Over five generations, the Bessell family has contributed to the life and improvement of the Illawarra community, but now two members of the pioneering family have been dealt the indignity of having their graves desecrated - almost 100 years after their deaths.Charles Mowbray Bessell and his wife Jane's graves were among 45 destroyed by vandals in a senseless attack this week at Wollongong Cemetery. Their marble headstone, which had stood since Mr Bessell's death in 1915, was pushed from its base to fall face down. Yesterday, the Bessell's great-granddaughter Elaine Carr, of Fairy Meadow, sat shocked at the desecrated gravesite, questioning the motivation of doing such a thing - and how they managed to do it. Mrs Carr and her husband Kevin attempted to lift the headstone back into place but said it was too heavy."I can't really understand why anyone would get any satisfaction out of demolishing something like this, I just don't understand and it's a shame," Mrs Carr said."I am angry in one way to think somebody could get entertainment out of demolishing things that are valuable to people. Even though the graves are many, many years old, it is still our relatives' past."The Bessell family settled in Kiama in the 1800s then moved to Wollongong where they and the Judd family owned a blacksmith shop in Keira St."The Bessell family have been here all their lives as a family and a lot of their descendants, including myself, have stayed here too," Mrs Carr said. "I even got a call this morning from a distant relative in the ACT. He saw the story online and wanted to know how the grave was."The 1844 established Wesleyan Presbyterian section of Wollongong Cemetery was attacked between 3.30pm on Wednesday and 9.30am on Thursday. Police estimate the damage at $100,000. Anyone with information is urged to contact police on 4226 7899 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.