By Kate Shilling — 2nd September 2022
When you take a deep dive into your family ancestry, you’ll inevitably find yourself strolling the grounds of a historic cemetery or two. These peaceful, often visually beautiful places are a treasure trove of fascinating stories told by the dates and inscriptions on worn headstones. Atmospheric graveyards give us a deep sense of people and places and tell us something about what went on during certain time periods of our country’s history.
The oldest surviving European cemetery in Australia is St. John’s Cemetery, with the first burial that of James Magee on 31 January 1790, the child of First Fleet convicts. More than 50 First Fleeters are buried in its grounds.
If you’re on the lookout for notable figures of Australia’s historic arts and culture, Rookwood Cemetery in East Lidcombe should be top of your list. Here lies some of the most prestigious family vaults of anywhere in the world, including John Gowing, co-founder of Gowings store; David Jones, founder of David Jones stores; James Toohey, brewer; Jimmy Governor, outlaw; Peter Dodds McCormick, songwriter (Advance Australia Fair); John Fairfax, newspaper proprietor; and Abe Saffron, well-known Sydney underworld figure. The site also contains 121 victims of the Dunbar, which was wrecked on the cliffs below The Gap in August 1857. They were buried in a mass grave.
Australia’s most scenic cemetery, perched on the cliffs above the Pacific Ocean at Bronte in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, the Waverley Cemetery is noted for its largely intact Victorian and Edwardian monuments. This one is worth a visit just for the photo opps and was even used during the filming of the 1979 Mel Gibson film, Tim. Here you’ll find many important figures who helped shape Sydney’s history, including Henry Lawson, (one of Australia's most famous poets), Jules Archibald, founder of The Bulletin and benefactor of the Archibald Prize, nineteenth century poet Henry Kendall, the American actor William E.
Cemeteries offer up an authentic history of people from the past. And while it’s exciting to gaze upon the gravestones of famous characters, it’s far more fulfilling to track down the resting place of your own ancestors.
As you pay your respects for the people who trod this path before you, a warm sense of belonging and perspective is your reward for taking the time to dig into your family history and uncover stories from the past that help define who you are.
