Albany Memorial Park Cemetery

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Statement of Significance

Albany Memorial Park Cemetery, a hillside cemetery reserve of just over 2.5 hectares divided into denominational sections and containing approximately 5,000 graves, has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons: The place is the first consecrated cemetery in Western Australia. The place has a landmark quality on both sides of Middleton Road, which has provided the basis for the development of further recreational developments in the immediate vicinity. The place is the burial ground for many people involved in the European settlement of the region, and of members of families prominent in the early history of Western Australia, particularly those prominent within the Great Southern regions. The place is significant for the number of burials of people from different cultural backgrounds and is representative of the multicultural foundation of the development of the town and region. The place is valued by the Albany and the Plantagenet regional community as a tangible reminder of the historical development of the town and region. The place is valued through its religious, historical, familial, personal and social associations and contributes to the local community’s sense of place. The place is significant as a cultural landscape, a topographically unusual cemetery, and a collection of sepulchral masonry and ironwork.

Physical Description

Albany Memorial Park Cemetery, a hillside cemetery reserve of just over 2.5 hectares divided into denominational sections and containing approximately 5,000 graves. The place is the first consecrated cemetery in Western Australia. The place is significant as a cultural landscape, a topographically unusual cemetery, and a collection of sepulchral masonry and ironwork. Some of the notable features of this place include: • Set either side of Middleton Rd and easily accessed by pedestrians • A number of mature trees, both native and exotic, shade the site • There is a diversity, style and age range of memorials and grave fittings in the cemetery, many of which display a impressive skills, artistry and craftsmanship in the disciplines of ironwork and stone-masonry Some obvious modifications include: • Some loss of funerary fittings, particularly in the oldest sections of the cemetery, due to decay and possibly early management practices • Monumental damage and fixtures loss owing to vandalism • Limestone block retaining wall constructed on northern section • Pine bollards and new trees (c. 2010)

History

To date, four burial grounds/cemeteries are known to have existed within the City of Albany. Of these, the Memorial Park Cemetery is the third area to have been used in this fashion, and at its official closing on 16 September 1959 it is thought to have become the longest serving Public Cemetery in Western Australia. The first two burial grounds were situated on town lots S112 & S115, both of which are situated in the land that lies between York & Stirling streets. Lot S115 was originally used prior to 1832 by the NSW penal settlement. With the change of government control from NSW to WA (Swan River settlement), Lot S112 was noted as being in use from 1832 onwards. Whilst it is known that, one body was exhumed during property development of Lot S115 in June 1964, (later this body was re-interred at the Memorial Park cemetery), there is little firm evidence to suggest that any of the other remains that were relocated to any other cemeteries. This would suggest that there are at least two bodies still to be found at Lot S112, and approximately 35-60 remain under the car park behind the Town Hall at Lot S115. The Memorial Park Cemetery is probably the longest serving Public cemetery in WA, and has been identified on the first town maps of the settlement, which date from 1836. On 12th February 1840, the Government Gazette announced that Lot S51 had been set aside as a Public cemetery, although in keeping with the times, the land was placed under the care of the Church of England Trustees on 29 July 1845. It should be noted however, that this does not mean that the burial of members of other faiths were not permitted in the allotment, only that they would have been placed in a separate section of the grounds to those of the Church of England. The first minister of Albany, Rev. John R. Wollaston confirmed this view with his comments concerning the consecration of the site, which was probably the first cemetery consecration in the State. The Lord Bishop of Adelaide, the Right Reverend Augustus Short performed the ceremony, on 27th October 1848. He noted in his diary: "Lady Spencer gave a grand dinner on Friday, 27th Oct., on the afternoon of which day he consecrated a portion of the Burial Ground, leaving the remainder (three-quarters) for the other denominations. The Cemetery lies about halfway between Albany and Strawberry Hill." As the settlement and its population grew, there was a subsequent proliferation of the various religious institutions that could be supported by that population. In keeping with the segregationist policies of the era, the Government, in response to requests from the various church bodies, allotted cemetery land. The first additional allotment was gazetted on 30 April 1855, to the Albany Roman Catholic Church. This southern allocation was the first section to be used "above" Middleton road. The Wesleyan Methodist church was granted lots in 28 January 1884. Finally, the Presbyterian Church received approval for use of lots in the cemetery on 16 July 1890. These various allotments continued to be operated and controlled by the various church authorities until the lands were revested by the government to the control of the Trust established under the Albany Cemeteries Act (1943). On 31 March 1944, by publication in the Government Gazette, all six lots were amalgamated into the Cemetery Reserve 22406. The same publication announced the appointment of 10 Trustees for care of this Reserve. Since that time, only one amendment to Reserve 22406 has been made. It was gazetted on 8 December 1972, and Lots 503 & 504 were reduced slightly, to give the cemetery it current size of 2.5323 hectares The Memorial Park Cemetery is the final resting-place of approximately 5,000 individuals, although only about 1,100 names are noted on memorials in the cemetery. These people from a wide range of racial and socio-economic backgrounds, and are not only members of local Aboriginal and pioneering families, but there also people of state prominence, together with travellers from overseas and other states. Unfortunately, as most of the records for the cemetery were held by individual church trustees prior to the creation of the Albany Cemetery Board, the remaining records are scattered and incomplete, although work on assembling a cross-referenced database is continuing. The remaining monuments and other sepulchral architecture in the Cemetery are the chief and most accessible element of the physical evidence and these are also documents of individual lives and the local community. Headstones in the Albany Memorial Park Cemetery commemorate people who reached all ages, from babies and children to more than a dozen nonagenarians. The dubious honour of being the oldest “occupants” is one jointly shared by William George Hawkes and Esther Annie Maltby, both of whom were aged 98 at the time of their deaths. The memorials themselves vary from plain to elaborate, and it is notable that the cemetery also contains two rare wooden headboards, said to have been carved by ship’s carpenters for their former crewmates, prior to the start of the 20th Century. Although there are no tombs, there are a number of imposing obelisks and columns, and an interesting range of headstones, which provide a range of good examples of late 19th and early 20th-century monumental masonry. Given the town’s history of recurrent depressions and recessions, it is surprising to find that a number of these works were imported from not only other Australian states including SA, NSW and Victoria, but also overseas. Other funerary artefacts of interest include a surprisingly large number of well-preserved cast-iron "lace" grave surrounds. Once again there are examples ranging from various simple designs to elaborate family and group enclosures incorporating detailed designs. Both the Allambie and Memorial Park Cemeteries acquired their current names on 6 December 1963, from a list of names submitted by the public to the Mayor of Albany, Charles Johnson. Prior to this, they were generally referred to as the "Old" and "New" cemeteries. Allambie Park Cemetery, which opened on 4 August 1954, began operating five years before the official closure of the Memorial Park Cemetery. Despite the official closure of the ‘old’ cemetery, a number of reservations remained current (with the last due to expire in 2003) and burials may still be permitted subject to the approval of the Minister and Albany Cemetery Board.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: High Authenticity: High/Moderate

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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