Pioneer Cemetery Regan Street West, Stratford This was Stratford's first cemetery, and was opened in 1886. By 1984 the cemetery grounds were in a state of disrepair and the Stratford Borough Council decided to tidy the area up, remove the grave surrounds and put in new plantings. As part of this work, a brick memorial wall, with built in seating, was erected that also recorded the names of all the people buried in the cemetery. The name was changed to Stratford Pioneer Memorial Cemetery in recognition of the pioneers of the Stratford area who were buried there. Controversially, the headstones were removed from their original positions and only a few remain at the cemetery. Twenty were moved to Taranaki Pioneer Village, just south of Stratford and many more were dumped.