Bairnsdale War Cemetery
Bailey Street BAIRNSDALE, EAST GIPPSLAND SHIRE
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Statement of Significance
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Veterans Description for Public
Bairnsdale War Cemetery - Veterans Description for Public
In 1946, the Eastern half of the Bairnsdale Cemetery was taken over by the Imperial War Graves Commission and laid out as a memorial garden. It was unveiled by Governor of Victoria on 7th September 1950 as 'The Bairnsdale War Cemetery.' The cemetery is surrounded by a cypress hedge and a gate, with a large memorial cross at its centre. The formal gravel-surfaced avenues of the Reserve form a T-plan and are lined with eleven date palms and other trees. The site comprises of several large vertical stone monuments typically in the form of an obelisk or cross. The memorials are identical sandstone tablets ordered at regular intervals. The central memorial cross is of octagonal section raised on a stepped base and plinth carved from sandstone, with a bronze sword set into the front.
Thrity-eight airmen who lost their lives in accidents in Gippsland are buried in the Bairnsdale War Cemetery, including Flying Officer Kenneth James Hovenden, an analytical chemist born in New Zealand who was killed on 8 December 1944 in Victoria. Ken Hovenden was attached to 100 Squadron, which was flying Bristol Beauforts in New Guinea. A brother, George Henry Hovenden, also served in the RAAF.
Three other Hovendens, born in South Africa, also served. Sergeant Keith Ellaby Hovenden was in the RAAF and Sergeant John Bernard Hovenden and Private Ronald Selwyn Hovenden were members of the 2/2nd Pioneer Battalion who were made prisoners of war in Java. Sergeant John Hovenden was awarded the British Empire Medal for valuable services in Syria and as a prisoner of war in Burma. Private Ron Hovenden died at the 80-kilometre camp in Burma on 25 August 1943 and is buried in the Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery.
Corporal George Rupert Anzac Kanake, 26, who died on 28 January 1943, is also buried in the Bairnsdale War Cemetery.
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BAIRNSDALE COURT HOUSEVictorian Heritage Register H1462
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ST MARYS CATHOLIC CHURCHVictorian Heritage Register H2174
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FORMER BAIRNSDALE MECHANICS INSTITUTEVictorian Heritage Register H1284
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