Memorial to Lonely Graves

Statement of Significance

The Memorial to the Lonely Graves is important to the heritage of Marble Bar because of its intrinsic, historic and social values. In this one memorial, the Marble Bar community is left with a permanent reminder of the pioneer fortitude that led to the settlement of the district.

Physical Description

The Memorial to the Lonely Graves is located in the main street of Marble Bar in an open park area between the Shire offices and the General Store. The two brick walls that make up the Memorial stand at 120° to one another, with plaques recording the name and date of every person whose grave has been discovered.

History

This Memorial is a result of passionate and extensive research by Len Lever of Marble Bar. Over the years Len Lever worked on the maintenance of the town water supply, serviced the power house and drove earthmoving equipment for road building. It was the latter job that led him to the lone graves. One day he disturbed a lone grave, that of William Breen died 10/7/24. He found from other grader drivers they had had similar experiences. Len was haunted by the isolation and poignancy of the graves and so he set out "recording, photographing and restoring them". This was followed by the building of a Memorial in the Marble Bar townsite in 1993. The Memorial is a tribute to the many pioneers who came to the harsh land of the Pilbara goldfields in search of a new life. The country and climate were very hard and cruel with the consequence that many people died and were buried in unmarked graves or unnamed graves, marked only by a group of rocks or a stick.

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.