HISTORY AT LONG BAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 80, 5 April 1938, Page 4

HISTORY AT LONG BAY

IN AN OLD CEMETERY

QUAINT INSCRIPTIONS

Many pages of early Australian history are written on the old, weatherworn tombstones in Bunnerong cemetery at Long Bay, writes W. P. Thornton in the "Sydney Morning Herald." Unhappily, the inscriptions are being worn away, and in a few years nameless stones only will remain to mark the graves of some of our earliest pioneers. What a motley collection of men, and women rest here! Ministers of religion lie beside grocers, soldiers, policemen, and bushrangers. The tombstones were removed from their original site in 190J to make way for the building of (Sydney's Central Railway Station. Some of them are in good condition; others have fallen over and are broken and dilapidated. One of the most notable tombs bears the story of, the unfortunates whose remains lie underneath it. The inscription reads:— "Within this tomb were interred on XVII. November, MDCCGXXXVI, the remains of 17 human bodies discovered after the most diligent search of the Islands of Auried in Torres Straits by Mr. C. M. Lewis, Commander H.M. Colonial Schooner Isabella, and by satisfactory evidence identified as the mortal remains of certain of the officers, crew, and passengers of the barque Charles Eaton, who, after escaping from the total wreck of the vessel on the XV of August, MDCCCXXIV, were savaregly massacred by the natives of the island on which they landed. His Excellency Sir.Richard Bourke, X.C.8., Govemor-in-Chief of the colony, by whose command the expedition to ascertain the fate of these unhappy persons was undertaken, caused the ■ last offices of piety to be discharged them by directing interment of their remains, with the rites of Christian burial and the erection of this monument to record the catastrophe by which they perished." "A FOOD PROVIDER." r^ot far away is a small tombstone erected to the memory of a youth who was hanged at Darlinghurst in 1866. Part of the inscription reads:— > He has gone to his grave, but we must not deplore him, Though sorrow and' darkness encompass his tomb. The Saviour has passed through Vts portals before him, And the light of His love was the lamp through his gloom. Another inscription reads more like an advertisement:—"John Warren, nursery and seedsman, who died April 24, 1847, aged 52, leaving a wife and three children to lament the loss of a food provider." ■ ~ ■ ;-. ■ A tombstone of historic interest is that of James Bryan, who died: on January 15,- 1845. Of him it is recorded: —"He was the first to introduce •gaslight into this part of the world, having arrived t^in the year 1839 un^r an engagement \ with the company in whose service he died, and we can j bear testimony to the honourable char- | acter of Mr. Bryan, and we in common j with his many friends deeply deplore fhe premature deceast . (sic) of so amiable and estimable a man." A number of stones bear quaint verses, one of the most unusual being that of Sarah Corsor, who died in 1830:— , y.;.n Afflictions sore, long time I bore, ■ | Physicianswere in vain, Till God did please to give me ease, 1 And relieve me of my pain. I Henry Harding, a shipwright, was killed by a premature explosiqn-,in 1824. The verse on his tomb gives a warning to others:— All ye that pass this way alone, O think how sudden I was gone, God does not always warning give, Therefore be careful how ye live. 1 THE COLOUR NAMES. i Whether by design or chance, there are four tombstones in a row, and the names of the men buried underneath them are respectively White, Black, Blue, and Brown. I was told by ;an old man who used to roam about the, cemetery that, one tombstone bore the inscription:—■ , O Henry, you did me kill, Then refused to pay the doctor's bill. I searched for it, but could not find it, but the old man asserts that it was there. ' . ■ ' ; ' ■ It seems a pity that these old headstones cannot be preserved for all time. There is much to be learnt from them that does not appear ity history books. One can get a fair idea of the class of stonemason and monumental mason who worked 4in Australia in those early days, while the inscriptions indicate the standard of educatiori. * Here in this neglected spot we find the graves of many soldiers of the early regiments. In one' of these tombstones a swarm of bees took up their abode. Air about the old cemetery are signs of modern progress. One wonders what the thoughts of those buried here would be if they could rise from their graves and gaze upon some of the wonders within sight of the cemetery. The man who introduced gaslight into this country assuredly would be amazed when he looked towards the great Bunnerong powerhouse.