Rookwood Cemetery
Encyclopedia
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
necropolis in the Southern Hemisphere, located in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Rookwood
Rookwood, New South Wales
Rookwood is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales Australia. Rookwood is located 17 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Auburn Council....
is also considered to be a suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
, close to Lidcombe railway station about 17 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district
Sydney central business district
The Sydney central business district is the main commercial centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It extends southwards for about 3 kilometres from Sydney Cove, the point of first European settlement. Its north–south axis runs from Circular Quay in the north to Central railway station in...
.
Rookwood Cemetery is divided into denominational and operational areas with individual offices, staff, and equipment to run different parts of the entire area. The cemetery is now managed by five denominational Trusts, each of which is responsible for the care and maintenance of a number of burial sections catering to various ethnic and cultural groups within the community. The following individual Trusts manage the cemetery on behalf of the NSW State Government: Anglican & General Cemetery Trusts, the Catholic Cemeteries Board, The Independent Cemetery Trust, Jewish Cemetery, Muslim Cemetery Trust, and, importantly, The NSW Cremation Company, which founded and operates The Rookwood Crematorium, the oldest operating crematorium in the country. The NSW Cremation Company is the only private company operating a 'cemetery' section within the necropolis grounds, today the company is part of the Invocare company, with links to Service Corporation International
Service Corporation International
For other uses of the acronym SCI, see SCIService Corporation International is North America’s largest provider of end-of-life arrangements and services. With its headquarters in Neartown, Houston, Texas, United States, SCI operates more than 1500 funeral homes and 400 cemeteries in 43 states,...
of the USA.
Rookwood also contains a number of memorial shrines including those dedicated to victims of the Holocaust and to members of the merchant marine killed in wartime. The Sydney War Cemetery is located in the eastern section of the necropolis. The Circle of Love is a shrine dedicated to stillborn children or those who died in young infancy.
It is estimated that approximately one million people have been buried at Rookwood, which covers an area of over 300 hectares. The "Friends of Rookwood Inc" is a voluntary organisation dedicated to preserving the site. As the largest Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
cemetery still in operation in the world, Rookwood is of significant national and historical importance.
Some older sections of Rookwood are overgrown with a riot of plants, early horticultural plants, some now large trees or groves, as well as an interesting array of remnant indigenous flora. This results in quite an eclectic mix of flora to be found within the necropolis.
The Serpentine Canal within the Anglican section was restored in recent years, repairing and replacing ornamentation, landscaping and vegetation over 31 hectares of the cemetery.
History
In 1818, Governor Lachlan MacquarieLachlan Macquarie
Major-General Lachlan Macquarie CB , was a British military officer and colonial administrator. He served as the last autocratic Governor of New South Wales, Australia from 1810 to 1821 and had a leading role in the social, economic and architectural development of the colony...
had Sydney's main burial ground established near the town's brickworks. By the 1840s, the Devonshire Street Cemetery
Devonshire Street Cemetery
The Devonshire Street Cemetery was located between Eddy Avenue and Elizabeth Street, and between Chalmers and Devonshire Streets, in Sydney, Australia. It was consecrated in 1820. The Jewish section was used from 1832...
was close to being full so another larger site was needed. A location near Randwick
Randwick, New South Wales
Randwick is a suburb in south-eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Randwick is located 6 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the City of Randwick...
was chosen but abandoned in 1859 without ever being used due to complaints from local residents and churches. In Australia, as in Europe, there was an increasing trend to move burial sites outside of the cities for practical, hygienic and other more aesthetic purposes. With a railway line having been completed to Parramatta
Parramatta, New South Wales
Parramatta is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Greater Western Sydney west of the Sydney central business district on the banks of the Parramatta River. Parramatta is the administrative seat of the Local Government Area of the City of Parramatta...
in 1856, it was decided to locate the new cemetery at a point on the line. Several sites were surveyed and found to be inappropriate. However, in 1862 the government purchased 80 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s of land at Haslem's Creek from the estate of Edward Cohen. Cohen's land had previously formed part of a larger parcel known as "Hyde Park" that had been given to the magistrate and parliamentarian Henry Grattan Douglas in 1833 and subsequently leased out. The site was approved due to its relative isolation and proximity to the railway line.
The cemetery was then divided into sections for the various denominations according to their numbers in the 1861 census. The Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
section was 21 hectares, the Catholics were allocated 14 hectares and a non-denominational area of 23 hectares was also established. The Necropolis Act came into force on 1 January 1868 and the cemetery was officially opened. By 1879, more land was needed and the remaining 233 hectares of the former "Hyde Park" were then purchased. By the 1890s the cemetery was home to several buildings including the St Michael the Archangel Chapel and various cottages for section managers and sexton
Sexton (office)
A sexton is a church, congregation or synagogue officer charged with the maintenance of its buildings and/or the surrounding graveyard. In smaller places of worship, this office is often combined with that of verger...
s.
Originally known simply as the Necropolis (meaning "City of the Dead"), local residents lobbied officials to have the name of their village changed from Haslem's Creek due to its association with the cemetery. In 1879 the villagers got their wish and the area's name was changed to Rookwood, however before long the Necropolis was also being referred to by that name. The settlement of Rookwood changed its name to Lidcombe
Lidcombe, New South Wales
Lidcombe is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales Australia. Lidcombe is located 14 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Auburn Council....
(a combination of two mayors names, Lidbury and Larcombe - Larcombe was also a monumental stonemason whose business exists to this day) in 1913. The cemetery retained the name Rookwood.
Rookwood was served by a rail spur from the main line from 1867 until 1948. Mortuary stations served each of the three sections of the necropolis, with a fourth at the main junction and a fifth on Regent Street adjacent to Sydney Central Station. The railway line construction began in November 1864 and from January 1, 1865, trains began their run into the cemetery. It stopped at prearranged stations on the journey from central Sydney in order to pick up mourners and coffins. Trains ran at 9.30am and 3pm. The trains that carried the mourners were known as 'unimproved Redferns' There were two types of Hearse
Hearse
A hearse is a funerary vehicle used to carry a coffin from a church or funeral home to a cemetery. In the funeral trade, hearses are often called funeral coaches.-History:...
carriages used for the procession. One consisted of a four-wheeled van that carried up to 10 coffins on its upper and lower shelves. Each of these shelves was designed so it could open onto the platform. There were also eight-wheeled vans that could hold 30 coffins. Both of these vehicles were attached the back of the train for transporting to the cemetery. At the terminus inside the cemetery the coffins were unloaded using 'wheeled hand-propelled litters' The rail line was used to convey funeral parties to Rookwood until 1948 when the expanded use of processions by road made it obsolete. The stations were offered to the Joint Committee of Necropolis Trustees for the price of £1 but due to maintenance costs the offer was rejected and the platforms within the cemetery were demolished. Cemetery Station No. 1 at the head of the rail spur was sold to Reverend Buckle for £100 in 1951 and was moved to Canberra in 1957 to become the All Saints Church, Canberra
All Saints Church, Canberra
All Saints Church is an Australian Anglican church located in the suburb of Ainslie, Canberra. It is part of the diocese of Canberra and Goulburn in the Anglican Church of Australia....
.
The name Rookwood is most likely an accidental or deliberate corruption of the name Brookwood Cemetery
Brookwood Cemetery
Brookwood Cemetery is a burial ground in Brookwood, Surrey, England. It is the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in western Europe.-History:...
and its associated railway station
Brookwood railway station
Brookwood is a National Rail railway station in Brookwood in the English county of Surrey. It was constructed to serve the adjacent Brookwood Cemetery and was at one stage served by its own station in London for the funeral trains...
. At the time of Rookwood's opening, Brookwood Cemetery, located in Brookwood
Brookwood, Surrey
Brookwood is a village in Surrey, located about 5 km west of Woking, in a semi-rural location. It lies on the western border of the Woking Borough ....
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, was one of the largest cemeteries in the world. It is less likely, however far more romantic, that, as claimed by some sources, Rookwood was named after William Harrison Ainsworth
William Harrison Ainsworth
William Harrison Ainsworth was an English historical novelist born in Manchester. He trained as a lawyer, but the legal profession held no attraction for him. While completing his legal studies in London he met the publisher John Ebers, at that time manager of the King's Theatre, Haymarket...
's novel Rookwood, written in 1834.
Cultural references
Rookwood Cemetery gave rise to the phrase "crook as Rookwood", meaning chronically ill, as "crook" is Australian slangSlang
Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...
for being unwell. A 2005 novel uses the phrase as its title.
Notable inhabitants
- John GowingJohn GowingJohn Ellis Symonds Gowing was an English-born Australian retailer and founder of the eponymous department store Gowings.-Early life:...
, co-founder of Gowings store - Kenneth SlessorKenneth SlessorKenneth Adolf Slessor OBE was an Australian poet and journalist. He was one of Australia's leading poets, notable particularly for the absorption of modernist influences into Australian poetry. The Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry is named after him.-Life:Slessor was born Kenneth Adolphe...
, poet - James Toohey, brewer
- Jimmy GovernorJimmy GovernorJimmy Governor was one of the Governor brothers, two Indigenous Australian men who committed a series of murders in the Central West region of New South Wales around the turn of the twentieth century....
, outlaw - Peter Dodds McCormickPeter Dodds McCormickPeter Dodds McCormick , a Scottish-born schoolteacher, was the composer of the Australian national anthem "Advance Australia Fair"....
, songwriter ("Advance Australia FairAdvance Australia Fair"Advance Australia Fair" is the official national anthem of Australia. Created by the Scottish-born composer, Peter Dodds McCormick, the song was first performed in 1878, but did not gain its status as the official anthem until 1984. Until then, the song was sung in Australia as a patriotic song...
") - Louisa LawsonLouisa LawsonLouisa Lawson was an Australian writer, publisher, suffragist, and feminist. She was the mother of the poet and author Henry Lawson.-Early life:...
, suffragette - Lilian FowlerLilian FowlerElizabeth Lilian Maud Fowler was an Australian politician, and Australia's first female mayor.-Early life:...
, Australia's first female mayor - Bea MilesBea MilesBeatrice Miles was an eccentric Sydneysider who regularly hijacked taxis and quoted Shakespeare for money....
, well-known Sydney eccentric - Jack LangJack Lang (Australian politician)John Thomas Lang , usually referred to as J.T. Lang during his career, and familiarly known as "Jack" and nicknamed "The Big Fella" was an Australian politician who was Premier of New South Wales for two terms...
, former Premier of New South Wales - Joseph CahillJoseph CahillJohn Joseph Cahill was Premier of New South Wales in Australia from 1952 to 1959. He is best remembered as the Premier who approved construction on the Sydney Opera House, and for his work increasing the authority of local government in the state.-Early years:Joe Cahill, as he was popularly known,...
, former Premier of New South Wales - David Jones, founder of David Jones storesDavid Jones LimitedDavid Jones Limited , colloquially known as DJs, is a high-end Australian department store chain.David Jones was founded in 1838 by David Jones, a Welsh immigrant, and is claimed to be the oldest continuously operating department store in the world still trading under its original name. It...
- John FairfaxJohn FairfaxJohn Fairfax , English-born journalist, is notable for the incorporation of the major newspapers of modern day Australia.-Early life:...
, newspaper proprietor - Abe SaffronAbe SaffronAbraham Gilbert "Abe" Saffron was an Australian nightclub owner and property developer who was reputed to have been one of the major figures in Australian organised crime in the latter half of the 20th century....
, Sydney businessman and "underworld figure" - Jacob Pitman, advocate of shorthandShorthandShorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases speed or brevity of writing as compared to a normal method of writing a language. The process of writing in shorthand is called stenography, from the Greek stenos and graphē or graphie...
(whose epitaph is written phonetically) - Sally Anne Huckstep, Sydney underworld figure.