This large cemetery contained some very interesting sites including a large number of Asian graves (we found a stash of "Hell money" at one of the sites) a number of single raised crypts and a rather intriguing "Station of the Cross" walk...more on that later. It is beautifully laid out and contains a lovely mix of the old and the new.
The Macquarie Park Cemetery and Crematorium is located in North Ryde. Here is a map of the grounds.
The website for the cemetery is rather odd. The first page has postcards of sorts with different people coupled with phrases such as, "Look after my grandma". I am not sure what purpose they serve but I thought it rather odd.
However, I thought this message on the website was particularly interesting:
"Families wishing to release Ballons or Doves should contact:
Civil Aviation Safety Authority
Sydney Region, Bankstown
Phone: (02) 9780 3007"
A Brief History of the Site
"The cemetery comprising approximately 160 acres was dedicated in 1902 to be known as Northern Suburbs General Cemetery Trust. It is owned by the NSW Government and operated under the Trusteeship of Honorary Trust Board members.
The first Trust appointed in 1921 comprised Rev J G M Taylor and Messrs
C B Thistlewaite, G Chalmers and A J Hare and as was the custom in those days the cemetery was divided into various denominational areas.
The first burial took place on 20 April 1922 Henry Mashman, in the Church of England area (G1 Grave No. 5.)" (Taken from website)
3 comments:
I really love your blog! I'm living by a couple of gems of cemeteries in San Antonio, replete with Confederate soldiers. In them, I'm intrigued that a lot of the graves are stone made to look like tree-stumps or trees whose limbs have been cut off; have you encountered that before?
Hi David, good to see there are other taphophiles out there! I haven't seen tree limbs but can imagine that the half trees are symbolic of a life cut short - there is similar symbolism in Victorian funeral decorations. I visited a great cemetery in Belgrade, Serbia where the fashion seemed to be in placing tombstones fashioned into items loved by the dead person. There were soccer balls, computers, art equipment and many more of these items scattered around. Thanks for commenting on the site!
A
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