[4] In 1949, a 16-year-old boy was injured in a similar incident when a tombstone fell on him causing a probable fracture of the right leg, severe lacerations and bruising.

[5] In 2005, a risk assessment identified the potential for gravesides to collapse due to the cemetery's close proximity to Moores Creek.

[7] One woman stated in the local media that she would refuse to bury her father in the cemetery due to what she described as its "disgusting" condition, specifically the amount of long grass and weeds which were growing throughout the grounds.

[7] A spokesperson from Rockhampton Regional Council claimed the mowing hadn't recommenced at the cemetery due to the ground being too wet following recent heavy rain which meant there was an increased risk of damage to the graves.

However, with local cemeteries nearing capacity due to a growing population, Rockhampton Regional Council used ground penetrating radar to identify an additional 279 plots.

Originally situated on what was then the outskirts of North Rockhampton, the city's rapid commercial development of the late 20th century saw the cemetery quickly surrounded by urban infrastructure and residential housing.

[13] The centre later re-branded to Stockland Rockhampton in 2004 and underwent a major expansion in 2009 when it expanded over Moores Creek onto the old K Mart Plaza site, which opened in 1979.

The obelisk subsequently was sold by the new owners, removed, repurposed and installed on a separate unrelated plot at the North Rockhampton Cemetery while Maria Thozet lay in an unmarked grave.

Therefore, the Rockhampton & District Historical Society installed a commemorative plaque in her memory which was erected near the entrance to the cemetery.

Before the exhumation, the traditional owners of the land the North Rockhampton Cemetery sits on, the Darumbal people, held a corroboree and smoking ceremony.