Taphophile Tragics # 22

Here is another form of rest house in the Rookwood Necropolis. I showed you two, simpler, variations last week. This is officially called the 'Ornamental Rest House' which was built in 1901 in the Old Anglican Section. Being Australians, we don't truck with plebian names like 'Ornamental Rest House' and this eventually earned the moniker, 'Elephant House' because it reminded someone of the elephant house in Taronga Zoo. Duh!

It is undergoing restoration, and is the centrepiece for an evolving ceremony of community inclusion called 'Living with our Dead', which held a Dusk Ceremony in the Elephant House this weekend just past. Living with our Dead is a project that fosters individual and community artistic expression, placing death as a significant part of life. The projects encourage personal and idiosyncratic expressions of how we live with our dead, and through this, to understand what living with our dead may offer us as individuals and communities.

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Welcome to the 22nd 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 10pm 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 # 21

Rookwood Necropolis has many heritage areas, and the Old Anglican section is one such. Here are two of the recently restored 'rest houses' for those visiting the necropolis. They are not toilets, but places to escape the heat and prying eyes.

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Welcome to the 21st 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 10pm 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 # 20

Sheep appear to figure highly in Christian mythology: lamb of God that takest away; the Good Shepherd tending his flock. There are bound to be more, of which I am blissfully unaware.

However, this ewe is not that trusting of the Good Shepherd, with that wild-eyed stare, and one ear wrapped firmly around his staff. This is, once again, over in Waverley Cemetery, the cemetery that sits atop the slope overlooking Bondi Beach and the Pacific Ocean.

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Welcome to the 20th 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 10pm 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 # 19

In a quiet chapel in North Sydney, surrounded by commercial high-rise, a stone's throw from the harbour bridge, and within cooee of the busy 'High Street', lies the tomb of Mary MacKillop, Mother Mary of the Cross, the foundress of The Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. Born in 1842 in Melbourne, Mary died in 1909 in North Sydney. She was beatified in 1995, and was entered in the pantheon of Roman Catholic saints in 2010 at Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome.

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Welcome to the 19th 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 10pm Sunday, Sydney time (GMT+10) instead of the usual Monday, because the Tuesday being the first of the month, it is the City Daily Photo Bloggers 'Theme Day', so my allegiances are compromised!!

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 # 18

Let me introduce you to QR codes. I thank Gene from Oakland for alerting me to them. They were all over the media last week, even here in Australia. However, in my usual head-in-the-sand way, I went blithely on my ignorant way, until Gene's comment.

A Quick Response code is the trademark for a type of matrix barcode first designed for the automotive industry. Now, the system has become popular because of its fast readability and large storage capacity compared to standard UPC barcodes. The code consists of black modules (square dots) arranged in a square pattern on a white background. Here are some examples:



However, what if a QR code were attached to a headstone ... would that help us keep in touch ... but perhaps watch the video ...

Taphophile Tragics # 17

Last week I showed you a pair of Kohanin Hands from Rookwood. This week I am still in Rookwood but over on the Lidcombe side were the very first interments were made in 1867. I am a beginner at this funerary symbolism lark, but I am going from lists of symbols freely available via Google.

The wreath is a symbol of eternal life, with no beginning and with no end. The crown indicates victory, that is, triumph over death. But why angels? Do angels escort us on our journey to the Promised Land? And why two of them? And why are their eyes closed? And are their fingers pointing upward to the one true God in Heaven?

Any ideas?

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Welcome to the 17th 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. Mr Linky opens at 10pm Monday, Sydney time (GMT+10). 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.

We are working with the Linky with thumbnails, and displaying the oldest entry first, with no randomising.

Taphophile Tragics # 16

This funerary symbol can be found in the old Jewish area of Rookwood Cemetery in Sydney, just off Necropolis Drive, close to the intersection with William Lane. This is a Jewish symbol known as Kohanin, representing the members of the priestly tribe of Aaron. There are a range of spellings, eg Cohn, and Cohen. Hands in this formation are a priestly blessing. This symbol was adapted for use in 'Star Trek' where it became the Vulcan salute, meaning 'live long and prosper'. However, in this use, it was single handed.

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Welcome to the 16th 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. Mr Linky opens at 10pm Monday, Sydney time (GMT+10). 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.

So we are continuing with the Linky with thumbnails, and displaying the oldest entry first, with no randomising.