Mortuary Station Graffiti

    I was on the train a while ago and noticed some graffiti on the poster memorialising Australia's first female architect, Florence Mary Taylor.

    Mortuary station itself is covered in graffiti, so it's interesting that this poster/memorial lasted so long without any graffiti considering the area.

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Rookwood Rail Line

    I accidentally found this interesting post on the blog Past/Lives about the history of the rail line at Rookwood.  It's actually one of the better sources of information on this that I have come across so far.

    So check it out via the link below, it has a lot of good photos and information not found elsewhere:

http://pastlivesofthenearfuture.com/2012/07/08/rookwood-necropolis-railway-lidcombe-nsw/

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Mortuary Station

    Here's some photos of Mortuary Station in the CBD from the rail lines. Currently Mortuary Station is  closed to the public, as it is on an active rail line and under renovation. But if you catch the right train you can get some pretty close photos of it, some other lines get even closer than this.

The Echo of Graves

    The missing graves, or vanishing graves as I call them, have always interested me.  These are graves that for one reason or another have simply gone, reduced to little more than an outline in the soil.  All that remains is an 'echo' of the grave which once stood there.

    They interest me for a number of reasons, so this post is a collection of photos and comments about these vanishing graves.

Rookwood Cemetery Station - All Saints Church Canberra

    A while ago I visited the All Saints Church in Canberra which was originally Cemetery Station No.1 at Rookwood Cemetery in Sydney.  And finally, I have found time to put together a post about the trip!  This is mostly a picture post, I know it's been a while.

The Day That Hearses Ruled the World

    As part of my dive into the history of the funeral industry in Australia I noticed a lack of information on the Australian hearse.  Which, considering the importance of the hearse, was odd.  As such the next few posts will be focusing on the Australian hearse!

    And what better way to start than with video from a hearse enthusiast group!  Every year 'The Phantom Coaches Hearse Club' hold a fun looking event called 'The Day That Hearses Ruled the World' where basically hearse owners and enthusiasts gather.  It's a great display of vintage and cool American style hearses, and of the enthusiasm people have for the hearse.

    Below are two videos of the event, check them out!

Short History of the Australian Funeral Industry

    As part of my honours research I have been looking into the history of the funeral industry, which might be interesting to a few people.  In doing so I have also discovered many sources are long and dense, or difficult to find.  So here is a short summary of what I know so far, everything in one place, and put simply!

Thanatourism: Rookwood

    Rookwood is the largest cemetery in the Southern Hemisphere.  It has a rather interesting history and is a wonderful cross-section of Sydney population over time.  Originally it was intended and designed for leisure, as a place for people to enjoy.  Because it was quite a trip out of Sydney they deliberately designed it for people to spend the whole day there.  When one went to visit a grave they would also enjoy the place.

Hidden exhibition.

    Unfortunately this has vanished, as people distanced themselves from funerals after WWI.  So Rookwood was confined to state of avoidance.  People now only go here for a funeral or to visit a specific grave.  Almost nobody visits Rookwood just to explore.  A state which would make the original planners quite sad.

    In this post I explain how to visit Rookwood.  Some things to see, which ways to go and so on.  In the hopes of getting some to use it as intended.  It genuinely is an amazing place to have a picnic, equal to Waverley Cemetery or Hyde Park.

Rookwood open day Photos

    The open day was amazingly great!  I had a lot of fun and learnt so much.  Everyone was friendly and up for a chat.  There was so much to see and do, I was there from 9:15am to 2:30pm and I didn't get to do everything.




    I'll write a popper post about the day later, when I have time.  But for now enjoy a selection of the 298 pictures I took.

An Inside Look: Rookwood

    At over 314 hectares Rookwood Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the Southern Hemisphere (and thus Australia).  It is also the largest active Victorian cemetery in the world.  More than a million people have been buried at Rookwood since it opened in the 1860s.  It is so large that it had to be divided up and run by different organisations.  Many of which are religious based.  So one should think of Rookwood as several different cemeteries all in one place.  

    Rookwood might be the most diverse cemetery in the world.  While other cemeteries are bigger Rookwood has a huge variety of religions and cultures.  A good representation of the Sydney population.

    I have had trouble writing this post.  Rookwood is such as large and complex place that I really didn't know where to start.  Instead I wrote a few little posts and then put them together.  Hopefully this will give a good overall representation of Rookwood.  But with the open day only a week away I had to get this post finished.


    This post is divided into four parts.  The first looks at getting to and around Rookwood.  The second is a brief discussion of the history.  The third is an explanation of the different groups operating in Rookwood.  Finally the forth part is just a few extra details and information.

Macquarie Park Open Day

    The other day I attended the Macquarie Park Cemetery & Crematorium open day.  It was actually a fairly good day.  Not as much as I would have liked.  But a fun and friendly atmosphere with enjoyable stuff to do and see.

    When I got hope I posted the pictures I took here.  But I didn't have time to explain them.

Historic NZ Funeral Bill From 1981

    While going through paperwork at my grandmothers we cam across this interesting receipt.  It's from an old funeral in New Zealand, dated 1981.  I found this document fairly interesting and useful.

An Inside Look: Waverley Cemetery

    Waverley Cemetery is one of the smaller and more historic cemeteries in Sydney.  Established in 1877 it is also one of the most beautiful places in Sydney, able to compete with Hyde Park or the Harbour Bridge.  It is unfortunately under appreciated as many just write it off as a cemetery.  In doing so they either avoid it or give it special meaning it does not have.  Instead we should all appreciate it for what it is, a beautiful place with a rich history.

    The scenery is amazing, with glistening white angels and crosses backed by a pure blue sea it is a sight worth seeing.

    Waverley is council owned and operated.