Gympie Cemetery is the

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

for

Gympie Gympie ( ) is a city and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. In the Wide Bay-Burnett District, Gympie is about north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city lies on the Mary River (Queen ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The cemetery is located on Corella Road and is managed by the Gympie Cemetery Trust.

History

It was first unofficially located on the corner of Alfred and King Street, currently the site of the ambulance station next to the Gympie Hospital. Following approximately 50 burials at this site, the Tozer Park Road Cemetery was opened on 1 December 1869. The first burial register was started at that time. The flood-prone town of

was subjected to diseases such as

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild clinical course, but in some outbreaks more than 10% of those diagnosed with the disease may die. Signs and s ...

, and the Tozer Park Cemetery bore the blame. It was found that the ground was too low and hard digging, resulting in shallow burials that caused distressing odours. Tozer Park Cemetery was closed in 1886. The cemetery was relocated to its current location on Corella Road at Two Mile, and an area of 60 acres was granted. Families were granted new plots in lieu of plots already purchased in the old cemetery. They were also able to exhume loved ones and move their

headstone A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a stele or marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. It is traditional for burials in the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions, among others. In most cases, it has the deceased's name, da ...

s to place in the Two Mile Cemetery and family graves were established. However many headstones remained until the 1980s. The first person to discover gold in the Gympie area, James Nash is buried in the cemetery. In 1911, a memorial to the leader of the Irish revolutionary movement, John Flood, was established in recognition of his work towards Irish nationality. The cemetery contains 12 war graves of Commonwealth service personnel, 4 of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and 8 of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

.
CWGC Cemetery Report.

Gympie Family History Society

The Gympie Family History Society moved the remaining headstones to the new cemetery with the help of the

Queensland Heritage Council The Queensland Heritage Council is an independent statutory authority created by the Queensland Parliament under the ''Queensland Heritage Act 1992''. The Council advises and reports to the Minister for Environment and the Great Barrier Reef and ...

. These headstones are grouped together in the pioneer section. The Gympie Family History Society coordinates regular cemetery walks with up to 60 people attending. These walks are known as Cemetery Crawls. Participants learn more about the pioneering families that created the town.

References

External links

Gympie Cemetery Trust
* {{Find a Grave cemetery 1869 establishments in Australia Gympie Cemeteries in Queensland

History

Gympie Family History Society

See also

References

External links