A Day with the Dead – a blog about Saint John’s Cemetery

On a gorgeous, sunny spring day, I walked through Saint John’s Cemetery in Parramatta. After taking the two trains it take me to get to Parramatta, I walked then walked through the maze of shops in Westfield shopping centre, desperately hoping I could remember enough of the last trip to not get too lost. Thankfully I could, and I found my way out the other side and conveniently close to the gates of the cemetery. The sun is beaming down and I have my sunglasses on and my jacket off. I lift the latch holding the large timbre gates closed and enter the cemetery.

Stepping through the gate, I stand under the small covering that welcomes visitors to the cemetery. To the side is a billboard of information about various aspects of the cemetery; some of its history, a map of the grave stones and a list of “some graves of interest”, including those of the first fleeters buried there.

Saint John’s Cemetery is Australia’s oldest surviving European cemetery. It was created in the 1790s when a servant of Governor Phillip, Henry Dodd, died supposedly from a chill and was buried on a hill not far from his home. This site then became Saint John’s Cemetery. His burial was the first public funeral to take place in Australia and many significant people in Australia’s history would follow him^[1]. Yet, despite this obvious importance of the cemetery to Australian history, for decades the site has been neglected and left to slowly fall to ruins.

Vandalism”. “Disgraceful Condition”. “Apple of Discord”. “Neglected Dead”. “Vaults in Ruins”. “A City’s Disgrace”. These are just some of the phrases used over the decades in news headings to talk about Saint John’s Cemetery in Parramatta. From as early as 1868, newspapers were calling attention to threats on the cemetery, with accusations ranging from vandalism to neglect. For over a century, the call to take action, to remember their heritage and to look after the final resting place of some of Australia’s earliest European settlers has been spoken among Parramatta locals. For this cemetery ‘is an immensely significant site…due to its links to the history of the British Empire and world convict history’.^[2]

As suggested above, this call was not a new endeavour. The earliest mention of the state of the cemetery presented on the Saint John’s Cemetery website (http://stjohnscemetery.jimdo.com/media/) speaks of vandalism that had hit a number of churchyards, including Saint John’s Cemetery. This news clipping from 1868 spoke of youths plucking ‘flowers planted by bereaved relatives and friends’ and warned that ‘the perpetrators of such wanton outrages were liable by law to severe punishment’^[3]. The aim of this notice was to caution these youths of the consequences of such acts and hoped it would be enough to deter any subsequent vandalism. As the decades passed, Saint John’s Cemetery was described as being ‘in disgraceful condition’ and ‘so unsatisfactory as to give rise to much regret’, as well as being, ‘to a large degree, in all stages of neglect and decay’.^[4] Comments such as these continued to be issues worthy of news space up until 2015 (see Clarissa Bye’s article “Historic St John’s Cemetery at Parramatta in state of neglect”).

What draws me to the issue of keeping some old cemetery tidy and presentable is the bigger issue that Australia has with its neglected history. A few years ago, I took a trip around Europe. I visited fourteen cities and towns in nine different countries and was overwhelmed by the amount of history that stood, plain as day, in every street. Everything from old buildings to tucked away museums to cobblestone roads, Europe’s vast and rich history is out in the open for anyone to see. While thousands of people travel to Europe every year to see its historical sites, few people realise how much Australia has to offer in this very department. There are more “plain as day” sites in Australia than even I realised until very recently.

Much of this is simply because Australia, and especially its government, is not taking advantage of its historical resources. Sites like Saint John’s Cemetery would easily be popular tourist sites in a place like Europe, yet here in Australia, its often left unknown to tourist and Australians alike. It is a living testament to some of Australia’s earliest European history and can be quite a sight to behold on a sunny spring day. Walking distance from Parramatta’s historic Female Factory (yet another neglected historical site) and the Old Government House, the cemetery ‘is one of the jewels in Parramatta’s heritage crown’ and sits in a rich, historical area.^[5] With the right resources, such as access to walking tours, good historical maps, clear signage and descriptions, etc., this area could achieve a very similar experience to walking through some of the old towns in Europe. The call to “save the cemetery” is not just a call for local Parramattans, but should be a call to Australians everywhere to save the history of this nation.

Notes:

[1] “Save cemetery for the nation”, Advertiser, 13 August 1970.

[2] “About – St. John’s Cemetery Parramatta”, viewed 28 October 2016, http://stjohnscemetery.jimdo.com/about-1/.

Bibliography

“About – St. John’s Cemetery Parramatta”. Viewed 28 October 2016. http://stjohnscemetery.jimdo.com/about-1/.

Freame, William. "Among the Tombs: St. John's Cemetery". Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate. (Parramatta NSW: 1888-1950) p.4.

Old Chum. "Old Sydney, Parramatta Revisited: Jesse Hack. St. John's Cemetery in a Disgraceful Condition.  The Resting Place of Early Australian Pioneers. Alt's Tomb. The Kendall and Michael Families" .Truth (Brisbane, Qld. : 1900 - 1954) Sunday 3 April 1910. p.11.

"Parramatta. From Our Correspondent. Vandalism". Sydney Morning Herald (NSW: 1842 - 1954) Friday 4 September 1868. p.2

“Save cemetery for the nation”. Advertiser. 13 August 1970.

"St. John's Cemetery: Another Apple of Discord.Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate. (Parramatta NSW: 1888-1950) Wednesday 14 October 1914. p.2.