Friday, July 11, 2008

Gore Hill Memorial Park



It was a glorious day today and so after a lovely brunch with friends in Surry Hills, I ventured
over the bridge to Gore Hill Cemetery (now Memorial Park). Some details about the site:


"Originally dedicated on 19 May 1868, the Cemetery covers around 5.7 hectares. The first known burial was in 1877 but earlier monuments are to be found, transferred here from Devonshire Street Cemetery. Planned as a formal Victorian-Edwardian landscape garden, and enclosed by mature evergreen trees, the Cemetery exhibits a wide variety of plantings and many fine examples of the stonemason’s art. The Cemetery was closed to burials in 1974. A Memorial Garden for the placement of ashes was established in 1991. The site was declared an historic cemetery in 1986 and is listed on the State Heritage Register." Taken from Willoughby City Council website.






There is no wikipedia entry on this site, so I think I might do a little digging to see what I can find on this place. My main focus today was on merging the living plants with the stone gravestones. Flowers of many colours were out and their vibrancy compared well with the hard stone. I have included 10 of my favourite pictures on this post - and more will be able to be seen when the rest have been uploaded.




There were lots of little paths, brick paved, grassy and those trodden out by footsteps seeking those lost gravestones near the end of the park. As the park is right opposite the North Shore Hospital, I suspect many workers and perhaps patients might find themselves wandering around there on a sunny day. Certainly I saw a number of amblers today.

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