|
Pastoralists
Charles
and William Archer were the
first Europeans to settle in Rockhampton. They followed in
the footsteps of their friend
Ludwig Leichhardt who had
explored the area in 1844. The township was
established on the banks of the Fitzroy River and the
original cemetery was also situated on the banks of the
Fitzroy not far from the township. As thousands of
gold seekers flooded into the town in the 1850's, it became
apparent that another area was needed for the town cemetery.
In 1864
it was decided to establish the new cemetery which was to be
located on the (then) outskirts of the town. The
cemetery was situated on land described as Portion 53,
parish of Rockhampton, County of Livingstone. Covering
an area of approximately thirty-five acres, it lies within
the boundaries of Prospect Street, Ferguson Street,
Gladstone Road and Upper Dawson Road. Some of the
headstones were re-located from the original cemetery on the
banks of the Fitzroy to the new cemetery in Upper Dawson
Road, South Rockhampton.
The
cemetery was designed on a grid system, which was common in
country cemeteries. There were paths between each
section and a wider road ran through the entire centre
section of the cemetery. The grave sites were
separated into different denominations - Church of England,
Congregational, Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Roman
Catholic, Jewish, Salvation Army, South Sea Islanders and
pagans. The cemetery was surrounded by a fence, which
covered the entire perimeter with gates at the Prospect
Street entrance.
The
first to be buried in the new cemetery was Louisa Adelaide
Smith in July 1864. There are gravestones with earlier
dates, however these headstones were transferred from the
original cemetery to the South Rockhampton cemetery when it
opened in 1864.
On 28
November 1866 seven men were appointed as trustees for the
South Rockhampton Cemetery under the provision of the
Cemetery Act. 1865. This was an Act with 41 Rules and
Regulations to establish cemeteries in the Colony of
Queensland. The trustees were Edward Pike Livermore,
Daniel Thomas Mulligan, Charles Pybus, William Hitchcock
Buzacort, William James Hartley, Michael Brodnitz and
William John Brown.
By 1867
the Trustees had set up ten Rules and Regulations for the
management of the Cemetery as well as a schedule of fees
which were payable to the Trustees. To prepare a grave
for an adult the fee was 15 shillings and for a child 10
shillings. Paupers, goal and hospital inmates were not
charged. for a flat headstone 3' x 6' the cost was £1.
10s and for a vault 3' x 8' £2. 10 s. A family
vault measuring 6' x 8' would cost £4. The Trustees
decreed that all tombstones fences and enclosures were to be
made, removed or replaced at the cost of the owner and under
the supervision of the Sexton.
The
first Sexton of the South Rockhampton cemetery was Mr. W.
Smith. He lived in a cottage in Upper Dawson Road at
the site of the cemetery and was paid an annual wage of one
hundred and nine pounds per year. For this wage Mr.
Smith was obliged to be present at all burials and to keep a
register of all burials. He was to open the cemetery for
burials between 7am and 6pm and to ensure that no graves
were disturbed or vandalized in any way. In the year
1869, the Trustees received £170.13s for interments
and paid Mr. Smith's wages as well as the secretary's ( Mr.
T. O'Kane) salary of £20. They purchased trees and
tools at a cost of thirty-five pounds.
By 1910
the cemetery was in need of repairs and Mr. W. Esdale, who
was Sexton of the cemetery at the time made several
recommendations for improvements. He recommended that
the roads be repaired, new entrance gates be installed, that
a portion of the Jewish section be transferred to the
Salvation Army and that the Trustees visit the cemetery.
On 3 February 1912, a Special meeting was held at the office
of the cemetery. At this time the Cemetery Trustees
inspected the new gates and roads and decided to
apportion part of the Jewish ground for use for Salvation
Army burials.
Mr. J.
F. Danker was the first undertaker in Rockhampton. Another
undertaker, Mr. Robert George Tucker arrived in Rockhampton
together with his family in 1863. When he died in 1878
his son continued in the business together with his
brother-in-law, Samuel Nankivell. Messrs. Barry and
Lowe were operating a business in 1880 and Finlayson and
McKenzie in 1891.
Funeral
directors were responsible for the ceremonial procession and
these were planned to the last detail. When John
Blair, editor of the Rockhampton Morning Bulletin, died in
1910, the funeral was a dignified and grand affair.
Behind the horse drawn hearse was a mourning coach carrying
his two eldest sons then a landau filled with flowers and
another carriage transporting town dignitary, William McIlwraith. They
followed business leaders, Scottish
Association members and the general public.
Not long after this George Tucker (grandson of
Robert) imported an electric car believed to
be one of only two in Australia and this was
later adapted for used as a mourning coach and
in use until about 1920.
Although undertakers were in business in the early days of
the town, residents were not legally obliged to use them.
Family members undertook many burials. An instance was
reported in the Rockhampton Morning Bulletin on 15 August
1868 when it was found that a young woman had, on the
previous Monday asked for and obtained a ticket for a free
grave for her two month old child. The Police
Magistrate at this time had the power to order free burials,
however it was often considered wasteful to spend £5 pounds
on a baby's grave.
|
Murderers were generally buried in the pagan section at a
cost of ten pounds. Two men who were hanged, George Palmer
and Jack Williams, for murdering local businessman, Patrick
Halligan, were both buried in the Pagan section of the
cemetery,. These were also Government burials at a
cost of ten pounds, with Mr. Tucker the undertaker.
George Palmer aged just 22 when he was hanged, was to have a
flat stone erected at the gravesite.
In
contrast to the ignominy of the murderers' Palmer and
Williams' burial, was that of their victim. Mr. Halligan had been a prominent member of the township, and
the largest number of persons ever assembled in Rockhampton
at the time gathered to pay last tribute of respect and to
follow Mr. Halligan's remains to the cemetery. Mrs.
Halligan had ordered a fine memorial to be raised over the
body of her husband. When finished, it was to be the
most handsome monument in the cemetery. It can be
found in the Roman Catholic section of the cemetery and
remains one of the finest memorials in the section.
Many
people were interred at the South Rockhampton cemetery
between its opening in 1864 and the last burial in
1970. However as it was not a legal requirement to be buried
in the cemetery many would have been buried in lonely graves
on outlying properties or in private family burial plots
attached to properties such as the Archer family's private
burial plot at Gracemere. However, not even within the
town was it considered essential to utilize the cemetery.
In 1879 a Chinese 'coolie' found to be suffering the disease
leprosy was chained up in the vicinity of the Rockhampton
Railway Station where he had been living. He was left
chained there until he died and then was buried nearby.
Macabre
activities in the Dawson Road cemetery came to the notice of
newspapers in 1868 when former Gold Commissioner T. J.
Griffin was hanged for the murder of two men. The
Cemetery Board had suspected an attempt would be made to
interfere with his grave and ordered the Sexton to keep
watch for the first two nights. However, on June 9th,
Griffin's grave was opened, the head severed from the body
and removed. During this period the Sexton and Mr.
Tucker, the Funeral Director, decided to bury the body of an
unknown seaman in the same grave. The Board reported
the grave robbery to the Colonial Secretary with the
suggestion that a reward should be offered. The reward
was never collected however it was believed a local Doctor,
with an interest in phrenology exhumed the body
In 1930
at the request of local authorities a proclamation was
issued to close the old cemetery except in respect of land
already purchased. A Special notice on 20 June 1930
stated that no further burials were to be made at South
Rockhampton cemetery. This was by order of the
Cemetery Trustees and signed by W.H. Rogers, Secretary.
Controversy concerning the old cemetery did not cease with
its closure. In August 1931, a fire swept through the
cemetery. This had been started by an assistant
burning rubbish in the Southern section and quickly spread
through the Church of England section to the Presbyterian
and then to the Roman Catholic section. Many of the
timber memorials must have been destroyed in this fire and
none remain today. In 1934 the Cemetery Trustees were
criticized for the absence or trees and for allowing the
grass to become so long that the firs was able to seep
through unchecked. The Rockhampton Morning Bulletin
felt that some of the two thousand pounds, which was held in
credit, should be spent in beautifying the cemetery.
Over
the years the cemetery has been vandalized several times,
often causing a great amount of destruction. The
cemetery was vandalized in January 1974 when five youths
were found by the Sexton Mr. G. Bielenberg to be destroying
glass domes with slingshots. And again in May 1989
when 30 - 40 headstones were damaged and pushed over.
In 1992 vandals destroyed more than 90 gravestones.
Statues of angels were toppled and engraved sandstone
tablets were broken and crushed.
In 1992
Town Clerk, Rob Noble proposed to beautify the site by
placing all memorials and headstones in a memorial wall.
Council intended to landscape the area, as a passive
recreation area with no organized sport allowed. Many
residents were outraged at the intended destruction of
the cemetery and the public was reminded that Queensland
Premier Kidston was buried in the cemetery, as were bishops,
mayors and prominent business people. A public meeting
was held in Our Lady's Hall, Rockhampton 1992 to try to
prevent the Council re-shaping or destroying the cemetery.
At this
meeting an eight member committee was formed to liase with
the Council over the fate of the cemetery. It was felt
that alternatives were needed for restoration and
maintenance while preserving the present character.
The committee nominated the cemetery for Heritage listing
with the Queensland Heritage Council and the cemetery is now
Heritage listed and has become a joint project between the
Council and the Heritage Council to restore the site.
The last burial in the cemetery was in 1970 however under
local Government by laws a council could not close a
cemetery until 20 years after the last person had been
buried there. On 8th March 1993, the cemetery was
officially closed although friends and relatives would still
be allowed to visit.
|
