Early Graves, Guildford Cemetery

Statement of Significance

Guildford Cemetery has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons:

• The place is a significant visual reminder of people’s contributions to the development of Western Australia, and more specifically to the town of Guildford and the Swan district;
• The place has significant associations with early settlers, convicts, Guildford identities, government
administrators and people involved in the development of the Colony;
• The place shows a range of monument types and a variety of symbolism which reflects the traditions and trends of different religious denominations and time periods;
• The place serves to reveal the creative skills of monumental masons and the changes to their craft over time; and
• The place contributes to the State and Guildford community’s sense of place, as a reminder of loved ones, early settlement and the development of the State.
The following information is extracted from the Register of Heritage Places Assessment Documentation for Early Graves, Guildford Cemetery (P04647).
Early Graves, Guildford Cemetery (1888+), a small section of a large operational cemetery that comprises graves, headstones, and monuments (including relocated monuments) in an unvegetated setting, has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons:

• The place includes the earliest burials of the wider cemetery site, and the monuments are reminders of notable early settlers, convicts, Guildford identities, government administrators, and their contribution to the development of the Swan River Colony;
• The place includes bodies and monuments relocated from the Anglican East Guildford Cemetery in the 1890s;
• The early headstones, plot surrounds and memorials display the creative skills and achievements of the monumental masons, particularly during the earliest development phase of the wider cemetery site; and,
• The place is a good representative example of the earliest burial sections of a municipal cemetery.

Physical Description

Guildford Cemetery is a cemetery reserve divided into denominational sections. Catholic, Jewish, Macedonian, Muslim, Aboriginal, Coptic Orthodox, and General areas are located on the northern side of the road, while Anglican, Greek Orthodox, and General burial areas are on the southern side.
Early Graves, Guildford Cemetery straddles Kalamunda Road in South Guildford. The road divides the Cemetery into two distinct sections, which represent the earliest development areas of the cemetery. The oldest sections of the Cemetery are located along both sides of Kalamunda Road.
Kalamunda Road is a busy arterial road leading from Great Eastern Highway to the hills. There is a broad expanse of gravel parking space on each side of the road in the vicinity of the cemetery. Some mature pine trees and native trees are sporadically located throughout Early Graves, Guildford Cemetery. Even though the monuments dominate the cemetery landscape, the area remains rather barren in appearance, with heavy sand between the grave plots. This emptiness is particularly evident where monuments are no longer extant.
To the north of Kalamunda Road, the oldest graves in the Catholic and Wesleyan (now general) areas are scattered, with some sections laid out in rows. Sandy paths divide the cemetery into sections, and while the layout is not strictly geometrical, the rectangular plots at right angles give an orderly feeling to the place. Metal markers identify each section of the cemetery. There is no apparent pattern to the planting of trees in this section. Self-seeding plants have been allowed to mature within some of the burial sites. Overall, this section is in a poor condition, with evidence of untended graves and damaged burial plots and headstones.
On the southern side of the road, the Anglican section is in better condition. The graves are laid out in an orderly manner, although the oldest graves located on the western boundary toward Kalamunda Road, appear to be randomly placed.

History

Early Graves, Guildford Cemetery (1888+), is a small section of a large operational cemetery, and comprises graves, headstones, monuments (including relocated monuments) within a largely un-vegetated setting, and represents the early development areas of the cemetery.
In the pre- and early contact period Aboriginal occupation broadly comprised small family groups moving through the landscape in response to seasonal change. The traditional way of life of the Ballaruk people began to be disrupted with the establishment of the Swan River Colony.
By the mid-1880s, there were three cemeteries in Guildford, each located in the yard of an associated Christian Church. The Anglican cemetery was located in East Guildford. Established in 1842, this cemetery replaced an earlier burial ground located in the yard of the original St Matthew’s Church. The Wesleyan Mission and the Roman Catholic Church both had churches and burial grounds in James Street. In addition, there were small Anglican burial grounds associated with the Octagonal Church at Middle Swan (1840) and All Saints at Henley Park (1841).
By 1887, the need for a new public cemetery was becoming a pressing issue for the residents of Guildford. Both the Anglican and Wesleyan churches had been allocated land for cemetery purposes by the Government in West Guildford some time previously, as their burial grounds were filling up. However, the swampy land allocated to both churches was deemed inappropriate due to its proximity to the river. Many feared that the drinking water would be polluted. Due to the undesirable nature of the lots already set aside, the churches and the Guildford Municipality began looking for an alternative site for a new cemetery. The new burial ground was to be inter-denominational (not for other faiths), at a distance from the town, yet accessible.
It was now accepted practice to locate cemeteries at a distance from town centres and residential districts. The move from burial in churchyards to public cemeteries located on the edges of settled areas is a particular development of the 19th century. The new inter-denominational cemeteries were the direct result of the overcrowded burial grounds in churchyards.
In November 1888, H. S. Ranford (staff surveyor with the Lands Department) informed the Surveyor General that he had surveyed parcels of land from Reserve 1286 for the purpose of cemeteries to be vested in the Roman Catholic Bishop (7 acres; Swan Location 1286), the Wesleyan Trustees (8 acres; Swan Location 1293) and the Church of England (7 acres; Swan Location 1284). The remainder of the reserve was to be regazetted as Reserve 1286.
The original areas allocated in 1888 for Guildford Cemetery include Early Graves, Guildford Cemetery. Early Graves, Guildford Cemetery comprises the area of the earliest burials of the wider cemetery site. The boundary for the 1888 cemetery, which has subsequently been changed and expanded over the years, is a much larger area than Early Graves, Guildford Cemetery.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: High
Authenticity: High

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.