St Aidan's Grave restoration complete at Quarry Hill Cemetery

Women and children who lived at St Aidan's Orphanage were buried in a plot at the Quarry Hill Cemetery between 1907 and 1977.

But the grave had fallen into disrepair in the following decades. Its concrete was cracked, fencing falling over, and only a small plaque commemorated the dead, some of their names misspelled.

Read more: Giving life to the memory of Bendigo's orphans and widows

The plot is now freshly restored, with a central artwork bearing the names of those interred. It's a project that has taken a dedicated team more than three years from start to finish.

St Aidan's Grave Restoration and Beautification Group chair Len Williams said the grave had been a sad reminder of the orphanage residents' lives.

Mr Williams said the restoration had been designed to honour, acknowledge and remember the St Aidan's residents buried in the Quarry Hill plot.

He said the site was a family grave in a way, because the orphanage became a home for people who were orphans, single mothers or people with disabilities.

"We wanted to show the individuality of the people, that they weren't just nameless, and people had forgotten about them," Mr Williams said.

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"We decided to give them each an individual ray, radiating out from a central piece, a bit like a sun ... rays radiating out from that, painting to where they were in the grave, with nice stainless steel bars."

The St Aidan's Grave Restoration and Beautification Group will run a blessing ceremony for the grave in the coming weeks.

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