People stereotype cemeteries as being creepy places
and that only weird people visit them. Many people only think about them in the
way of Ghost tours at night. Cemeteries are actually nice and quiet places
where you can reflect on the past. I do
like a decent cemetery and not one that is basically all lawn plaques otherwise
known as lawn cemeteries. Those ones do not hold much interest to me as they do
not have towering headstones and obelisks that grab your attention to see who
were buried there. Cemeteries in many ways are sacred places for those who want
to visit and people do keep an eye on those who are wandering around who may
not belong or wonder what their intentions are. Cemeteries are a gold mine for
those who have a love for history and the local area including family
historians on the search for their ancestors.
I do have my favourite cemeteries that I do like to
visit while I am travelling as they have quite a bit of history about them
including their residents. Cemeteries do tend to be one of the first places I
look at when researching my trips away as I want to see where they might be and
how to get to them. A recent trip to Canberra in the ACT showed me that they
have specific walking trails that will take you to many cemeteries in the local
area. Some cemeteries can be for a specific purpose like the Third Quarantine
Cemetery near Manly located at North Head in Sydney. I like to share pictures
of my finds with others as I want to generate interest. One cemetery that I did
not know about until I found articles about it was the St. John’s Cemetery in
Parramatta that was one of the oldest surviving cemeteries. I recently found out about this cemetery through Facebook of all places.
Another blog I have started isnt really a full on
historical blog, but one about places I do find that I think would interest.
Its name is historical wanderings and the reason behind it is to give locations
to specific areas that may have a historical background including plaques or
information that tell you so. I will try to include a few cemeteries to this
list as people would find them interesting.
Pere
Lachaise Cemetery, Paris
An interesting cemetery where Jim Morrison and Oscar
Wilde are buried. There are many others including Chopin. You can find cemetery
maps and the cemetery itself is easy to find.
Oscar Wilde |
Highgate
cemetery, London
There are two parts though one part entry is only
through a guide. The public entrance has Karl Marx and Douglas Adams who seems
to attract pens. Well worth spending the
day around the cemetery and using a map to find the well known burials.
Waverley
Cemetery, Sydney.
The cemetery is located in Waverley and has ocean
views that would have been seen on TV shows or even movies. The ocean walk will
take you all the way to Bondi beach. You
need to print off a map and search for who you are looking for. Henry Lawson is
located here along with many notable people from the past like police
commissioners and a monument to the Irish.
Waikumete
Cemetery, Auckland
One of the biggest cemeteries in New Zealand and
Auckland. There are many different denominations within the cemetery and many
people from different backgrounds are buried from Gumdiggers to politicians.
Hope to rare plant species that are threatened.
Third
Quarantine Cemetery, North Head, Manly
The only surviving cemetery from when there was an
active quarantine station on North Head near Manly. The cemetery is overgrown
and many of the graves were from people who were victims of plague within the
Sydney area. Not an easy cemetery to walk around, but spectacular view of the
harbour.
St.
John’s Cemetery, Parramatta
This was created in 1790 and is actually the oldest
cemetery in Australia. There has been attention on the cemetery lately as it
has become overbrown. There are First Fleeters buried here including the wife
of Governor Fitzroy. Some parts has long grass so may not be safe with snakes
in summer.
There are more places to list, but then it would end
up being one long blog about why I like cemeteries with a little brief about
them. I think these will do as a taste of what you can find. Cemeteries are
unique in every way as they are all different. Not every grave is located in a
cemetery as there are lone graves that are usually in isolated locations in
Australia and some that were, but now surrounded by buildings like one in
Coolangatta of William Rowlands a captain whose headstone is located on the
side of a local surf club. Many locations people would never believe were
cemeteries like around Town Hall in Sydney or even around where Sydney Central
station is now.
There are more to the cemeteries than just the
people who are buried there as the headstones tell their own story like who
made them and what could have been occurring during that time period like the
materials used. There used to be mortuary trains that take the departed to the
cemetery by train. The remains of one station are located at the Rookwood
cemetery in Sydney. The designs on the stones do tell a story about the people
and what nominal group they belong to. Headstones can be unique with some being
different shapes like a lighthouse or having their family tree on the back.
Bendigo Cemetery |
Sometimes on tourist maps cemeteries do appear as
places of interest showing their location especially if they are historic
significance. They can also be found online with maps and information about
them that you can use. Not all are close if you have no access to local
transport and sometimes take a bit to walk to them. Cemeteries do offer tours throughout, which includes markers to their significance like the Karori Cemetery in Wellington that has soldiers graves and markers to a ferry that sank called SS Penguin. Many others around the world would have interesting and unique tours.
Sources
and further information
Lionel Gilbert A
Grave Look at History, John Ferguson, Sydney, 1980.
Graeme M Griffin and Des Tobin In the midst of life… The Australian response to Death, Hedges and
Bell, Maryborough, 1982.
Ken Inglis Sacred
Places, CUP, Carlton South, 1999.
Pere
Lachaise Cemetery
Highgate
Cemetery
Waikumete
Cemetery
Third
Quarantine cemetery
Waverley
Cemetery
St.
John’s Cemetery
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