The Ballaarat Old Cemetery

Online Cemetery Database - click here

Ballarat's first public cemetery was established on the 25th February 1856 when the first trustees were gazetted. Records show that burials took place from 1848 in the vicinity of the old cemetery. The site of the old cemetery which covers 7ha (18 acres) is situated 1 1/2 kilometres from the city centre and 1/2 kilometre from Lake Wendouree, site of the 1956 Olympic rowing and also of the famous Begonias. The cemetery is rich in Ballarat's history as many burials were early settlers of Chinese and European descent who were looking to make their fortune on the goldfields. Two important monuments in Australian history were erected resulting from the Eureka uprising of 1854 Australia's only civil war. The Eureka diggers' monument was erected in 1856 and 23 years later in 1879 a monument was erected by the government of Victoria in memory of the officers and soldiers who died as a result of the uprising. Situated in the centre of the cemetery, surrounded by grand and simple monuments of our forbearers, is the original rotunda built in 1892. This was used as a meeting place prior to burial services. The rotunda has been restored to its original splendour over the years and is now used as the cemeteries' official monogram. The cemetery records show 35,000 interments have taken place since 1856, 18,000 prior to 1884. Today there are no burial locations available to purchase but there are approximately 15 interments each year at existing graves. The 1920 gatehouse building was restored in 1997 and houses a wealth of historical information including Eureka and Ballarat's early generations. Community access to family grave information is now available with the installation of a touch screen computer.

On the 11th June 1858 approximately 2 years after the old cemetery was opened the trustees of the day decided another cemetery would be required to accommodate the future growth of Ballarat. This cemetery was opened in June 1867 with the grounds covering approximately 32ha (80 acres). Today the cemetery land totals 55ha (136 acres) of which 25ha (72 acres) is set aside for development in the 21st century. As with the old cemetery the new cemetery is steeped in history as far back as the gold rush days. Rotundas, statues and fountains spread amongst the many monuments remind us of days gone by. The cemetery has some 78,000 burials recorded and of these 22,000 were prior to 1900. In 1959 the cemetery introduced lawn graves. While the monumental area covers many acres, the lawn area since its inception is now the major form of burial with some 10,000 interments since 1959. From the mid 1980's the cemetery has mechanized and modernized its operations to meet he challenges of the 21st century. The development of new burial grounds, lawns, gardens and memorial options form part of this challenge. One major design achievement has been the babies garden lawn area featuring the tree of memories. This memorial option is the first of its kind in Victoria and also provides the opportunity to remember the loss of babies from earlier years. The cemetery trust is committed to remembering the past by maintaining the old historical areas of the cemetery, as well as caring for the present through ongoing programs of capital works. What of the future? The trust is set to meet the challenge by satisfying community expectations and at the same time maintaining a place of history, culture, remembrance and memorialisation.

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The Ballaarat Crematorium

The Ballaarat General Cemeteries Trust mooted the idea of establishing a crematorium in Ballarat in 1951. Despite much argument over the proposed site the crematorium was finally built and commenced operations in May 1958. The Trust secured a government loan of 27,000 pounds for the crematorium construction.

The crematorium was up until 1988 the only crematorium outside Melbourne and during that time regularly conducted 1000 cremations on an annual basis. While new crematorium facilities were opened at Geelong and Bendigo in the late 1980's Ballarat still remains a major service area to towns throughout Central and Western Victoria and completes up to 750 cremations annually.

A further feature of the crematorium is the attractive gardens within the grounds that have been developed since 1958. Over 2000 rose bushes are available for memorialisation. Also set amongst the gardens are many varied memorial options of trees, shrubs, rocks, niches and water features to meet the needs of the community. Perpetuity of memorials has been made avialable and is a widely used option compared to a 25 years tenure that was only avilable in the past.

 

 

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