Old Karridale Cemetery

Statement of Significance

Old Karridale Cemetery is of significance:

• As the burial ground for a number of people involved in the European
settlement of the region, in particular those associated with the timber
industry initiated by M.C. Davies.
• For its social value through its religious, historical, familial, and
personal associations.

Physical Description

The site has not been maintained as a cemetery since the early twentieth
century and is now heavily overgrown.
The only remaining headstone is a marble monument featuring a trefoil cap
with an engraved dove of peace (which has been broken from the base).
This monument reads:

Erected
By his sorrowing widow
In memory of
Robert Ross,
Who died August 13, 1892,
Aged 46 years.
“In the midst of life we are in
death”

Other evidence noted during a site inspection in 2012 included a burnt
timber memorial set at the head of an area roughly marked out by
fieldstones, and a second mound of fieldstones that may mark another
burial site.

History

A heritage survey of the old Karridale Cemetery, undertaken in 2004,
concluded that this was just one of the burial grounds that were used in
association with timber milling operations in the area during the late
nineteenth century (see also Place # HB-01, Hamelin Bay Gravesite), in
addition to the more established public cemeteries at Augusta and
Busselton. It was also noted that the lack of formal burial registers meant
that the actual location of local burials was not recorded (including
reference to the specific burial ground).
Burials are believed to have commenced at the old Karridale Cemetery in
about 1882 (with the establishment of the Karridale Mill). As noted above,
documentary evidence is scanty, but there may have been about 20 to 35
burials in this location between c.1882 and c.1898.
It is possible that a few related burials may have continued at the old burial
sites into the very early twentieth century, but in 1898 the original timber
milling cemeteries were effectively replaced when the new Karridale
Cemetery was gazetted near Hamelin Bay (Place # HB-03).
In 2004 it was reported that there were only two surviving headstones
within an overgrown bush site, including the marble headstone for Robert
William Ross, an engine driver who was killed by a falling log in August
1892.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity - Low: The use has been altered and the original use cannot be readily
discerned.
Authenticity - Low: The place has been considerably altered, with the loss of significant
fabric. The original intent/character is no longer clearly evident.

Condition

Poor *Assessed from streetscape survey only.

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.