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September 11, 1990

Jacobsen Headstone 1990

"We have a very inclusive philosophy here. We like people to come in at each step of the process to see the work they've commissioned. On occasions where careful attention to lettering and symbolic designs from other cultures or languages are used this is mandatory” says David, Glenn also comments."These headstones carry a great deal of emotion in many cases. We understand that a client‘s involvement in the work carries much importance.“

The Jacobsen family feel tactful, top quality customer service is also important. Starting at a young age it is second nature now for them to sit down and calmly work through each client's needs— all of which are slightly different. While they stand by their often very creative hand-cut workrnanship and design capabilities, they say it would be redundant without the ability to treat their customers well.

"It's important to offer a wide range of design options and we're proud of what we've achieved here over the years. Many of the headstones we've created for quite famous people have been elaborate or original as befits their status. We've often used the headstone of racing legend Denis Hulme as an example. We can engrave or carve out a portrait based on a photographic image. Almost any design is achievable on a headstone."

September 11, 1970

Jacobsen Headstone 1970

Today, David and Glenn Jacobsen's workshop is still a hive of industry. Both were apprentice toolmakers before joining forces with father Eddie and the Jacobser brothers are proud to have the showroom and the workshop on the one and only site. Glinting granite headstones with the beginnings of heartfelt engravings adorn work benches, some waiting for a customer to came in and approve. Huge gleaming black stones arrive for clients to peruse and others wait to leave the premises for instalment anywhere in the country. Many are shipped to the islands.

September 11, 1940

Jacobsen Headstone 1940

It's rare you will find three generations of men in the same business these days. It's even more uncommon to find them working from the self- same site that their grandfather Rasmus Jacobsen built on in 1945. But this is exactly the case in the very reputable headstone business on the corner of Victoria and Neilson Streets, Onehunga. Jacobsen Headstones is indeed a local icon.

Photographs taken from its very beginnings show an old stone wall which is still there today. Onehunga locals who remember the days before Neilson Street existed will know that the spring tide came right up to that wall, much of the reclaimed land we see today dotted with warehouses and workshops was sea bed.