Rookwood Cemetery Discoveries

 Today's blog is about a man whose brother brought about a revolution in the English language and how it was written in certain circumstances. This man has a very unique headstone. I went to Bath England recently seeking information about this man's brother and saw a few notable references.  So, who is this man.. JACOB PITMAN Jacob was born in November 1810 at Trowbridge, England, the eldest son of Samuel Pitman and his wife Maria. His younger brother Isaac was the inventor of phonography. Jacob was apprenticed to a local builder for seven years and then worked in London for a building firm. After a time in the London school of the British and Foreign Bible Society, he taught for a while at North Nibley Gloucestershire, and married Emma Hooper in December 1833. Jacob applied for free passage to South Australia in November 1837 and sailed with his wife and two daughters in the Trusty. During the journey he made friends with William Holden who would later have a journalistic ca...

 Today's blog is about a vicious, vindictive act that brought about the early demise of a totally innocent young lady.  A murder that is quite alarming in its action but upon reflection is a tale of desperation. A murder that still reverberates in the district where it occurred. Intrigued... Let me tell you about... THE MURDERS IN CARCOAR OF 1893. In late September 1893, Mr. John (Jack) Phillips, the Manager of the City Bank at Carcoar, had recently received a promotion to a similar position at the larger township of Young and was packing up to leave. This promotion was known throughout the district, and many were unhappy to see him leave as he was held in high esteem. His wife, Anne with their newborn daughter, Dorothy, was in residence. Arrangements had been made for Anne's younger sister, Susan with the couple's two-year-old daughter, Gladys together with Susan's friend Leticia, known by her middle name Frances, to accompany her and help with the children during the ...

 Another Remembrance Day has passed, and we remembered those who fought the brave fight in wars and conflicts from WW1 and onwards, not just at 11am but all day and more. Another Remembrance Day has passed, and we are still experiencing war and conflicts the world over; we still despairingly ask, why?? I do not want to dwell on the rights and wrongs of armed conflict but wish to honour all the brave soldiers who have passed and are buried in other parts of the world. After WW1, due to the amount of war dead, it was reasoned that those who died away from their homeland would be buried in the country in which they died. Thousands of headstones in Rookwood are etched with the names of the war dead becoming a place for loved ones to mourn as it was almost impossible for anyone here to visit their actual place of rest. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) was set up consisting of six independent member states whose function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places ...

  For my first blog after a lengthy absence due to travel and health commitments I have chosen not to highlight a "forgotten" person but to go into detail about the naming of The Necropolis and its close ties to a London Necropolis in Southern England. In my blog's information page, there are some details about what Rookwood Cemetery Discoveries is all about. It gives a potted history of the Cemetery and how it came about as well as how it has evolved over many years. Rookwood Cemetery Gates (west entrance) built 1993 - Author's collection What I did not discuss was the naming of Cemetery and its environs and there have been a few! WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF THE NAME "ROOKWOOD" When it was discovered that the Devonshire Street Cemetery (which was resumed due to the construction of Central Train Station in 1900) was not able to house the estimated amount of the City's dead after the influx of people after gold was discovered in 1851, a new area was requi...