AGY-2106 | Camperdown Cemetery

Full description

In 1848 the Sydney Church of England Cemetery Company was formed. The company was established by the Deed of Settlement of the Sydney Church of England Cemetery Company dated 12 July 1848. The Directors entered into a contract for the purchase of upwards of ten acres of land at Camperdown, which they intended to prepare for interments. The conveyance of transfer of the land was dated 23 September 1848 (1). The land was consecrated on 16 January 1849 (2). Between 1849 and by September 1867 there were 15 734 burials (3).

In 1867 the passing of the Camperdown and Randwick Cemeteries Act, (34 Vic No.2) prohibited all further burials, with the exception of those who still had exclusive rights. This Act effectively ended the control of the cemetery by the Sydney Church of England Cemetery Company as the Company saw the cemetery as no longer being a viable economic proposition (4). As a result of this Act, the Sydney Church of England Company called an extraordinary general meeting. On the 29 February 1868 it was formally dissolved and the cemetery was conveyed to the Bishop of Sydney (5).

The Camperdown Cemetery Trust Act, 1871 (34 Vic No.8) authorized the Bishop to convey land to the trustees, upon and subject to such trust, uses, intents and purposes and set out in the Indentures of 28 September 1868. The Act also empowered the Trustees to erect and maintain a church and Minister’s residence (6).

In 1907 and 1913 Newtown Municipal Council proposed to close the cemetery. On the latter occasion the Trustees referred the matter to the Crown Law authorities, who found that under the Camperdown and Cemeteries Act, 1867 the exclusive right to interment was preserved (7).

The local council continued in its campaign to have to cemetery closed down, and in 1949 the murder of a young girl on the cemetery grounds prompted the NSW Government and church authorities to act (8). The Camperdown Cemetery Act, 1948 (Act No.14) divided the cemetery into 2 lots. An 8-acre lot became known as the Camperdown Memorial Rest Park, and deemed to be a public park within the meaning of the Public Parks Act, 1912, and the appointment of trustees for the park. The Act put the remainder of the land into The Church of England Property Trust Diocese of Sydney, as well as authorising the removal of human remains, headstones, grave enclosures, and the building of the sandstone wall around the 4 acres set aside as the remaining Camperdown Cemetery (9).

The Camperdown Cemetery (Amendment) Act, 1950 amended the 1948 Act by no longer deeming the Camperdown Memorial Rest Park to be a public park under the Public Parks Act 1912. The Act provided for a Camperdown Memorial Rest Park Trust to consist of seven members, two appointed by the Synod of the Diocese of Sydney and five appointed by the Council of the City of Sydney. The Act was amended again in 1970 which removed reference to the City of Sydney. An Amendment in 1977 made Marrickville Council sole trustee of the park (10). The cemetery area was unaffected by the Amendments and remained under the control of the Camperdown Cemetery Trust (11).

Footnotes and References:
(1) Meader, Chrys, Beyond the Boundary Stone: A History of Camperdown Cemetery, p.3
(2) Ibid, p.6
(3) Ibid, p.8
(4) Ibid, p.27
(5) Ibid, p.30
(6) Ibid, p.30-31
(7) Ibid, p.37
(8) Ibid, p.38
(9) Ibid, p.39
(10) Ibid, p.40
(11) loc. Cit