The cemetery fell into disrepair and it was proposed the grounds be turned into a recreation reserve. The ‘Paddington Cemetery Act’ was passed in 1911, authorising the Queensland Government to resume the cemetery. Relatives were given a year to exhume and reinter their loved ones and this occurred in 1913. Out of the thousands interred at Paddington, only the remains of 186 people were reinterred in other cemeteries, and 136 memorials were relocated.

20 memorials were moved to South Brisbane Cemetery in 1913. A number of other memorials and reinternments from Paddington also happened prior to the 1913 date. The Sutherland’s headstones are located in portion 4 and the remaining headstones are scattered throughout the other portions of the cemetery.