They Might Not Be Buried Where They Died

I recently read the warning that a person may not be buried where they died. Here at Manly Library we get many requests to find people in Manly Cemetery, because Manly is the district in which the death was registered, and it is surprising how frequently they are not buried in Manly. There are several other cemeteries in the area, including Mona Vale, Frenchs Forest, Macquarie or Northern Suburbs, and we frequently find records of a person buried or cremated elsewhere. A person may wish to be buried with other family members, or family members may want them buried closer to where they live.

It is possible that a person died while travelling or living a distance away with a relative and were returned ‘home’ for burial. Perhaps they died in the local hospital and lived some distance away. Sometimes people who pass away at an advanced age will be returned to where their spouse was interred, especially women who have gone to live with relatives in another area possibly will be returned to be buried next to her husband.

The case of Robert Shute is one example. The Shute Shield is the premier grade rugby trophy in NSW and was struck in honour of the late Robert Elliott Stewart Shute, who died on June 6, 1922, following a match at Manly Oval. Robert played for Sydney University and the University Club had the shield made following his death and donated it to the NSWRU to be used as a perpetual trophy for the Sydney first grade competition. As his death was registered as happening in Manly, it was assumed he was buried in Manly. We were asked to ‘locate’ him. When I considered other information about where he lived, studied and played sport, I soon found that he was actually buried in Waverley Cemetery.