Back to search results
Williamstown Cemetery
Champion Road, WILLIAMSTOWN NORTH VIC 3016 - Property No B6826
Williamstown Cemetery
Champion Road, WILLIAMSTOWN NORTH VIC 3016 - Property No B6826
All information on this page is maintained by National Trust.
Click below for their website and contact details.
National Trust
-
Add to tour
You must log in to do that.
-
Share
-
Shortlist place
You must log in to do that.
- Download report
On this page:
Statement of Significance
Williamstown Cemetery, laid out to a design of surveyor William Martin in 1857, extended in 1905, its layout and major planting in place by 1931, and in continual use since 1858, is of state significance for the following reasons: -its importance in the course of Australia's cultural history as a substantially intact example of a mid nineteenth century cemetery demonstrating prevailing ideas about layout and planting of the garden cemetery movement. * It exhibits unusual cultural features associated with the development of mid nineteenth century garden cemeteries. -its possession of uncommon aspects of Australia's cultural history as a mid nineteenth century garden cemetery. * Its importance in demonstrating a distinctive way of life, custom, and design no longer practised and in danger of being lost. It is of exceptional interest as most mid nineteenth century garden cemeteries no longer demonstrate their characteristic design as twentieth century overcrowding and neglect have generally resulted in the loss of earlier schemes. Williamstown Cemetery developed in the twentieth century in a manner which both respects the early section of the site and expresses contemporary ideas. -its potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of Australia's cultural history. * Its importance for information contributing to a wider understanding of Australian history, by virtue of its use as a research and reference site. * Its importance for information contributing to a wider understanding of the history of human occupation of Australia. For example by providing informtion about the patterns of deaths in the colonial city by age, religion and family; and sometimes giving causes, occupations and other information. By illustrating the importance of homelands in epitaphs and also by demonstrating the range of technical and craft skills and materials available. * Its strong links with the township of Williamstown and Melbourne's maritime history. * For trees planted within the first decades of the development of the city, and therefore of some botanical interest as being amongst the earliest surviving tree plantings in the metropolis. * For its value as a historical record, a collection of individual memorials, its continuity as security, for the manner in which it inspires respect for the dead, as a social document, and for its role in eduction and recreation. -its importance in demonstrating the principal characteristics of : (1) A class of Australia's cultural places, being mid nineteenth century garden cemeteries. * Its importance in demonstrating the principal attributes which are characteristic of the class. These are: the road and path layout with a cruciform plan, separate denominational compartments based on census figures, and a picturesque layout with curving roads despite the flat site and formality in the 1857 section. * Its importance in demonstrating the principal characteristics of the range of human activities in the Australian environment (including way of life, custom, process, land use, function, design or technique). It demonstrates the Victorian approach of seeing burial grounds also as a public park. The cemetery was a focus for William Bull's ambitious 1859 plan for a large public park in Williamstown. It also demonstrates that, although this was a secular cemetery, religion was very important with the allocation of land based on religious census figures. * For its collection of trees and palnts that assist in defining two major phases of development: mid nineteenth century and c1905-31, including a fine avenue planting of Phonix canariensis (Canary Island Date Palm) and early boundary plantings of Pinus halepensis (Aleppo Pine), crataigus monogyna (English Hawthorn) and two Maclura pomifera.. -its importance in exhibiting Victorian aesthetic characteristics valued by the colonial community. * Its importance in demonstrating a high degree of creative or technical achievement of the Victorian period. * importance for technical, creative, design or artistic excellence, innovation or achievement, including the substantially intact 1892 fountain which is a focal point in the design, the Tudor revival chapel, and the cemetery's collection of memorials, tombstones and other funerary art. -its strong or special associations with a particular commintiy or cultural group for soical, cultural or spiritual resson. * Its importance as a place highly valued by a communtiy for reasons of religious, spiritual, symbolic, cultural, educational and social associations. Williamstown Cemetery has special associations for the local community because of its continual use since 1858 but is also of special inportance to post was migrants with family monuments at the cemetery. -its special association with the life or works of a person, or group of persons, of importance in Austrlaia's natural or cultural history. *Its importance for close associations with Melbourne's maritime history, demonstrated in its diverse range of memorials which reflect naval and civilian shipping accidents. See also F.N. 3189 Williamstown Cemetery & Mass Grave.
Show more
Show less
-
-
-
-
FORMER PRESBYTERIAN MANSEVictorian Heritage Register H0229
-
WILLIAMSTOWN CEMETERYVictorian Heritage Register H1837
-
FORMER MANAGER'S RESIDENCE, NEWPORT RAILWAY WORKSHOPSVictorian Heritage Register H1840
-
-