemetery every week, I feel angry. Not towards [the man], I just feel angry that this has happened. It just doesn't feel right."
Her mum Linda is remembered as a pillar in her whānau.
"She is our mum, our nanny, our aunty and a cousin," she said.
"She just cared for everyone. Always happy, always nice to everyone. And she loved her grandchildren."
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