Camperdown cemetery
Encyclopedia
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.
As well as historic monuments, the cemetery also preserves important elements of landscape garden
ing 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.
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.
Camperdown Cemetery is a walled 4 acres (1.6 ha) portion of a mid-19th century cemetery, originally of nearly 13 acre (5.26 ha). 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 Olive
s (Olea africana), Lemon Scented Gum (Corymbia citriodora), Melaleuca
s, a Port Jackson Cypress Pine (Callitris rhomboidea
) and two stands of Giant Bamboo
.
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
.
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
.
The cemetery was proposed by a group of Sydney businessmen who formed the Church of England Cemetery Trust and in 1848 purchased 13 acres (52,609.2 m²) of land "beyond the boundary stone" of Sydney, from Maurice Charles O'Connell, grandson of Governor Bligh
. 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. The cemetery was consecrated by Bishop William Grant Broughton
on 16 January 1849.
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 Camperown. 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. The first burial was that of John Holden Mitchie, son of Archibald Mitchie who campaigned to end the transportation of convict
s 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.
, 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
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. 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.
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.
In the 1950s and '60s, the demographics of Newtown changed greatly due to influx of migrants from Southern Europe, 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. 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."Concerning the odd looking people in the cemetery, walking dogs, lying on graves and generally loitering: they are, for the greater part, our most welcome Newtown Community...." Excerpt from a letter of reassurance to an anxious visitor from the Secretary of the Cemetery Trust, 11 April 1999 Another group of volunteers regularly weed and maintain the areas of native grassland. 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, 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 Haversham 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.
Tree" by some local families. The tree attracts fruit bat
s and has often been the nesting place of currawong
s.
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.
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. 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 wheel
s carved on his tombstone. Thomas Downes' tombstone is decorated with a hot air balloon
.During an unsuccessful balloon launch the luckless Thomas was killed when a stanchion to which the balloon was tethered fell on him as the result of a riot by young people who were disappointed with the show. Downes was merely standing by at the time. 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.
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 caryatid
s 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 propellor.
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.
Note: Information in this list is drawn from T.G. Rees and/or Chrys Meader unless otherwise referenced.
Burials in Camperdown Cemetery include:
Newtown, New South Wales
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 Marrickville Council in the state of New South Wales, Australia....
, an inner-city suburb of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. 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.
As well as historic monuments, the cemetery also preserves important elements of landscape garden
Landscape garden
The term landscape garden is often used to describe the English garden design style characteristic of the eighteenth century, that swept the Continent replacing the formal Renaissance garden and Garden à la française models. The work of Lancelot 'Capability' Brown is particularly influential.The...
ing of the mid 19th century, and examples of native flora
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
, 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.
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
Greenway (landscape)
A greenway is a long, narrow piece of land, often used for recreation and pedestrian and bicycle user traffic, and sometimes for streetcar, light rail or retail uses.- Terminology :...
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.
Description
Sydney sandstone
Sydney sandstone is the common name for Sydney Basin Hawkesbury Sandstone, historically known as Yellowblock, is a sedimentary rock named after the Hawkesbury River north of Sydney, where this sandstone is particularly common....
, predating the fashion for marble memorials. 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. 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
Lophostemon confertus
The Brush Box, Lophostemon confertus, is a tree native to Australia, though it can be found in the United States and elsewhere. Quite frequently, it has been planted as a street tree, due to its hearty nature, its disease and pest resilience, high tolerance for smog, drought and poor drainage, as...
) which were planted in the 1960s and '70s. 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
Ulmus parvifolia
Ulmus parvifolia, commonly known as the Chinese Elm or Lacebark Elm, is a species native to China, Japan, North Korea and Vietnam...
), two large African Olive
Olive Tree
The Olive Tree was a denomination used for several successive centre-left Italian political coalitions from 1995 to 2007.The historical leader and ideologue of these coalitions was Romano Prodi, Professor of Economics and former leftist Christian Democrat, who invented the name and the symbol of...
s (Olea africana), Lemon Scented Gum (Corymbia citriodora), Melaleuca
Melaleuca
Melaleuca is a genus of plants in the myrtle family Myrtaceae known for its natural soothing and cleansing properties. There are well over 200 recognised species, most of which are endemic to Australia...
s, a Port Jackson Cypress Pine (Callitris rhomboidea
Callitris rhomboidea
Callitris rhomboidea, or Oyster Bay Pine, is a species of conifer in the Cupressaceae family.It is found only in Australia. It is native to South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, and has also naturalised in parts of Victoria and Western Australia.-References:* Conifer...
) and two stands of Giant Bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
.
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
Sydney Turpentine-Ironbark Forest
The Sydney Turpentine-Ironbark Forest is one of six main indigenous forest communities of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is also among the three of these plant communities which have been classified as Endangered, under the New South Wales government's Threatened Species Conservation Act...
that once covered the area. The major species is Kangaroo Grass (Themeda triandra
Themeda triandra
Themeda triandra is a perennial grass widespread in Africa, Australia, Asia and the Pacific. In Australia it is commonly known as kangaroo grass, in East and South Africa it is known as "red oat grass" or red grass, in Afrikaans, rooigras.The species has a tuffted habit and can reach up to 1.5 m...
), but there are a number of other species present including Dianella
Dianella (genus)
Dianella is a monocot genus of flowering plants. They are commonly called flax lilies.In the APG II system of plant classification, Dianella was placed in the family Hemerocallidaceae...
.
Foundation
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
. Previous cemeteries in Sydney were the so-called Old Burial Ground of 1792, in George Street on the site of the Sydney Town Hall
Sydney Town Hall
The Sydney Town Hall is a landmark sandstone building located in the heart of Sydney. It stands opposite the Queen Victoria Building and alongside St Andrew's Cathedral...
, and the New Burial Ground (1819–68) in Devonshire Street on the site of Central Railway Station, Sydney
Central railway station, Sydney
Central Railway Station, the largest railway station in Australia, is at the southern end of the Sydney CBD. It services almost all the lines on the CityRail network, and is the major terminus for interurban and interstate rail services...
.
The cemetery was proposed by a group of Sydney businessmen who formed the Church of England Cemetery Trust and in 1848 purchased 13 acres (52,609.2 m²) of land "beyond the boundary stone" of Sydney, from Maurice Charles O'Connell, grandson of Governor Bligh
William Bligh
Vice Admiral William Bligh FRS RN was an officer of the British Royal Navy and a colonial administrator. A notorious mutiny occurred during his command of HMAV Bounty in 1789; Bligh and his loyal men made a remarkable voyage to Timor, after being set adrift in the Bounty's launch by the mutineers...
. The land was part of a grant made to Governor Bligh and named "Camperdown" by him in commemoration of the Battle of Camperdown
Battle of Camperdown
The Battle of Camperdown was a major naval action fought on 11 October 1797 between a Royal Navy fleet under Admiral Adam Duncan and a Dutch Navy fleet under Vice-Admiral Jan de Winter...
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. The cemetery was consecrated by Bishop William Grant Broughton
William Grant Broughton
William Grant Broughton was the first Bishop of Australia of the Church of England....
on 16 January 1849.
The first interment was that of Bligh's son-in law, Lieutenant Governor Sir Maurice O'Connell
Maurice Charles O'Connell
Sir Maurice Charles O'Connell was a commander of forces and lieutenant-governor of New South Wales.O'Connell was born in Ireland in 1768. He had had a distinguished career in the army when he came with Macquarie to New South Wales in charge of the 73rd regiment...
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 Camperown. 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. The first burial was that of John Holden Mitchie, son of Archibald Mitchie who campaigned to end the transportation of convict
Convict
A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison", sometimes referred to in slang as simply a "con". Convicts are often called prisoners or inmates. Persons convicted and sentenced to non-custodial sentences often are not termed...
s 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.
Closure to sales
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 CemeteryRookwood Cemetery
Rookwood Cemetery is the largest multicultural necropolis in the Southern Hemisphere, located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
, 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
Building of St Stephen's
Edmund Blacket
Edmund Thomas Blacket was an Australian architect, best known for his designs for the University of Sydney, St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney and St...
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. 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.
Camperdown Memorial Rest Park
By the 1940s the cemetery was overgrown. In 1946 the body of a murdered girl, Joan Norma Ginn, was found in the cemetery. This prompted action on behalf of the local council. All but 4 acres (16,187.4 m²) of land were resumed as public space. An act of parliament in 1948 established the Camperdown Memorial Rest Park, under control of the local council. 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.Forty year later these well-established rose bushes were pulled out by the Marrickville Council as requiring too much maintenance. 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 stele tombstones were stood around the inside of the new stone wall and were fixed to it with steel pins and cement. By 1980 the steel pins had rusted and expanded, cracking and defacing many of the stones. Other stele 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.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.
Decline and recovery
One group, the "Camperdown Cemetery Dog Walkers" have been particularly active in maintaining the cemetery and supporting its conservation."Concerning the odd looking people in the cemetery, walking dogs, lying on graves and generally loitering: they are, for the greater part, our most welcome Newtown Community...." Excerpt from a letter of reassurance to an anxious visitor from the Secretary of the Cemetery Trust, 11 April 1999 Another group of volunteers regularly weed and maintain the areas of native grassland. 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, 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
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
creation of Miss Haversham in Great Expectations
Great Expectations
Great Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens. It was first published in serial form in the publication All the Year Round from 1 December 1860 to August 1861. It has been adapted for stage and screen over 250 times....
, has been restored.
Cemetery Lodge
Fig tree
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. It has a large hollow among its roots which has resulted in it being called the "Peter PanPeter Pan
Peter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie . A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with...
Tree" by some local families. The tree attracts fruit bat
Fruit Bat
Fruit Bat can refer to:* Megabats, a species of bat which eats fruit* Les "Fruitbat" Carter, guitarist of Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine* Fruit Bats , an American band...
s and has often been the nesting place of currawong
Currawong
Currawongs are three species of medium-sized passerine birds belonging to the genus Strepera in the family Artamidae native to Australasia. These are the Grey Currawong , Pied Currawong , and Black Currawong . The common name comes from the call of the familiar Pied Currawong of eastern Australia...
s.
Monuments
The most common style of monument is the simple upright tombstone or stele. These come in four basic styles: round-headed, Gothic, Classical
Classicism
Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for classical antiquity, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. The art of classicism typically seeks to be formal and restrained: of the Discobolus Sir Kenneth Clark observed, "if we object to his restraint...
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. The crosses form a smaller group. In nearly every instance they take the form of a Celtic cross
Celtic cross
A Celtic cross is a symbol that combines a cross with a ring surrounding the intersection. In the Celtic Christian world it was combined with the Christian cross and this design was often used for high crosses – a free-standing cross made of stone and often richly decorated...
, 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
Isaac Nathan
Isaac Nathan was an Anglo-Australian composer, musicologist, journalist and self-publicist, who ended an eventful career by becoming the "father of Australian music".-Early success:...
. 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.
Resurrection
Resurrection refers to the literal coming back to life of the biologically dead. It is used both with respect to particular individuals or the belief in a General Resurrection of the dead at the end of the world. The General Resurrection is featured prominently in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim...
. 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
Guy Fawkes Night
Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Day, Bonfire Night and Firework Night, is an annual commemoration observed on 5 November, primarily in England. Its history begins with the events of 5 November 1605, when Guy Fawkes, a member of the Gunpowder Plot, was arrested while guarding...
has Catherine wheel
Catherine wheel (firework)
The Catherine wheel is a type of firework consisting of a powder-filled spiral tube, or an angled rocket mounted with a pin through its centre...
s carved on his tombstone. Thomas Downes' tombstone is decorated with a hot air balloon
Hot air balloon
The hot air balloon is the oldest successful human-carrying flight technology. It is in a class of aircraft known as balloon aircraft. On November 21, 1783, in Paris, France, the first untethered manned flight was made by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes in a hot air...
.During an unsuccessful balloon launch the luckless Thomas was killed when a stanchion to which the balloon was tethered fell on him as the result of a riot by young people who were disappointed with the show. Downes was merely standing by at the time. 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.
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 caryatid
Caryatid
A caryatid is a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support taking the place of a column or a pillar supporting an entablature on her head. The Greek term karyatides literally means "maidens of Karyai", an ancient town of Peloponnese...
s 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 propellor.
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.
Odments
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 waterfountain 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. 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 is part of the old Maritime Services Building, (c.1850) placed in the cemetery as a memorial to seamen. 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.Burials
Note: Information in this list is drawn from T.G. Rees and/or Chrys Meader unless otherwise referenced.
Burials in Camperdown Cemetery include:
- Sir Maurice O'ConnellMaurice Charles O'ConnellSir Maurice Charles O'Connell was a commander of forces and lieutenant-governor of New South Wales.O'Connell was born in Ireland in 1768. He had had a distinguished career in the army when he came with Macquarie to New South Wales in charge of the 73rd regiment...
, (d. 1848) Colonel of H.M. 80th Regiment, Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales, - Lieut. Colonel Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell, (1792–1855), surveyor to the Duke of WellingtonDuke of WellingtonThe Dukedom of Wellington, derived from Wellington in Somerset, is a hereditary title in the senior rank of the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first holder of the title was Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington , the noted Irish-born career British Army officer and statesman, and...
, Surveyor-General of New South Wales. Explored and mapped New South Wales and much of VictoriaVictoria (Australia)Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
. - Major Edmund LockyerEdmund LockyerEdmund Lockyer, – 10 June 1860) was a British soldier and explorer of Australia.Born in Plymouth, Devon, Lockyer was son of Thomas Lockyer, a sailmaker, and his wife Ann, née Grose. Lockyer began his army career as an ensign in the 19th Regiment in June 1803, was promoted lieutenant in early 1805...
, (1784–1860), explored parts of QueenslandQueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
and founded Western AustraliaWestern AustraliaWestern Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
, 21 January 1827. A Blue GumBlue GumBlue Gum usually refers to the subspecies or the species in Eucalyptus globulus complex, however it may also refer to a number of other species of Eucalyptus in Australia. Confusingly, in Queensland it usually refers to Eucalyptus tereticornis, which is known elsewhere as Forest Red Gum.* Gippsland...
from Western Australia was planted in his memory. - Isaac NathanIsaac NathanIsaac Nathan was an Anglo-Australian composer, musicologist, journalist and self-publicist, who ended an eventful career by becoming the "father of Australian music".-Early success:...
, (1790–1864), scholar and musician, composed and conducted Australia's first opera, Don Juan of Austria. Collected and published Aboriginal melodies. - Dr. Charles Nathan (1816–1872) pioneered the use of anaesthetics in Australia.
- Bathsheba Ghost (d. 1868) convict and Second Matron of the Sydney General Hospital from 1852 to 1866. Her unusual round memorial is the top of one of the gateposts of the infirmary.
- William Moffit, (1798–1871), printer, stationer and entrepreneur.
- Captain Thomas Watson, (1795–1879), Harbourmaster of Port Jackson
- Elizabeth Thompson, (1758–1865), Australia's oldest inhabitant at the time of her death.
- Charles Windeyer, (1780–1855), Mayor of Sydney and magistrate.
- Enoch Fowler, founder of Camperdown Potteries.
- Nicholas Charles Bochsa (1791–1856), harpist to Napoleon, and subject of one of the cemetery's more scandalous tales. He eloped from England with the operatic soprano Anna Bishop, wife of the composer Sir Henry Bishop, and toured in America before arriving in Australia, where they completed just one successful concert together before he unexpectedy died. Anna, still the wife of Sir Henry, raised in Bochsa's honour the most ornate monument in the cemetery, with a statue of herself weeping disconsolately. The mourning figure was smashed more than 70 years ago.
- Sarah Broughton (d. 1849), wife of Bishop William Grant BroughtonWilliam Grant BroughtonWilliam Grant Broughton was the first Bishop of Australia of the Church of England....
. - John Roote Andrews, monumental mason and maker of many of the cemetery's monuments.
- Mary, Lady Jamison, the widow of the pioneer physician, landowner and constitutional reformer Sir John JamisonJohn JamisonSir John Jamison was an important Australian physician, pastoralist, banker, politician, constitutional reformer and public figure....
- James Donnithorne (1773–1852), Judge of the East India CompanyEast India CompanyThe East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
- Eliza Emily Donnithorne (d. 1886) whose story is similar to, and may have inspired, the story of Miss HavishamMiss HavishamMiss Havisham is a significant character in the Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations . She is a wealthy spinster, who lives in her ruined mansion with her adopted daughter, Estella, whom she has sent to France, while she herself is described as looking like "the witch of the place."Although she...
in Charles DickensCharles DickensCharles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
' Great ExpectationsGreat ExpectationsGreat Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens. It was first published in serial form in the publication All the Year Round from 1 December 1860 to August 1861. It has been adapted for stage and screen over 250 times....
. Eliza Emily was jilted on her wedding day, and became a recluse, refusing to have the wedding feast removed from the table, and keeping the front door permanently ajar in case her absconding lover should return.Whether or not Eliza Emily Donnithorne's story provided the inspiration for Dickens has been the subject of speculation and research. It is possible that Mary Reibey, with whom Dickens communicated, may have told him the story. One of Dicken's sons was in Australia for a time and may have related the story. However, a similar case in England has been proposed as a source. - Tommy, William Perry, Mogo and Mandelina. Tommy, an 11-year-old Aboriginal boy who died of bronchitisBronchitisAcute bronchitis is an inflammation of the large bronchi in the lungs that is usually caused by viruses or bacteria and may last several days or weeks. Characteristic symptoms include cough, sputum production, and shortness of breath and wheezing related to the obstruction of the inflamed airways...
in the Sydney Infirmary was the first recorded Christian burial of an Aboriginal person.While William Perry and Mogo have gravestones, Tommy and Mandelina do not. It is probable that Tommy, as a "pauper", shares his grave with a bushranger who was buried the same day, having been hanged at Darlinghurst. Mogo, a teenage boy from Queensland, was also executed. He went "walkabout" from a Queensland property, took up with "the wrong crowd" and was implicated as taking part in a murder. His grieving white family paid for a burial and tombstone. However, their agent did it on the cheap, arranging a palimpsestPalimpsestA palimpsest is a manuscript page from a scroll or book from which the text has been scraped off and which can be used again. The word "palimpsest" comes through Latin palimpsēstus from Ancient Greek παλίμψηστος originally compounded from πάλιν and ψάω literally meaning “scraped...
, (a stone that has been reused, having had the original name chiselled out.) Later a tree was planted in Mogo's memory but this is outside the present cemetery, on the southern edge of the park. The four names are recorded on an obelisk which commemorates the "Rangers of New South Wales" and "the whole Aboriginal race".The name of Mandelina has been wrongly transcribed onto the monument from the scrolly hand in which the Burial Dockets are written. It appears in various publications as "Wandalina Caborigirel" but should be read "Mandelina (aborigine)". - Others important colonial families who have members buried in the cemetery are the Macleays and DumaresqsAlexander MacleayHon. Alexander Macleay MLC FLS FRS was a leading member of the Linnean Society and a fellow of the Royal Society.Macleay was born on Ross-shire, Scotland, eldest son of William Macleay, provost of Wick...
, the ToothsTooth and Co.Tooth and Co. was the major brewer of beer in New South Wales, Australia. The company owned a large brewery on Broadway in Sydney from 1835 until 1985, known as the Kent Brewery...
and children of the Farmers retailing family. - Among the memorials moved to Camperdown from other sites was that of Mary ReibeyMary ReibeyMary Reibey was an Englishwoman who was transported to Australia as a convict but went on to become a successful businesswoman in Sydney.-Early life:...
, which has disappeared, presumed stolen or destroyed. - The tombstone of Edmund BlacketEdmund BlacketEdmund Thomas Blacket was an Australian architect, best known for his designs for the University of Sydney, St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney and St...
, architect of St Stephen's, and his wife Sarah was moved to Camperdown from Balmain Cemetery when that cemetery was resumed as park. Their ashes were placed in St. Andrew's Cathedral, SydneySt. Andrew's Cathedral, SydneySt Andrew's Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney in the Anglican Church of Australia. The cathedral is the seat of the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney and Metropolitan of New South Wales, the Most Reverend Peter Jensen...
. - One of the most famous burials in the cemetery is that of the victims of the wreck of the DunbarDunbar (shipwreck)The Dunbar was a full-rigged ship that was wrecked near the entrance to Sydney Harbour, Australia in 1857 with the loss of 121 lives.The Dunbar was launched on 30 November 1853 for London shipowner Duncan Dunbar and entered the passenger and cargo trade between London and Sydney early the following...
. This clipper ship went down off Sydney Heads on the night of 20–21 August 1857 after a voyage from England, with all but one of the 122 people aboard perishing. The wreck had a profound effect on the people of Sydney, because nearly all the passengers were Sydney residents returning home. A tomb contains the remains of 22 of those who died, along with the victims from the wreck of the Catherine Adamson which sank in the harbour two months later. The "Dunbar Memorial Service" is held in the cemetery in the August of each year. - Near the main drive that passes by the church are four small matching tombstones with inscriptions recording the deaths of seven children of the York and Free families. These and many other tombstones reflect the high infant mortality of the 19th century. The burial dockets indicate that many children died of diphtheriaDiphtheriaDiphtheria is an upper respiratory tract illness caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, a facultative anaerobic, Gram-positive bacterium. It is characterized by sore throat, low fever, and an adherent membrane on the tonsils, pharynx, and/or nasal cavity...
and measlesMeaslesMeasles, also known as rubeola or morbilli, is an infection of the respiratory system caused by a virus, specifically a paramyxovirus of the genus Morbillivirus. Morbilliviruses, like other paramyxoviruses, are enveloped, single-stranded, negative-sense RNA viruses...
, with one measles outbreak resulting in the burials of up to twelve children a day. Strangely, to the modern reader, the major cause of death of infants below the age of two years is given as teethingTeethingTeething is the process by which an infant's first teeth sequentially appear by emerging through the gums. Teething may start as early as three months or as late, in some cases, as twelve months. The typical time frame for the first teeth to appear is somewhere between six and nine months...
. It is now understood that these deaths resulted from the use of mercuryMercury (element)Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
-based teething powders.
- A memorial plaque placed near the drive reads:
Ghosts
- Camperdown Cemetery has one undisputed "ghost" as a permanent resident- Bathsheba Ghost, the second matron Matron of the Sydney General Hospital. However there are those who claim that she is not simply a ghost in name alone, but has been seen attending the sick in St Stephen's Rectory.
- The figure of a curious old man in a brown frock coatFrock coatA frock coat is a man's coat characterised by knee-length skirts all around the base, popular during the Victorian and Edwardian periods. The double-breasted style is sometimes called a Prince Albert . The frock coat is a fitted, long-sleeved coat with a centre vent at the back, and some features...
has often said to have been sighted sitting on the grave of William Ebbetts, watching people weeding the native grasses or tending the rose bushes. Children have claimed to have talked to him. He disappears when adults approach him. - It has been claimed that on moonless nights a man in early 19th century military uniform views the stars with a telescope near the grave of Major Mitchell.
- The most sensational ghost story, and one that developed rapidly in form from the time of its first telling in the mid 1990s, is the story of Hannah Watson and her lover. Hannah, the wife of Captain Thomas Watson, the Harbour Master of Port Jackson, according to the legend, was having an affair with Captain John Steane of the Royal Navy. Thomas Watson, on discovering his wife's infidelity, cursed the lovers. Hannah wrote to Steane, begging him not to return to Sydney, but it was too late. Hannah Watson died and was buried in the cemetery. John Steane outlived Hannah by only a few days. The ship in which he was returning to the arms of his beloved was the ill-fated Dunbar. John Steane's body was one of the few that was recovered intact. It is buried in a separate grave near the Dunbar Tomb, and only a few metres from the plot where Thomas Watson had recently buried his wife. It is claimed that Hannah Watson has been seen emerging from her tomb in the form of a ghostly grey lady. She is said to drift slowly to the grave of her erstwhile lover. Although the tale has been told many times, and has been used as the basis for a work of fiction, no investigation into the possibility of a love-affair between Hannah Watson and Captain John Steane has yet been made. John Steane's descendants continue to live in the vicinity of Newtown.