Funerary Objet d'Art - Point Clare

in my first image yesterday, in my post about William and Rose Loaney, you would have seen two very small ceramic tea-pots, placed nonchalantly on the edge of the head-stone. Not far away, a row or two, I discovered this little beauty. There are actually two of them.

But what do they mean? Perhaps the Loaneys and the Vales were always up for a cuppa? One of the laterally wonderful things about these funerary objet d'art, is that they have not been pilfered! All theories welcome, even unrealistic ones ...

Taphophile Tragics - DIY

William and Rose married in 1916, and had seven children: five sons and two daughters. Their eternal resting place - with one of their sons beside them - is a wonderful mix of European and Australian. Going back into their family history, it appears that Rose could be of Jewish descent. However, there is little on the graves to indicate that she took it at all personally. One interesting thing of the very little that I managed to discover about Bill and Rose, is that both their mothers had the maiden name 'Muir'. Now this could be a coincidence, or they could have been distant cousins, as has happened in my own family. Which may explain a bit!!

Now look at the wonderful texture on this double grave. Is there symbolism of some sort involved with the shells and the stones? Any ideas? And what of that shape on the headstone of Bill and Rose, the one shaped like something out of a science laboratory? Now, direct your eyes to the base of their headstone. See those two wee tea-pots. How wonderful are they? Finally, look at the embossed metal around each of the photographs. It is imprinted with shapes that I am unable to discern, but suspect have immense meaning.

Bill and Rose are spending eternity at Point Clare Cemetery, outside Gosford on the New South Wales Central Coast.

This is my contribution to the Taphophile Tragics Community.

This is my contribution to the Cemetery Sunday Community.

This post is also linked up to Graveyard Rabbits on FB.

An unremarkable life

Most of us live unremarkable lives, in the grand scheme of things. We are followers. We are part of the crowd. We matter only to our family and friends. And that is the most that we can ask for. And, that is what is important. To matter to family and friends before 'the lone and level sands stretch far away'. We are not Ozymandias, and we do not aspire to be.

It was the quiet pride in this headstone which caught my eye. 'An ANZAC'. Even the parentheses were emphasising the ordinariness of his achievement.

Reuben Ernest Starkey (known as Ernie) joined the AIF (Australian Infantry Forces) on 21st August 1914, which was 17 days after Great Britain (and her Dominions) declared war on the Kaiser's Germany. He was typical of so many other young men, from small country towns in NSW who heeded their nation's call. A response we find hard to comprehend nowadays. Which was the aim. However, Ernie was already 32. He was short: 5'7". He was stocky: 11.5 stone. He gave his occupation as 'surveyor's cook'. He was in the middle of the large family of Joseph Starkey and Emma Green, who lived on the rivers and gullies between Gosford and the Hawkesbury. They were grafters.

Ernie was allocated Regimental Number 184 and joined the 1st Machine Gun Division of the 4th Battalion. They had 16 Vickers Machine Guns. He embarked from Sydney on HMAT 'Euripedes' on 20th October 1914 and returned to Sydney on 28th October 1918. He served in Egypt, the Dardenelles, the UK, and France. He alternated between being a Private and a Driver. A severe case of pneumonia saw him in hospital in Alexandria when the intial landing at Gallipoli occurred, but he rejoined his Company on that blighted peninsula on 17th August 1915. During his service, he had bouts in hospital for chronic bronchitis, VD, and a septic hand.

Ernie never married, instead living with his father at Spencer on the Hawkesbury River, until his father's death in 1941. He spent most of his life as a labourer, and the last decade of his life as a gardener with rooms in Faunce Street, Gosford. Ernie could read and write (as could his father), but even before he joined the infantry, he was missing 11 teeth. A basic, hard-scrabble of a life.


For the record the images are:

Ernie's grave in Point Clare Cemetery, outside Gosford
A page of his Service Record showing his Gallipoli service
Another page showing his dental problems
A letter from his father to the War Office in 1918
A letter from his younger brother (Herbert Donald born 1889) requesting his Regimental Number to place upon his headstone

Taphophile Tragics # 36

Point Clare Cemetery, maintained and controlled by Gosford City Council about an hour and a bit north of Sydney, would have to be the most organised cemetery I have ever meandered. Not only are there two large maps, one of them being at the entrance, seen here, but there are also stumpy black markers on all the Sections and Rows. I was looking for Anglican Section 8, Row 1, Lots 3 & 4. My own Taphophile post will spin you the yarn.

Point Clare Cemetery 'serves' a working class area, that must be predomninantly Protestant going on the allocation of the Sections among the religions. It has a most beautiful location, backing into the bush as it does, with the clear call of the Bell Bird resounding across the grounds. It also has not one, but three, sections labelled 'Still Born'. I will come to this in the weeks ahead - and promise to give you plenty of warning.

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Welcome to the 36th 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.