NARRAWONG CEMETERY
26 NARRAWONG CEMETERY ROAD, NARRAWONG, GLENELG SHIRE
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Statement of Significance
Narrawong Public Cemetery is a small rural cemetery associated with the early pioneers of the Portland Bay area. The cemetery is located approximately two kilometers north of Narrawong on Cemetery Road, north from the bridge across the Surry River. The cemetery is accessible from gates on the north and southwest sides. The cemetery is rectangular with a central path aligned north-south. An inner rectangle surrounded by a post and wire fence contained most of the marked graves. There are mature Pinus radiata planted on the northern boundary and younger native species along the road boundaries on the west and north. The burials have been arranged in rows out from the central path. The early cemetery was divided into four religious sections with a central cruciform path with gates on the north and south. A number of unmarked graves are known to exist throughout the cemetery.
The cemetery dates from 1863, when three whalers were buried there after dying during the attempted rescue of the Julia shipwreck. The crew of the 'Julia', were rescued by the Portland lifeboat, however six whalers were drowned when they manned a rescue boat from Narrawong Beach. The bodies of three of the men were recovered and buried in the northeast section of the cemetery. Captain William Pelham Dutton, one of the earliest settlers in Portland Bay, is buried on the east side of the cemetery. Dutton was born in Sydney in 1805 and came to Portland as a whaler on early seasonal whaling vessels from the early 1820s and is known to have been in Portland yearly from 1828. Dutton settled permanently near the mouth of the Surry River near Narrawong, gaining one square mile of land in 1844 and purchasing the land allotments in 1852. Dutton died in 1878 and was buried at the Narrawong Cemetery. A memorial obelisk was erected in 1934, by a Centenary committee set up to commemorate Portland's settlement in 1834, the first permanent settlement in the colony of Victoria. The obelisk is fenced by a post and rail wire fence dating from around the same time. Captain Dutton's wife, whose grave is unmarked, was buried next to him on her death. The cemetery contains the graves of many pioneer settlers in the Narrawong and Tyrendarra area including William and Sarah Quick, Samuel Troeth, Walter Duff, Henry Snell Davis and Samuel Brownlaw.
How is it Significant?
Narrawong Cemetery is of historical and social significance to the State of Victoria.
Why is it Significant?
Narrawong Cemetery is of historical significance for its collection of burials known to date back to 1863. It is of social significance as the burial place of many early settlers of the Narrawong and Tyrendarra area which closely followed the settlement of Portland Bay in 1834. The cemetery is of high significance as the burial site of Captain William Dutton (1811-1878), an early whaler and sea captain who settled at Narrawong and is considered to be one of the first settlers of Portland Bay. It is of further significance as the burial site of three whalers who drowned in the rescue of the Julia shipwreck in 1863, which are the earliest known burials at the site.
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NARRAWONG CEMETERY - Usage/Former Usage
Continues as a cemetery
NARRAWONG CEMETERY - Physical Description 1
The Narrawong Cemetery is located approximately one kilometre from the Princes Highway at Narrawong. The cemetery is accessed via Cemetery Road and has an entrance on the north and on the west. The main burial area is contained in a central fenced rectangle within a larger cemetery reserve. The inner post and wire fencing includes hand-cut posts and barbed wire. There are mature Pinus radiata to the north boundary of the cemetery and native species along the west and north boundaries. There are a small number of trees inside the cemetery boundary and a number of roses and other plantings on individual graves. A large number of native bulbs and other flowers grow in the grassed areas of the cemetery and there is a row of roses along the southern boundary of the fenced area. The outer cemetery reserve has been re-fenced in recent years.
The burials have been arranged in rows out from a central path which is aligned north-south. There are currently five rows on the west and three rows on the east. The majority of burials are located at the north end of the cemetery. Parts of the southern end are subject to seasonal wetness in winter. The cemetery is divided in the conventional manner into areas for each Christian denomination. The majority of graves are located in the Church of England and Presbyterian sections, with small Catholic and "Wesleyan/Other sects" sections. Unmarked graves are known to exist throughout the cemetery reserve. These may have originally had timber memorials marking the grave, however these have disintegrated over the years. Some of these are located along the central path howeverothers are located in the outer area of the cemetery. A number of graves consist of a headstone inside a wrought iron enclosure. The majority of early graves are surmounted by monuments which record the details of the deceased, headstone designs being most common. Later graves consist of a headstone and horizontal slab, many with mid 20th century detailing. A small number of the early grave sites retain small iron markers with numbers inscribed. The grave of Leonard Jerrett (Aged 6 months - 1889), for example,has marker No. 21. Some others have been removed from the ground and left on nearby grave memorials.
According to a pre-1892 plan of Narrawong Cemetery, the central path, which is aligned north-south has a circular centre-point with paths leading west and east. The cemetery was marked out "10 pegs on the east and west of each square. The graves to be measured from each nearest to it" (Narrawong Cemetery Plan, pre-1892). The Original layout of the cemetery was divided by cruciform paths and separated into sects. Presbyterian burials were in the northwest section, Church of England on the northeast, Roman Catholic on the southeast and other sects including Wesleyan on the southwest.
Many early settlers of the Narrawong area including the Goodes, Duff, Stanford and McCombe and Boyer families are buried in the Presbyterian section of the Narrawong Cemetery. Other early Presbyterian families buried there include the Looker, Dalgleish, Robertson, Paterson, and Papley families. The earliest Presbyterian burials marked on the pre-1892 plan include Duff, Jackson Davidson, and E. McIntosh along the path and Robertson ("about 30ft" from Duff), two Patterson graves, Looker and Goodes (small graves "about 36 feet from Robertson"). In the Anglican section, there are the graves of pioneer family names including Quick, Allitt, Taylor, West, Troeth, Millard, and Arnott. In the Anglican section along the central path on the pre-1892 plan, burials include E. Donehue, Smith, Carr, A.F.(?) Hanlon, W.J. Jerrett, and T Melbourne. Early unmarked burials marked on the pre-1892 plan in the Anglican section include "Mrs Jones" (north west corner), two servants of McLeod (central east), three whalers from the Julia rescue (central east), two Millard graves and Mrs Dutton (next to William Dutton central east). The Other Sects/Wesleyan section on the pre-1892 map includes three Jarrett graves (unmarked), Saunders, Mrs Fairbairn and Hinkley ("12 ft" from Mrs Fairbairn). This section now includes burials of the Lazarus, Holmes and Reefman families. The Catholic section had no burials marked on the pre-1892 plan. The graves of members of the Boyer and O'Connor families and other long-established family names are located in this section.
A memorial obelisk to Captain William Dutton is located approximately 20 metres east of the internal fence at the centre of the cemetery. It is constructed of bluestone and takes the traditional form of an obelisk. The obelisk is constructed of one square concrete baseblock to a height of approximately 20 cms. The die and obelisk are of bluestone, finely adzed. The die is inscribed on the west side with "In Memory Of /WILLIAM DUTTON/ MASTER MARINER/ PORTLAND BAY. 1828/ DIED 1878". There is a carved leaf relief around the words "In Memory Of" and all of the lettering has been highlighted in white. It is surrounded by a 1930s wire and timber fence. Each corner post of the post and rail fence has a tapered head. The 'Kangaroo' style wire has unusual crossover detailing. Outside the fence on the east and south sides, there are plantings of Zantedeschia aethiopica (Arum lilies).
On the east side of the fence is a small timber memorial to Henry Snell Davis erected in the 1990s. The memorial is made of a section of tree trunk with a post at the centre. A diagonal face is cut from the timber and has been inscribed.
Other gravestone inscriptions include:
"In /Memory of/ our dear son/ Ernest/ John Looker/ who departed this life/ 20th July 1891 Aged 22 years/ also/ Epheram (sic)/ Joseph Looker/ who died 29th Jan. 1875/ Aged 1 mth/ "They shall never be forgot/ Sweet their memory to the lonely/ in our hearts t'will perish not/ thy will be done/ Also/ Frank E Looker/ Brother of the Above/ Died 19th May 1901 Aged 25 years"
"Sacred/ the memory of / Margaret Duff/ Died 1st June 1889/ Aged 63 years/ Jesus paid it all/ also/ Walter Duff/ Husband of the Above/ who died 18th March 1910/ Aged 85 years/ "Esteemed by all who knew him""
"Sacred in Memory/ of/ Grace Marshall/ wife of/ Thomas Fairbairn - born/ March 1st 1858 died October 16th 1884/ By the Grace of God are we saved/ Through faith in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Amen/ T Fairbairn/ Macarthur."
"In memory of/ Stewart Melbourne/ who died 2nd January 1896/ Aged 18 years/ Erected by / his Oakbank friends"
"In/ memory/ of/ No 4 Sergeant - Major/ Reginald Jerrett/ (12th Battalion 3rd Brigade)/ died at Alexandria Egypt 5th May 1915/ from wounds received at Dardanielles/ Aged 28 years/ Also Leonard Jerrett/ Died 10th April 1889 Aged 6mths" Also marked with 'No 21' iron marker.
"In/ memory/ of/ Frederick/ beloved husband of/ Mary Saunders/ died 11th August 1914 Aged 88 years/ Also their sons/ William and Albert/ Died 7th September 1889 Aged 14 and 10 years/ Also/ Mary/ Wife and mother of above/ died 11th October 1916 Aged 70 years/ Reunited/ //Chambers & Chatten Pty Ltd/ Melbourne"
"In loving memory of / infant daughter of/ Thomas and Bridget/ O'Connor/ Also their beloved son/ Pte T.A. O'Connor/ Killed in Action in France/ 12th Oct 1917/ RIP
"In memory/ of our dear mother/ Salome Boyer/ Died 12 March 1917/ Aged 66 years/ RIP" and "In memory of / Thomas Joseph Boyer/ killed in Action at Tobruk/ 17th May 1941/ Aged 35 years/ RIP"
"Eris John Walsh/ 1.8.1930 - 9-11-2001/ missed every day by his daughter/ Sally (Pobbles)/ and his grandchildren/ Petra (Petruska) and John (Little Big John)/ Best friend of Rene" A sculpture, made of terracotta clay, also marks this grave.NARRAWONG CEMETERY - Physical Conditions
Good
NARRAWONG CEMETERY - Historical Australian Themes
9.7: Dying
9.7.1: Dealing with human remains
9.7.2: Mourning the dead
9.7.3 Remembering the deadHeritage Study and Grading
Glenelg - Glenelg Shire Heritage Study Part One
Author: Carlotta Kellaway, David Rhodes Mandy Jean
Year: 2002
Grading:Glenelg - Glenelg Heritage Study Stage Two (a)
Author: Heritage Matters
Year: 2006
Grading:
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NARRAWONG CEMETERYGlenelg Shire
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'CARINYA' LADSONS STOREVictorian Heritage Register H0568
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