Yackandandah's Historic Cemetery

With the discovery of gold in 1852 and the increase of population in the immediate vicinity of Yackandandah, a town cemetery would have soon been essential. It is known that an area on the Beechworth Road, directly opposite Twists Creek Road near Stebbings Lane was initially "reserved" as a site for a cemetery, but no record exists of any burials there.

One of the few references to an earlier Yackandandah cemetery was in a letter to the Beechworth Ovens and Murray Advertiser in 1857, written by a person using the pen-name of "A. Miner", chastising the community for allowing bullock drivers to camp on the cemetery, endangering the "un-fenced graves".

In April 2004, respected local historian Colin Barnard was examining a plan for "The Township of Yackandandah" by A L Martin, Asst Surveyor, Beechworth, dated 18 Novr 1856. From his experience with other similar town plans, Colin suddenly realised that the 16 or so small marks clearly shown on Lots 3, 4, and 9 on Section 5 of the plan, between Hammond, High, Wellsford and Kars Streets, were graves! (Copies of this plan may be purchased from the Bank Museum).

While strictly speaking the graves were not "in the Primary School grounds", they were partly on land adjoining that occupied by the first Church of England and the house of its minister the Rev Thomas Dowell (a 2 acre reserve adjoining Lots 6 and 7). That land was eventually transferred to the Education Department, and occupied by the Public School since the 1860's. So the local families’ stories were basically right!

The first burial recorded at the present cemetery in Isaacs Avenue was of 14 month old Ellen Anderson on 7 September 1859 (Church of England Section, probably in Row 9, Grave 7 or 8, the eventual graves of her parents and siblings).

Since the oldest memorial at the present cemetery is the headstone of James Stewart, a miner, buried 30 March 1860, aged 28 (Church of England, Row 9, Grave 21), it is reasonable to assume that any memorials moved from the original cemetery were of wood only, and have succumbed to white ants, fire, or simply rotted away. We just have to accept that we may never know.

The Chinese Section is currently being researched, there being 26 known burials between 1860 and 1903, many more not having been recorded. Other research planned is to identify and locate the children’s graves in the Trustees’ Ground near the Chinese Section, and anyone with any additional information on any Section or burial can contact Peter on the details below.