Taphophile Tragics # 27

If it was good enough for the ancient Egyptians, I guess it is good enough for us. As we travel that final journey, we need the accoutrements of our earthly life to cushion the journey. Here are three examples.

The first grave was unnamed, as are many out in that massive expanse of Rookwood Necropolis, which is equivalent to a standard Sydney suburb. Some family wag has given Joan a kicked 'bucket'. And the empty bottle of 4711 graces the tombstone of Marjorie Claudine Savage who hailed the ferryman in 2008 at the aqe of 92, not that you would know from the, admittedly, lovely portrait of her which is attached to her black marble tombstone.

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Welcome to the 27th week of Taphophile Tragics.

Your contribution is most welcome. Please ensure that you include some details of the cemetery in which you took your photographs, and link directly to your post, rather than simply to your blog in general. This week, Mr Linky opens at 9:30pm Monday, Sydney time (GMT+10), and closes at 9:30pm on the Friday. When you can, please visit the other contributing bloggers to show your appreciation of their endeavours. Due to time zone variations and overcrowded schedules, some contributions are made later than Tuesday/Wednesday. As per usual, we are working with the Linky with thumbnails, and displaying the oldest entry first, with no randomising.

Taphophile Tragics # 26

Last week, a number of contributors mentioned the difficulty they had in locating specific graves in cemeteries. Here is the best system that I have encountered thus far. It is for the Boroondarah General Cemetery, aka Kew Cemetery, in Melbourne.

Online, they allowed me to search for Family name, enabling me to find family names of which I was hitherto unaware. I printed the coordinates at home, plus a schematic diagram of the cemetery. However, this sort of diagram is rarely enough. The complexity of cemeteries is immense, and rarely are they pegged and explained on the ground. I realise that numbering can appear impersonal, but it is essential for research.

Many cemeteries leave it at that, and expect the researcher to call into the office and request a more detailed 'map'. However, at Kew they are more advanced. Outside the main office, just inside the main gate, there is a computer cubicle, reminiscent of an ATM. This reproduces the online information BUT ALSO prints off two more detailed slips to aid the translation of the map into reality. Which was absolutely essential. Kew Cemetery is jam-packed. I include the two slips here.

Using these two slips, the coordinates AND the occasional metal peg in the ground (which I showed last week), we found the graves of my ancestors quite quickly. BTW, I am now in the process of organising a 'wake' to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the death of my Great-Great-Grandfather, John Dunstan Tonkin, on 4th December 2012. We will plant-up the plot (plus that of his oldest son nearby) and drink champagne in remembrance.

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Welcome to the 26th week of Taphophile Tragics.

Your contribution is most welcome. Please ensure that you include some details of the cemetery in which you took your photographs, and link directly to your post, rather than simply to your blog in general. This week, Mr Linky opens at 9:30pm Monday, Sydney time (GMT+10), and closes at 9:30pm on the Friday. When you can, please visit the other contributing bloggers to show your appreciation of their endeavours. Due to time zone variations and overcrowded schedules, some contributions are made later than Tuesday/Wednesday. As per usual, we are working with the Linky with thumbnails, and displaying the oldest entry first, with no randomising.

Taphophile Tragics # 25

My heart was pounding in my chest, my mouth parched. I had my research clutched in my hand as I entered Kew Cemetery. Would today be any more successful than the day before at Springvale Botannical? A headstone. A headstone. My kingdom for a headstone.

Yes, I had found the resting place of my great-grandfather's sisters, Mary Louisa and Emma Kezia, but beneath grass, sans headstone. What did Kew have to divulge to me for the resting place of my great-great-grandparents, John Dunstan Tonkin and Jane Forrest Gibson? Passing into the Independent A section, my eyes search for graves 888 and 889 ...

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Welcome to the 25th week of Taphophile Tragics.

Your contribution is most welcome. Please ensure that you include some details of the cemetery in which you took your photographs, and link directly to your post, rather than simply to your blog in general. This week, Mr Linky opens at 8:30pm Monday, Sydney time (GMT+10), and closes at 10pm on the Friday. When you can, please visit the other contributing bloggers to show your appreciation of their endeavours. Due to time zone variations and overcrowded schedules, some contributions are made later than Tuesday/Wednesday. As per usual, we are working with the Linky with thumbnails, and displaying the oldest entry first, with no randomising.

Taphophile Tragics # 24

I am now a 'Friend of Rookwood'. This is a group of volunteers who, on the first Sunday of the month, conduct themed tours of the necropolis. Thus far, I have been on the 'History Tour 1', and 'Convicts'. The June tour, which I gave a miss due to the rain and handling a camera AND a walking stick, was on the theme 'Ships & Shipwrecks'. There is another on 'Plague & Pestilence'. The Rookwood Necropolis Open Day is Sunday 23 September. Put it in your diary!

This is Jane who is a really well-informed tour-guide (no, we don't call them docents!) with a dry wit! She rests upon the resting place of three of the sons of our first Post-Master, Isaac Nichols. They weren't convicts - but he was!

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Welcome to the 24th week of Taphophile Tragics.

Your contribution is most welcome. Please ensure that you include some details of the cemetery in which you took your photographs, and link directly to your post, rather than simply to your blog in general. This week, Mr Linky opens at 9:30pm Monday, Sydney time (GMT+10), and closes at 10pm on the Friday. When you can, please visit the other contributing bloggers to show your appreciation of their endeavours. Due to time zone variations and overcrowded schedules, some contributions are made later than Tuesday/Wednesday. As per usual, we are working with the Linky with thumbnails, and displaying the oldest entry first, with no randomising.