This may seem a silly question, but can anyone tell me if, when a grave is re-used, the original occupant is disinterred, or do they just bury another body on top of them? The reason I ask is that my grandfather's grave in Cunnamulla Qld is one that was re-used. I was only 10 years old when he died, and we lived a long way from Cunnamulla, my parents weren't exactly flush with money so couldn't afford a headstone.
Many years later, I was going to get the money together to have a headstone done, so I wrote to the relevant council to ask the whereabouts of his grave, only to be told that the records from the period of his death did not exist, and that many of the graves had been re-used, typically those unmarked. They did not even have a record of him being buried there, but I know that he was, because I have a photo of his grave that I took myself. We travelled to Cunnamulla after being informed of the death (he had already been buried because the locals didn't realise that he had a family until they found letters from my sister) and most of his possessions had been cleared out of his little shanty home. I am still in possession of a pair of scissors that he had used, and even though they have never been sharpened, they still cut today as well as they did back then. He died on 31 December 1963.
Anyway, if anyone knows what happens when a grave is re-used, I would be most grateful to hear from you.
Narelle