Koo Wee Rup Swamp History: Cranbourne Cemetery

Sunday, June 12, 2016

Local Cemeteries

The Koo Wee Rup Swamp doesn’t have a cemetery, I presume because it was too wet and swampy, so residents of the Swamp would be buried at Cranbourne, Pakenham, Bunyip or Lang Lang depending on which area of the Swamp they lived. Of course, for those that didn't wish to be buried from April 1905 they could be cremated at The Necropolis at Springvale. As a matter of interest, the first person to be cremated at Springvale was an Edward Davies who had specifically requested this in his will and also that his ashes be scattered to the four winds of heaven (1). This post presents a short history of the four Cemeteries.

Cranbourne Cemetery
The earliest cemetery was the Cranbourne Cemetery. The site for the Cemetery was reserved on December 11, 1857 and the following Trustees were appointed at the same time - Alexander Cameron, Patrick Thomson, James Smith Adams, William Sykes and Edward Malloy (2).

Trustees for the Cranbourne Cemetery

Victoria Government Gazette December 15, 1857, p. 2422

https://gazette.slv.vic.gov.au/images/1857/V/general/146.pdf

William and Annabella Lyall are both buried at Cranbourne, they were the owners of Harewood house on the South Gippsland Highway which they built from 1857. William was a Shire of Cranbourne Councillor, first President of the Mornington Pastoral and Agricultural Society, a founder of the Victorian Agricultural Society, the Zoological Society, the Acclimatisation Society and the Victorian Racing Club. A report of the content of his Will (it was once quite common for newspapers to report this type of information) says that William Lyall directs that his body be buried in the allotment set apart on his property as a private burying ground and that as little expense as possible be gone to in connection with his funeral (3). It doesn’t appear that his wishes were adhered to in the matter of the burial as he has a substantial grave at Cranbourne. William died on January 20, 1888 and Annabella on November 15, 1916. I have written about William Lyall and his business partners, John Bakewell and John Mickle, here.

Also buried at Cranbourne Cemetery are Charles and Ellen (nee O'Shea) Rossiter, the source of the name Rossiter Road. They lived at Hawksdale at Koo Wee Rup from 1873. Charles was an original Committee member of the Mornington Farmers Society from 1856, a Cranbourne Shire Councillor from 1869 to 1884 and Shire President on four occasions. Charles and his brother, Thomas, bred horses, amongst their other agricultural pursuits. As he had many children, Charles was interested in having a school established in the area and was one of the local land owners to sign a petition for its establishment. Subsequently, Yallock State School No. 2629 (later called Koo Wee Rup State School) was opened on November 1, 1884 at Bethune's Road. Charles died on February 6, 1895 aged 74 and Ellen died June 3, 1909 aged 73. I have written about the Rossiter family and the Hawksdale property, here.

Pakenham Cemetery

The site for the Pakenham Cemetery was reserved on February 13, 1865 (4) and the first trustees were appointed on May 8, 1865 and they were John Startup, Richard Fortune, Michael Bourke, Thomas Mulcahy and George Ritchie (5). It is believed that the first burials actually took place in the 1850s, before the official gazetting.

Trustees appointed for the Pakenham Cemetery.

Victoria Government Gazette, May 23, 1865, p. 1158 . https://gazette.slv.vic.gov.au/images/1865/V/general/55.pdf

The owner of the Royal Hotel at Koo Wee Rup, Denis McNamara, was buried at Pakenham after his death on July 27, 1925. Mr McNamara had started a business in Koo Wee Rup in 1891, then left the area and returned in 1904 when he purchased O’Riordan's store and in 1915 he built the Royal Hotel. His funeral was described as one of the largest in the district, representative of every class and creed (6).

Charles Wadsley who died on September 12, 1944 at his home Strathallan in Koo Wee Rup is also buried at Pakenham. His obituary notes that Mr Wadsley was a Past Master of the Koo Wee Rup Masonic Lodge, a Shire of Berwick Councillor for eleven years, as well as Shire President and an expert on asparagus growing (7).

Pakenham Cemetery Trustee, George Ritchies' grave at Pakenham.

Bunyip Cemetery
The Bunyip Cemetery site was officially reserved on November 22, 1886 (8) and on December 6, 1886 the first Trustees were appointed - William Harry Webb, Lawrence Finch, James Mortimer, Christian Hansen, Peter Gillespie and John Reynolds (9). This cemetery was used by people living on the eastern end of the Koo Wee Rup Swamp such as Cora Lynn and Iona.

The first official burials did not take place until eight years after the Cemetery was officially gazetted with the first one in March 1894. Of the first 20 burials in the register, 19 were children. This was a result of the high infant mortality rate at the time before vaccinations and antibiotics came into widespread use. Here is a sample of this depressing and sad list: William Barnes aged 6 - cause of death Diphtheria; Ethel Wayneith, 9 months - Marasmus (severe undernourishment); John Peart, 2 months - Marasmus; David Fallon 9 weeks - Maramus; Ann Benham 10 months -Pneumonia; Lily Norton 10 weeks - Whooping cough; William Heuson 4 months - Whooping cough; Denis McIvor 20 days - Meningitis; Mary Anne Mulligan 3 years - Diphtheria.

Trustees appointed for the Bunyip Cemetery

Victoria Government Gazette, December 10, 1886, p. 3604.

https://gazette.slv.vic.gov.au/images/1886/V/general/132.pdf

I have written more about the Bunyip Cemetery, here.

Lang Lang Cemetery

Lang Lang Cemetery site was reserved on December 5, 1887 (10) and the first Trustees appointed December 10, 1889 were Thomas Poole, William Jones, Prosper Henry Victor Le Roux, Joseph Foster, William Norquay, Patrick McGrath, Edmund McGrath and Alexander McMillan (11).

Christopher Moody, who died November 17, 1920, is buried at Lang Lang. He is the source of the name Moody Street in Koo Wee Rup and Moody's Inlet on Western Port Bay. In 1890, Mr Moody who owned what was to become the site of the Koo Wee Rup township sub-divided the land between Rossiter Road and the Main Drain and Denham’s Road and the Highway. Very little of the land was sold due to the 1890s depression. The sub-division set out Moody, Gardner (called Koo Wee Rup Street by Moody), Henry (called Christopher Street by Moody) and Salmon Streets. Christopher Moody was also a Shire of Cranbourne Councillor and donated the land for the Presbyterian Church and the Public Hall in Rossiter Road in Koo Wee Rup. I have written about Christopher Moody, here.