The importance of the right burial plot

Dick Eastman, in his online genealogy newsletter, recently reported about the lady who found another woman buried next to her husband in the plot that she thought was reserved for her own use someday.

It seems that the cemetery's previous owners had sold the cemetery plot twice in the 1980s. The husband was the first to occupy the plot but the second person to be buried there was a woman from the other owner(s). The cemetery owners could not dig up the strange woman, but were willing to relocate the husband, so they could still be buried side by side.

Such mix-ups are rare, but widely reported when they do happen. An incident at Manly Cemetery was reported as far afield as Broken Hill, Darwin, Perth and Victoria. About 1901 a man bought a plot of land in Manly cemetery. He did so to prevent his mother-in-law being buried there. His sister-in-law was buried in Manly Cemetery and knowing that his mother-in-law wanted to be buried beside her, he bought the plot alongside so as to thwart her. However in June 1926 he discovered that she had died in 1921 and that her remains had been interred in his plot. The man had been separated from his wife for 30 years and blamed his mother-in-law for the alienation of the affections of his wife. The man had moved to Victoria, but when he returned to Manly he found his plot had been used and insisted that his mother-in-law be removed, and as a legal fight was not desired, the undertakers exhumed the body of the mother-in-law and removed it to another grave.

The story was reported in Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW) Sat 26 June 1926 p.1; Northern Standard (Darwin, NT) Tuesday 29 June 1926, p3; Mirror (Perth, WA) Sat 26 June 1926 p.1; and Gippsland Times (Vic) Monday 28 June 1926, p3.

And a sign of the times – A printed notice on the gatepost at Manly cemetery: “This way In. One Way Traffic” from SMH Thursday 16 July 1953 p.1 Column 8.

Manly Cemetery

When many people show me holiday snaps these days, it is very likely to be a photo of a family history buff standing beside a grave in a cemetery they have visited on their travels. No matter how many you have seen they are still interesting. Have you searched for relatives in Manly Cemetery? Grave registers for Manly Cemetery may be searched online at http://www.manly.nsw.gov.au/library/local-studies-collection/cemetery . Maps of Manly cemetery are also available.

Manly Cemetery

Manly Cemetery is one of the oldest cemeteries in Sydney, so we get lots of enquiries about people buried in the cemetery. The cemetery is divided into three sections, namely Church of England, Roman Catholic and General (i.e. other denominations). It was consecrated as a burial ground in 1865, and although burials now only take place in plots purchased years ago, ashes may still be placed in the Columbarium, which was built in 2000. It was set apart officially by the Government in 1872 although some of the burials pre-date this time. Soon after Trustees were appointed to manage the cemetery and did so until 1969 when the administration was passed to Manly Council.

The original Burial Registers for the three sections of the Cemetery are held in Manly Council’s strong-room, and a microfilm version may be consulted in Manly Library Local Studies. Luckily for you the researcher, the names recorded in the handwritten Burial Registers have been transcribed, sometimes with difficulty, particularly in the case of the Church of England volume which is in places almost indecipherable. This makes searching for ancestors a lot easier.

Electronic copies of the transcribed files and maps of the cemetery are now available on the Manly Council website. http://www.manly.nsw.gov.au/Manly-Cemetery.html For the Roman Catholic and General sections, information given may include some or all of: plot number, name and address of person who purchased the plot, name and last address of person buried, age, and date of burial (not date of death). For the Church of England section, less information is given: date of burial, plot number, name of person.

Terry Metherell of the Manly, Warringah and Pittwater Historical Society, with assistance from members of the Ivanhoe Park Precinct Committee and the Local Studies Librarian, has compiled two Cemetery Walks, one for adults and one for children, which highlight some of the most interesting graves. These are also available online.