Many Saint John residents are expressing disgust and dismay over acts of vandalism on Partridge Island.

The Saint John Harbour landmark is supposed to be off-limits to visitors, other than the odd researcher or Canadian Coast Guard worker, but the island has turned into a stomping ground for vandals.

Hundreds of immigrants who died in the 1800s are buried on Partridge Island, which has been designated a national historic site.

“Partridge Island was the entry point for people coming into the city, mostly the Irish, but Jewish too,” says Katherine Biggs-Craft of the Saint John Jewish Historical Museum.

Both Jewish and Christian gravesites on the island have been damaged by vandals. Monuments have been toppled and defaced and historian Harold Wright says there is evidence someone tried to dig up one of the graves.

“I think it’s a shame that people have gone out to destroy history, to destroy gravestones,” he says. “To be knocking over monuments or putting inappropriate things within those spaces is a desecration.”

The Canadian Coast Guard won’t say whether plans are in place to upgrade security on the island.

In an emailed statement to CTV News, coast guard officials simply reiterated that it is illegal to cross the breakwater to Partridge Island and they are asking anyone who sees people crossing the breakwater to call city police.

Saint John Waterfront Development has developed a plan to transform the island into a tourist attraction and provide safe access for visitors but they say it may be too costly.

“I guess in today’s dollars it might be more than $10 million to get the project completed,” says Kent McIntyre, general manager of the Saint John Waterfront Development.

No level of government has committed to sharing in the costs of developing Partridge Island and securing it from vandals, but Saint John MP Rodney Weston says he is contacting federal departments to try to secure the island in the short term.

He says he also plans to approach Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, whose family roots can be traced back to the island, in the hopes of coming up with a long-term solution.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Mike Cameron