About our Project
The Friends of Goulburn Historic Cemeteries is a group of volunteers interested in the history of Goulburn. We work with the Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn for St Saviour’s Cemetery, Goulburn Mulwaree Council for the Mortis Street Cemetery and the trustees of the Jewish Cemetery at the Australian Jewish Historical Society.
By the 1970s St Saviour’s Cemetery and the Mortis Street Cemetery were both very overgrown and neglected. Work at the St Saviour’s Cemetery began in the late 1980s when local Rotary Club members repaired fallen and broken headstones and removed many invasive trees and weeds. The Goulburn Post of June 3rd, 1992 reported that inmates of the Goulburn Gaol were helping with the maintenance of the cemetery and installing the stone entrance wall and gates with an interpretative timber sign. In 2013 the sign was much worn and by 2019 it was illegible.
In 2018 a group of volunteers held a guided tour of the cemetery and were distressed at its overgrown and neglected state, so work began. In the following four years more invasive trees have been cut down and poisoned and periwinkle and other weeds got under control. A donation from the Veolia Trust assisted with the costs of mower petrol and herbicides. Non-invasive trees were planted along the eastern fence line and many bulbs planted throughout the cemetery. A garden seat and chairs have been provided and the gates were re-painted by Greg O’Neill, a local painter. LandTeam Goulburn donated their services to survey the cemetery and supply an overhead image which has been used to map all the marked gravesites. A new sign was paid for by Goulburn Mulwaree Council.
The Mortis Street Cemetery has been vandalized, as reported in Goulburn newspapers, from 1843 to 1942. Some graves and monuments have also suffered damage from subsidence and the weather. Since 2012 Goulburn Mulwaree Council has carried out weed and vermin control and mowed the grass, however in 2019 the cemetery was again in a distressing state. Our volunteers also began work here and have made substantial improvements to this cemetery. KMJ Surveying donated their services to survey the cemetery and supply an overhead image which has been used to map all the marked gravesites and we are currently working on signs for this cemetery.
In interpreting the inscriptions of the deteriorating monuments we use these resources:
Goulburn Pioneer Cemeteries: St Saviour’s, Mortis Street, Towrang Stockade, Jewish and St Patrick’s college by Jan L. Grant and June F. Penny 2013 self published (out of print)
Burials in County of Argyle NSW 1856-1918 compiled by the Goulburn District Family History Society Inc 2001 (copies available from History Goulburn)
Monumental Inscriptions in Goulburn: Towrang, St Saviour’s, Mortis Street, Jewish Burial Ground edited by Pam Ray and Grahame Thom 1986 Canberra: Heraldry and Genealogy Society of Canberra (out of print)
Monumental Inscriptions of Goulburn New South Wales edited by Andrew Eliason 2004 Canberra: Heraldry & Genealogy Society of Canberra (CD may be available from publisher)
The Friends of Goulburn Historic Cemeteries carry out on-ground works, mapping of the remaining memorials, designing signage, research, open days, this website, and assists families in getting help to restore the monuments of their ancestors.
Working bees happen regularly, but there is also as much work done in libraries and on computers at home, or maybe you would like to Adopt a Grave?
If you would like to help or share information with us please use this form.