AGY-2291 | Trustees of the Mudgee Cemeteries

Full description

Within the township of Mudgee were located several disused cemeteries which included : a) the Roman Catholic Cemetery, located on the corner of Mortimer and Douro Streets; b) the Church of England Cemetery, situated between Mortimer and Gladstone Streets, located within portion 181; c) the Presbyterian and Methodist Cemeteries, located adjacent the Church of England Cemetery, also within portion 181 (1 and 2); The operation of these cemeteries began in about 1845 and ceased in 1886 with the opening of the new Mudgee General Cemetery. (3)

The Mudgee Cemeteries Act, assented to 8 March 1963, granted trusteeship of these lands to the Council of the Municipality of Mudgee with the purpose of converting the cemeteries to public parks. (4) According to the Act, the Council was required to compile a register of names and other relevant information of the persons buried within the three cemeteries. Once the register was compiled and a specified time period elapsed could the Council commence removing human remains and headstones, converting the lands to public parks within the meaning of the Public Parks Act, 1912. (5)

It is unclear if all the cemetery lands had been resumed to the control of the Minister for Lands prior to the commencement of the Act. However the provisions of the Act specify that if prior ownership could be claimed, the properties would be "divested" from any body or persons having an interest in such property, and that "any trusts, conditions, encumbrances, dedications or reservations affecting the said lands immediately before the commencement of the Act are hereby revoked and annulled". (6) The Act also specified the divesting of any estates with an interest in the lands without the requirement for compensation, and that Crown grants issued in respect to any parts of the land would be "cancelled in so far as they relate to the said lands" (7) This may have prevented churches or trustees of estates demanding compensation for lost lands in the event of litigation.

The Register was completed by the Council in September 1964. (8) According to the Act, the Register was to be retained at the Council offices for inspection by the public, and certified copies presented to the Minister and the Mitchell Library. (9) Work to convert the old cemeteries to recreation areas commenced in 1968, where many headstones were removed to the Memorial Park site in Douro Street, the remainder being stored in the Council yard until placed temporarily in a mound in the Mudgee General Cemetery in 1984. (10)

Endnotes
1. Department of Lands, Miscellaneous Branch: Mudgee Cemeteries Register c.1845-1885, 1964, NRS-8299, Introduction. (SRNSW ref: X 844).
2. Mudgee Cemeteries Act, No.2 1963, Schedule.
3. Transcripts of Mudgee Cemeteries NSW Volume 1: Mudgee General Cemetery - Non-Conformist Section and Cremation Plaques; Memorial Park; Blackman Park. Nepean Family History Society Record Series No.18, c.1985, pp1-3.
4. Mudgee Cemeteries Act, 1963 (Act No.2 1963), s. 2 (1).
5. ibid. s. 2 (1) and s. 3 (1) (a-f).
6. ibid. s. 2 (3) (a-d).
7. ibid. s. 2 (3) (a), s. 2 (3) (d) and s. 3 (5).
8. Department of Lands, Miscellaneous Branch: Mudgee Cemeteries Register c.1845-1885, 1964, NRS-8299, Introduction. (SRNSW ref: X 844).
9. Mudgee Cemeteries Act, No.2 1963, s. 3 (a-c).
10. Transcripts of Mudgee Cemeteries NSW Volume 1: Mudgee General Cemetery - Non-Conformist Section and Cremation Plaques; Memorial Park; Blackman Park. Nepean Family History Society Record Series No.18 c.1985, pp.1, 2.