OLD PIONEERS SECTION
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| Fawkner Crematorium
& Memorial Park is home to a notable collection of historic graves,
dating from the early days of Melbourne's settlement. Redgum, sandstone
and even imported cast iron headstones are used to create fascinating
monuments in this historic section. |
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These graves led a chequered past before finding
permanent rest at Fawkner. The Flagstaff Gardens in Melbourne's
CBD was the site for the city's first cemetery. In 1837, burials
from this site were transferred to a position just south of the
Queen Victoria market. In 1852 a new, larger cemetery was opened
in Carlton.
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| Within fifty years both
cemeteries were close to capacity and new cemeteries were developed
in outlying areas. In 1902 a new cemetery was established in Springvale,
closely followed by the opening of the New Melbourne General Cemetery
(now Fawkner Crematorium and Memorial Park) at Fawkner in 1906. |
| The Old Pioneers
section at Fawkner comprises 220 graves dating from the 1840s transferred
from the Old Victoria Market cemetery site in 1922. Among these reinterments
are the remains of John Batman, the founder of the City of Melbourne.
Batman landed at Port Phillip on 29 May 1835 and within the week had
negotiated with Aborigines for the white settlement of the land, declaring
"This will be the place for a village". |
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