Where Hawkesbury buried their dead ~ Trove Tuesday

Windsor Catholic Cemetery. Photo M. Nichols

Prior to 1810, inhabitants of the Hawkesbury buried their dead in various places including their properties, or along the riverbanks. There was also an early burial ground on the banks of South Creek at Green Hills (which was the original name of Windsor) but no records survive and the exact location is not confirmed, although a small plot of land has been set aside to commemorate early burials.

In 1811, the following Government Order, decreed by Governor Lachlan Macquarie was published in the Sydney Gazette stating that all burials were to take place in consecrated cemeteries. The Order stated:

The respective burial grounds which were sometime since marked out for the accommodation of the settlers in the several townships of Liverpool, Windsor, Richmond, Pitt Town, Castlereagh and Wilberforce having lately consecrated by the Principal Chaplain, His Excellency, the Governor is pleased to give this public notice, thereof and at the same time directs & commands that in future all settlers and other residents within those townships, or in their respective vicinities shall cease to bury their dead as heretofore within their several farms, & shall in a decent and becoming manner inter them in the consecrated grounds now assigned for that purpose in their respective Townships.

It was also recorded that when someone died, "notice of the event shall be immediately given to the Constable at the District wherein it has occurred, and the Constable receiving such information is hereby directed to communicate the same with the least possible delay to the nearest Resident Chaplain, in order that he may attend and perform the Funeral Service."

This order was not to be neglected and ignoring it could result in severe punishment. Further it became a "sacred duty ... to guard and protect the Remains of ... deceased Friends from every unnecessary Exposure."

Governor Lachlan Macquarie was keen the burial grounds be made available soon after and donated ten pounds towards the erection of a fence, to be built as quickly as possible. The first of these burial grounds to be established was at Windsor. Many people do not realise that the burial ground came first and was established adjacent to what was eventually to become St. Matthew's Church of England, which began construction in 1817.  Andrew Thompson who died in 1810 was in fact the first person buried in the burial ground. Henry Antill was responsible for selecting Thompson's burial site. 

Shortly after Windsor, burial grounds were established in Richmond, Wilberforce, Pitt Town, Castlereagh and Ebenezer. They were surveyed, marked out and then consecrated. 

More than just a death - Trove Tuesday

Drownings were a regular occurrence in the Hawkesbury district specifically in the early 19th century. In 1826 Isabella Stoodley drowned near the mouth of Mangrove Creek when the boat she was travelling in accidentally upset near the mouth of Mangrove Creek. An inquest was held at Gunderman at Hibbs' farm situated on the Hawkesbury River. The Windsor Coroner, John Howe was in attendance and the verdict confirmed the cause of death was drowning. It was not the first time Isabella had been in the news. She appeared in the Sydney Gazette in April 1818 when her husband at the time, John Suddis, a settler at Wilberforce, was murdered.

The report of Isabella's death appeared in the Sydney Gazette in August 1826. The significance of this article is not only the report of an unfortunate drowning but also that it reveals some insight into the arrangements made regarding the burial of bodies, in localities away from a town centre as well as the difficulties in performing a funeral. It records that a piece of land had “been made sacred by the burial of one or more persons, but what has not been consecrated” and also mentioned that people preferred to bury “their relatives on their own farms” despite Governor Macquarie's edict 15 or so years earlier, that the deceased were to buried in consecrated burial grounds.

Sydney Gazette 5 August 1826, p. 2

The Windsor Correspondent for the newspaper enlightened readers with additional information about burials. This paragraph has some interesting concepts, and states:

     "The funeral service is generally read by the best reader present; although he may be considered     objectionable in other respects "Can he read?" This affirmed "Then he will do" Certainly a resident Chaplain would be a most invaluable treasure in such a district; the advantages society would derive from such an appointment, in affording instruction to the rising generation, may be in some degree conceived, but where would its influence terminate? It is worthy of remark, that the youths of that district are to form the Juries of this country. Where is their baptism; and where the record of their christenings? Much could be said on this interesting subject; but we submit it to consideration in the proper quarter. Where no doubt it will be speedily be noticed when known."

Location of the mouth of Mangrove Creek where Isabella drowned in 1826.

© Google Maps 2013

The value of using newspapers can never be underestimated. The benefits of using Trove to not only find information about people and events but the advantages of also adding unique background details to transform your research and make it thought provoking and stimulating.