[ad_1]
An exercise group that worked at the Purewa Cemetery in Auckland for years is asked to continue after a complaint from a man in mourning.
The man, who declined to be named, says he went to the Meadowbank Cemetery yesterday to spend a moment at his father’s burial site to remember his birthday.
The tranquil surroundings and sanctity of the suburban cemetery were shattered by a group of fitness fans working to strident pop music and loud voices.
“I go there on his birthday and the day he died every year. All of a sudden I hear music and these people are jumping and someone is yelling, ‘one, two’ and on further investigation I found out that these people were in class shape. “
However, the owner of the exercise group told the Herald that his group had been working there since 2015, and apart from one minor issue, they never had any complaints.
BAReFIT’s Steve Butler says a neighbor once complained about the music, but they solved the problem and moved to where they worked in the cemetery.
They never worked in an area where graves could be seen, Butler says, located behind a building and they even had permission to be there.
Butler unreservedly apologized for causing harm to the man and says it was never his intention.
“We apologize and we were just trying to do what we have been doing for a few years,” he said.
“I had no idea that it affected people at that level, so I’m sorry. For me it’s news that it affected people that way.”
Since then, the physical trainer has been asked to find a new place to hold his training sessions.
“I can’t go there, it’s a bit of a sad end to an era … We’ll have to find another place,” Butler said.
“We are a small business, I have been doing it for so many years and I am dedicated exclusively to Meadowbank, the people of the area.”
The man visiting his father’s plot says that more than a dozen people were exercising and he approached the group and asked if they thought it was appropriate.
While he only planned to stay a short time in his father’s plot, he had wanted it to be a special, thoughtful and peaceful moment.
“I was surprised. They shouldn’t be there,” he said.
“It is a cemetery. I’m not particularly religious, but this is not the place for this kind of behavior.
“If you saw people running around and turning the music up and down at full volume, you would say that would not be acceptable behavior, so I don’t see why running a gym in a graveyard.”