Friday 12 July 2013

A Cemetery on a Hill


Being a genealogist is one of the most exciting hobbies there is, where else would you get the chance to walk around old forgotten cemeteries and then come home and actually blog about what you found.  This week we visited Lisarow Cemetery  and we were astounded at the amount of broken and damaged headstones that we found. 

Lisarow Cemetery is situated on the Pacific Highway Lisarow, and is owned by the Anglican Church. 
 
Undisturbed for years, the land recently became the subject of contention amongst genealogists when the Local Council approved plans to widen the road. The Council has put out a Statement of Heritage Impact if anyone is interested in what is happening.  This is an issue that I will be keeping a close eye on and reporting on over the coming months.  
Having visited many cemeteries I was surprised by the steep gradient of the land where these graves are situated.  Many of the burial  plots looked very majestic in this small rural setting due to the fact that they had to be build up so they were level. 


Making our way around, we were hindered by overgrown plants and huge eucalyptus tree roots jutting out of the ground. Many of the headstones were hidden in dark shadowed bushes, barely visible, so we took great care getting to these. 
The graves out in the open were just as difficult to see, they had their forests growing within the fences. Reading those inscriptions just wasn't going to happen. I pity the genealogist who actually needs to read these headstones.  
 
  
 
All in all it was a great visit, and there are plenty more to come. The Central Coast has so many of these small forgotten cemeteries hidden around and we are looking forward to investigating and photographing them all.

6 comments:

  1. Susan, what a cache of historic information! So glad you have taken an interest in upholding the importance of cemeteries such as these. Yes, please publish what you find about any plans to remove the cemetery.

    I found your blog today, thanks to a mention on GeneaBloggers. While I am in the US and you are in Australia, I think what you are posting has international significance. Those old graves may represent a link back to one of many countries, thanks to immigration circumstances of past centuries. Do you have "Billion Graves" or "Find A Grave" or any other such online, crowdsourced repository for sharing the information you've found? Passing along what you are finding in your travels would be very helpful. I know you are doing so in your blog, but also cross listing photos of headstones in these other websites might help others reconnect with their ancestors' trails.

    Best wishes as you continue your blogging project, and welcome to GeneaBloggers!

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    1. Thank you Jacqi for your feedback and encouragement. We will look into implementing your ideas for the Billion Graves and Find A Grave.
      As our research grows so will our experience and our stories.
      Peter and Susan

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  2. I really enjoyed this post...I love wandering around cemeteries and digging in to their history. look forward to following your journey

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  3. Hello Joanne, thank you for your comment, we are planning on visiting at least one cemetery each week and blogging about what we find.

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  4. Welcome to Geneabloggers!! I have been a member for about nine months. Tombstones have been an important part of my Travels since I retired. I have written some about both tombstones and travels in my blog. That is a great title.


    Regards, Grant

    http://thestephensherwoodletters.blogspot.com

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  5. Thanks grant, Im loving this side of genealogy, that's for sure. its very rewarding to look at all these old cemeteries and share in the adventures that we are constantly going on.

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