Camperdown Cemetery | |
---|---|
Details | |
Established | 1848 |
Location | |
Country | Australia |
Type | Closed |
Size | Orig 12 acres 3 roods (5.2 ha) 4 acres (1.6 ha) |
No. of graves | 18,000 |
Find a Grave | Camperdown Cemetery |
Camperdown Cemetery is an historic cemetery located on Church Street in Newtown, an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The cemetery was founded in 1848 and was for twenty years the main general cemetery for Sydney, with the total number of burials being about 18,000. Many people who were important to the early history of colonial Australia are buried there. It is the only one of Sydney's three main early cemeteries that still exists. [1]
As well as historic monuments, the cemetery also preserves important elements of landscape gardening of the mid-19th century, and examples of native flora, which are now rare in the built-up inner city. St Stephen's Anglican Church is located within the present bounds of the cemetery. The site, with St Stephen's Church, is listed by the Heritage Council of New South Wales and the National Register as a site of national importance. [2]
Camperdown Cemetery is associated with numerous sensational stories, several reputed ghosts and a murder. It is used regularly for historical and genealogical research. Because of its historical importance and convenient location, it is also a venue for excursions by schools and historical societies. Camperdown Cemetery is valued by the residents of Newtown as providing a major greenspace located in the immediate vicinity of a busy commercial centre. In a densely populated area of small terrace houses without substantial gardens, the cemetery functions as a recreational area and a venue for many family and social activities. [3]
Camperdown Cemetery is a walled 4- acre (1.6 ha ) portion of a mid-19th century cemetery, originally of nearly 13 acres (5.26 ha). [4] It contains the most significant elements of the original landscape plan, which are the sexton's lodge, the gateposts, the original carriageway known as Jamison Avenue, a circular driveway known as Broughton Drive and a number of trees planted in the mid-19th century. This remaining section of the original cemetery contains about 2,000 tombstones and other memorials and monuments of which many came from the resumed area outside the wall. [3] Many of the monuments were erected to families or individuals who are famous for their part in the history of 19th-century Australia. The monuments are mostly in Sydney sandstone, predating the fashion for marble memorials. [5] A small number of the later monuments are in marble or granite. One of the largest memorials, that to the Barker family, was brought from Scotland. [1] About 90% of the monuments are the work of a local mason, John Roote Andrews, and his family. Within Camperdown Cemetery stand the Cemetery Lodge (1848), St Stephen's Anglican Church (1871–78), and the St Stephen's Rectory (1910).
The trees include a Moreton Bay Fig ( Ficus macrophylla ) and a number of oaks ( Quercus robur ) that were planted in 1848 and are the oldest trees in the Marrickville district. The dominant species of tree in the cemetery are Brush Box ( Lophostemon confertus ) which were planted in the 1960s and '70s. [3] The other species include several large spreading blackwoods (Acacia melanoxylon), a row of Canary Island Palms (Phoenix canariensis) along one side of Jamison Avenue dating from the 1930s, a grove of Chinese Elms ( Ulmus parvifolia ), two large African Olives (Olea africana), Lemon Scented Gum ( Corymbia citriodora ), Melaleucas, a Port Jackson Cypress Pine ( Callitris rhomboidea ) and two stands of Giant Bamboo. [6]
Several large areas of the cemetery were covered with topsoil and planted with exotic grasses to create mown lawns in the 1950s and these have been maintained, and in places planted with bulbs. At the rear of the cemetery native grasses continued to grow, making this the largest inner-city remnant of the native flora of the original Turpentine-Ironbark forest that once covered the area. The major species is Kangaroo Grass ( Themeda triandra ), but there are a number of other species present including Dianella . [7]
Camperdown Cemetery was founded in 1848 and consecrated in 1849. It was founded as an Anglican General Cemetery, accepting the dead of all denominations, but burying them with the rites of the Church of England. Previous cemeteries in Sydney were the so-called Old Burial Ground of 1792, in George Street on the site of the Sydney Town Hall, and the New Burial Ground (1819–68) in Devonshire Street on the site of Central railway station, Sydney. [4]
The cemetery was proposed by a group of Sydney businessmen who formed the Church of England Cemetery Trust and in 1848 purchased 13 acres (53,000 m2) of land "beyond the boundary stone" of Sydney, from Maurice Charles O'Connell, grandson of Governor Bligh. [4] The land was part of a grant made to Governor Bligh and named "Camperdown" by him in commemoration of the Battle of Camperdown in which he had taken part. The land passed to his daughter Mary, who married Bligh's Aide de Camp, Major Putland, and following his death, Sir Maurice O'Connell. [1] The cemetery was consecrated by Bishop William Grant Broughton on 16 January 1849. [8]
The first interment was that of Bligh's son-in law, Lieutenant Governor Sir Maurice O'Connell who died in 1848, shortly before the cemetery was opened. His remains were exhumed from Devonshire Street, and reburied with due honours and a large memorial at the top of the hill at Camperdown. In the 1850s the small headstone of Mary's first husband, John Putland, who had died in 1808 and been buried at the Old Burial Ground, was given by St Philip's, York Street, and placed in the cemetery where it became the oldest memorial. [1] The first burial was that of John Holden Michie, son of Archibald Michie who campaigned to end the transportation of convicts to Australia. Another significant burial in the same year is that of Sarah, wife of Bishop Broughton, who rests beneath the largest slab of stone in the cemetery. The Bishop planted a Chinese Elm at the foot of her grave, and since then a small grove of these trees has sprung up in that part of the cemetery. [1]
In 1868, Camperdown Cemetery was closed against the sale of any further plots. The cemetery was not at that time full. However, because the Trust that controlled the cemetery was connected to the Church of England, the Parliament received no income from it and opened three new cemeteries that year, Rookwood Cemetery, South Head Cemetery and Gore Hill Cemetery. Stories were circulated about "bad air" rising from Camperdown Cemetery. Complaints were made that people had seen coffins covered with only a few inches of soil. [4] This undeniable fact gave the impression that the management of the cemetery was severely at fault. However, it related to a purely practical matter. Half of the burials were of paupers, who were placed in communal graves at the expense of the government or the Benevolent Society. These took place at 9.00 am and 4.00 pm each day. [9] Graves were dug deep enough to contain three or four coffins, and an unfilled grave might frequently be left open between the morning and afternoon burials in order to receive another coffin. From 1868, there were no more pauper's burials at Camperdown. The Cemetery continued in use, but only for the burial of people who had already purchased plots. [9] There were about 15,733 burials from 1849 to 1867, 2,057 from 1868 to 1900 and only 172 burials between 1900 and the 1940s. [4] The majority of the burials were done by the Rev. Charles Kemp, first rector of St Stephen's, Newtown. Rees claims that Kemp performed 16,000 burials from 1848 to 1870. [1]
In 1871, the small Church of St Stephen's Newtown, built by Edmund Blacket in 1844, could no longer contain the congregation. A site was needed for a larger church. By an Act of Parliament, the Church of England was permitted to build a church within the existent cemetery and Edmund Blacket was again the architect. [10] The resulting St Stephen's Church, which held its first service in 1874, is a masterpiece of Gothic Revival architecture, and contributes greatly to the heritage significance of the site as a whole. [11]
By the 1940s the cemetery was overgrown. In June 1946, the naked body of a murdered girl, 11-year-old Joan Norma Ginn, was found in the cemetery. [4] [12] This prompted action on behalf of the local council.
In 1948, an Act of the NSW State Parliament established the Camperdown Memorial Rest Park, which was put under the control of the local council. [13] All but 4 acres (16,000 m2) of land were resumed as public space. The area of cemetery that adjoined St Stephen's Church was walled off from the park and continued to be managed by a body of trustees. Outside the wall, the park was cleared of trees and monuments, and a memorial garden, planted initially with Peace roses, was established on the south side. [nb 1]
The removal of the memorials from the park was a heritage disaster, resulting in the damage of a great number of the stones. Some of the larger and more significant memorials were re-erected within the smaller space. Hundreds of stelae tombstones were stood around the inside of the new stone wall and fixed to it with steel pins and cement. By 1980 the steel pins had rusted and expanded, cracking and defacing many of the stones. [3] Other stelae were simply laid out in rows like pavers. Broken stones were reused at other sites and can be found bordering the fence of a nearby playground. [14]
The chairman of the trust at that time was P. W. Gledhill, a trustee from 1924 until his death in 1962 and whose enthusiasm for the project left many visible marks on the cemetery. Gledhill rescued endangered monuments of all sorts and brought them to the cemetery, where they contribute to the landscape. These include the Erskineville water fountain, a longitude and latitude marker on a plinth made out of salvaged pieces of Camperdown Villa, and the pediment from the Maritime Services Board building dating from the 1850s. In the 1960s the gateposts of the entrance were set further apart, and new gates were installed in memory of Gledhill. [1] His 1946 book A Stroll through the Historic Camperdown Cemetery, NSW lists many notable burials and monuments and includes detailed maps of the cemetery as it was before its conversion to a park. [15]
In the 1950s and '60s, the demographics of Newtown changed greatly due to influx of migrants from Southern Europe, [16] the congregation at St Stephen's Church diminished, and for a time it appeared that the church might be closed. At this time, the cemetery suffered much from general neglect and uncurbed vandalism. [3] From the late 1970s onwards, there was a growing interest in the cultural and heritage aspects of the site. Because the cemetery represented a greenspace in a densely populated area, it became increasingly used as a recreational space by the general public and became a venue for daily dog-walking, picnics, birthday parties, wedding parties and all sorts of other events. It also became a popular film location, appearing in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert .
One group, the "Camperdown Cemetery Dog Walkers" have been particularly active in maintaining the cemetery and supporting its conservation. [nb 2] Another group of volunteers regularly weed and maintain the areas of native grassland. [7] One individual volunteer, the elderly Joyce Knuckey, contributed almost daily to the cemetery's maintenance for many years.
In the late 1980s a Bicentennial Heritage Grant made possible the restoration of the Cemetery Lodge and the basic repair of many broken monuments. This followed in the 1990s with donations from the New South Wales Institution of Surveyors for the restoration of the tomb of Sir Thomas Mitchell and from the Andrews family for the restoration of their family memorial. A conservation strategy for monuments was created, [17] a landscape management plan was commenced and several individual studies focussed on aspects of the cemetery such as inscriptions, trees, native flora and the Dunbar tomb. Since 2001, the gateposts have been repositioned and the original gates restored. The vandalised gravestone of one of the cemetery's best-known inhabitants, Eliza Emily Donnithorne, a jilted bride whom many believe inspired Charles Dickens' creation of Miss Havisham in Great Expectations , has been restored.
The lodge is a small cottage of three rooms and an attic, which stands in the right corner of the remaining area of the cemetery, when approached through the gates from Church Street. It is built of brick and partly rendered, with a steep shingled gabled roof and a projecting porch. The pitch of the roof and the arch of the door are indicative of the Colonial Neo-Gothic style. The original entrance to the cemetery was immediately outside the lodge and the driveway, Jamison Avenue, passed by it. A new driveway was later constructed to pass by St Stephen's Church, and one of the gateposts moved to its present site.
It is believed that the Moreton Bay Fig tree was planted in 1848 to commemorate the roofing of the lodge, possibly following a Northern European custom of placing a small sapling on the roof on the day that the ridge is set in place. The tree has a span of more than 30 metres and, with the oak trees that were planted in the same year, is the oldest tree in the Marrickville District.
There are a great variety of monuments within the cemetery, but the vast majority of them are carved from Sydney sandstone and are the product of a single monumental mason, John Roote Andrews, who had his premises nearby on Prospect Street. [1]
The most common style of monument is the simple upright tombstone or stele. These come in four basic styles: round-headed, Gothic, Classical or crosses. The round headed stones have a simple arched top, sometimes with moulding cut along the edge. They may be decorated with a symbolic motif carved in relief, such as an hour glass, or a drooping flower. The Neo-Gothic style stones have tops that rise to pointed arches. Several such stones are carved with detailed Gothic tracery and other architectonic features. There are also a number of stones with steeply pointed "gables" and Gothic details. These included the stone that Edmund Blacket designed for his wife Sarah. The stones of a Classicising style form an interesting group, because while some are carved with elaborate Italianate scrolls and pediments, many are blank templates, with the outlined forms of scrolled shoulders, but with no finished architectonic details. [14] The crosses form a smaller group. In nearly every instance they take the form of a Celtic cross, the addition of a circle giving much greater strength to the form when carved in sandstone.
Many graves are covered by horizontal slabs. While most simply rest on the grave, several of these, such as that of the Tooth family are very large and cover an underground vault. There are also a number of horizontal coffin-shaped or hogs-back stones such as that of Isaac Nathan. Another horizontal form is the chest or altar-style monument which has Classical architectonic detailing, of which the tomb of Sir Thomas Mitchell is a typical example. Other monuments are large Classicising, pedimented structures, surmounted by draped urns, such as that of Hannah Watson. There are also several columns, those that are broken signifying a life cut short, and those complete and topped by an urn signifying a life fulfilled.
Of those stones that have carvings, some motifs occur many times. Angels with trumpets herald the day of Resurrection. A bud on a broken stem signifies a child has died before reaching its full bloom. A rose and a bud signifies a woman who has died in childbirth. Several sailors' tombstones have detailed relief carvings of ships in full sail. Other motifs are much more specific. An eleven-year-old boy who blew himself up while celebrating Guy Fawkes Night has Catherine wheels carved on his tombstone. Thomas Downes' tombstone is decorated with a hot air balloon. [nb 3] Major Mitchell, soldier, surveyor and poet, has a sword, a quill and a laurel wreath. Another soldier, most curiously, had a small cannon carved on the tombstone of his wife. [14]
Among the sandstone monuments, two are unique in style in the cemetery. One is the badly damaged monument to the harpist, Nicholas Bochsa, surmounted by the mourning figure of a grieving woman and a bare tree trunk on which his harp hangs, its strings broken. John Roote Andrews provided his family with a memorial in the Scottish style, with a canopy supported on four small caryatids and decorated with the thistle and the flag of St Andrew. Another unique monument is that of John Ley, Foreman of Mort's Dock, which is the forged blade of a ship's propeller.
Because the majority of burials occurred within the Early Victorian period, there are few white marble monuments and none of the elaborate marble figures that are a feature of Late Victorian and Edwardian cemeteries. [5]
Some of the most prominent and remarkable features of the site are not tombs or gravestones but are an assortment of objects, mostly architectural, that have been saved from destruction and placed in the cemetery. These include a decorative water fountain with a Gothic arch, previously in Erskineville, placed in the cemetery as a memorial to E.W. Molesworth M.L.A. for 45-year Church Warden of St Stephen's. [1] It is now a feature of countless wedding photos. Near it stands the detached pediment of a building with a carved ship ploughing through the waves; it originally was over the front entrance to the old Harbour Trust Building, Circular Quay (c. 1902) and was placed in the cemetery as a memorial to seamen after the second World War. Another such memorial is an anchor from Morts Dock attached to which was a chain from the S.S. Collaroy that ran aground on the beach now known by that name in 1881. The two large gateposts marking the entrance to the Dunbar Track are from the Devonshire Street Cemetery. [1]
Note: Information in this list is drawn from T.G. Rees [1] and/or Chrys Meader [4] unless otherwise referenced.
Burials in Camperdown Cemetery include:
In memory of the many humble, undistinguished, unknown, unremembered folk buried in this cemetery whose names are not written in the book of history, but are written in the book of life.
Newtown, a suburb of Sydney's inner west, is located approximately four kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, straddling the local government areas of the City of Sydney and Inner West Council in the state of New South Wales, Australia.
Camperdown is an inner western suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Camperdown is located 4 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is part of the Inner West region. Camperdown lies across the local government areas of the City of Sydney and Inner West Council.
The Dunbar was a full-rigged ship designed and built from 1852 to 1853 by James Laing & Sons of Deptford Yard in Sunderland, England and used for maritime trade, as a troop ship and transport. The Dunbar was wrecked near the entrance to Sydney Harbour, Australia in 1857 with the loss of 121 lives. The wreck of the Dunbar ranks as one of Australia's worst maritime disasters, with the event still retained in the social history of Sydney and New South Wales.
St John the Baptist Anglican Church is an active Anglican church located between Alt and Bland Streets, Ashfield, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1840, on land donated by Elizabeth Underwood, the church building is the oldest authenticated surviving building in Ashfield, having been built at the time when subdivision increased the population density sufficiently to turn Ashfield into a town. It was also the first church built along the Parramatta Road which linked the early colonial towns of Sydney and Parramatta. The earliest remaining parts of the building are one of the first Sydney designs by the colonial architect Edmund Blacket, who later became renowned for his ecclesiastical architecture.
Edmund Thomas Blacket was an Australian architect, best known for his designs for the University of Sydney, St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney and St. Saviour's Cathedral, Goulburn.
The St Saviour's Cathedral is the heritage-listed cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn in Goulburn, Goulburn Mulwaree Council, New South Wales, Australia. The cathedral is dedicated to Jesus, in his title of Saviour. The current dean is the Very Reverend Gavin Krebs. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 20 April 2009.
The Gore Hill Memorial Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery located on the Pacific Highway in St Leonards, Sydney, Australia. It was established on 19 May 1868 by the New South Wales politician, William Tunks, and is one of the oldest and most significant remaining cemeteries in metropolitan Sydney. The first interment was in 1877, and until its closure for burials in 1974, 14,456 burials took place. Most burials took place between 1900 and 1930. It is also known as the Gore Hill Cemetery. The cemetery is situated on Crown land and is managed by a not for profit community organisation, Northern Cemeteries, through a Board of Trustees. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 25 May 2001.
The St Jude's Church is an active Anglican church in Randwick, a South-Eastern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is part of a significant heritage group that includes the church, cemetery, rectory and original Randwick Borough Chambers, later converted to church use. The group is located on Avoca Street, Randwick, and has a federal heritage listing. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
Balmain Cemetery was a cemetery in Leichhardt, New South Wales, Australia. The Pioneers Memorial Park now stands in its place.
St Peter's Anglican Church is a heritage-listed Anglican church located at 187-209 Princes Highway, St Peters, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the oldest churches in Sydney. Designed by Thomas Bird, the church is sometimes referred to as St Peter's Church, Cooks River, as it is located in the Anglican Parish of Cooks River, New South Wales. The church is listed on the NSW State Heritage Register and on the Register of the National Estate.
Eliza Emily Donnithorne was an Australian woman best known as a possible inspiration for the character of Miss Havisham in Charles Dickens' 1861 novel Great Expectations.
Holy Trinity Anglican Church is a heritage-listed Anglican church precinct, containing the church, rectory and adjacent cemetery, at 71-85 Gilmour Street, Kelso, Bathurst Region, New South Wales, Australia. The church was built from 1833 to 1878, with John Foster being responsible for the building of the original church. Edmund Blacket designed the rectory. The property is owned by Anglican Property Trust Diocese of Bathurst and Parish of Kelso, Anglican Diocese of Bathurst. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 14 January 2011.
St James' Anglican Church is a heritage-listed Anglican church precinct at 19 Tank Street, Morpeth, City of Maitland, New South Wales, Australia. The original design was attributed to Edward Charles Close, with later additions by Edmund Blacket and John Horbury Hunt and built from 1837 to 1875 by Edward Charles Close and James Sherwood. The precinct also includes the St. James' rectory and parish hall. The property is vested in the trustees of church property for the Diocese of Newcastle. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 27 January 2017.
St Stephen's Anglican Church is a heritage-listed Anglican church and cemetery at 187–189 Church Street, Newtown, Inner West Council, Sydney New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Edmund Blacket and built from 1871 to 1874 by George Dowling and Robert Kirkham. The church is also known as St Stephen's Church Of England. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
St John's Anglican Church and Macquarie Schoolhouse is a heritage-listed Anglican church building and church hall located at 43-43a Macquarie Road, Wilberforce, City of Hawkesbury, New South Wales, Australia. The church was designed by Edmund Blacket and built from 1819 to 1859 by James Atkinson, senior; and the schoolhouse was built by John Brabyn. The church is also known as the St. John's (Blacket) Church, while the hall is also known as the Macquarie Schoolhouse/Chapel and the Wilberforce Schoolhouse. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 20 August 2010.
St Johns Anglican Church Precinct, also known as St John's Camden, is a heritage-listed Anglican church and associated precinct at 6-22 Menangle Road, Camden, Camden Council, New South Wales, Australia. The precinct comprises the church, rectory, cemetery, two church halls and grounds that provide a rural landscaped environment to the group. The dominant feature of the precinct is the historic St John's the Evangelist Anglican Church. Its architects are unknown, and could be the cumulative work of Mortimer Lewis, John Cunningham and Edmund Blacket. It was built from 1840 to 1849 with Richard Basden responsible for the nave and John Le Fevre adding the spire. 1874 saw the addition of the chancel and vestry, their builder is unknown and the design is likely the work of Sir George Gilbert Scott and Blacket. A feature of the church is an organ manufactured by J. Bates & Son, London. The Anglican Church Property Trust of the Diocese of Sydney holds the property in trust, under the Anglican Church of Australia Trust Property Act 1917 (NSW). The precinct was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 24 August 2018.
The Church of the Holy Innocents is a heritage-listed Anglican church at 130 Rossmore Avenue West, Rossmore, City of Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Richard Cromwell Carpenter and Edmund Blacket and built from 1848 to 1850 by William Munro. The property is owned by Anglican Church Property Trust Diocese of Sydney, though it was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 24 August 2018.
The British Cemetery in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon was established in the early 18th century. It is located in the Estrela district of the city and surrounds the Anglican St George's Church. The first marked grave is dated 1724. The Cemetery contains graves of early British Protestant residents and long-established British families in Portugal as well as British visitors to Lisbon. There are also 31 Commonwealth War Graves. In addition, some British Catholics and non-British Protestants, particularly Dutch, are also buried there. There is a small Jewish cemetery in an adjacent plot. Amongst the famous English people buried in the Cemetery is the novelist Henry Fielding.