The 1856 Harkaway Cemetery and associated reconstructed 1869 timber bell tower with its original bell have regional significance as important memorials to the district's German Lutheran heritage and to the pioneer farming families who founded a strong community in the Harkaway area. Both the cemetery and bell tower are still in use today.
Harkaway Cemetery & Bell Tower - Physical Description 1
Harkaway Cemetery is a square allotment abutting Hessell Road near the bell tower intersection. The gently sloping land is abundant with flowering garden plants that have naturalised in the cemetery. Pine trees line the entrance, flanking the central memorial gates, and the cemetery is enclosed by hedges (two hawthorn and melaleuca) (1).
Cast iron railing and marble headstones are a feature of many graves. Some of these memorials are in a deteriorated condition with occasional damage caused by large trees growing through graves, and general problems with site drainage. The cemetery is still in use today.
The new tower, resembling the original, has a gable protecting the original bell and its brass bearings, and timber cross bracing bolted between the main supports. A shed constructed of bush poles with an extensive chicken wire enclosure is located on the site. A hawthorn hedge borders this corner site, with Italian cypresses and elms as landmark plantings. The bell still tolls for the local community on New Years Eve and at every Harkaway funeral (2). The land on which the bell tower stands (an area of 0.093 hectares) is now owned by the City of Berwick, which also manages the cemetery site.
Sources
1. Berwick City News, 18 Feb., 1988.
2. Information supplied by Alan Wanke.