Rookwood Cemetery Discoveries

 Last week's blog was formed from a glance at a beautifully carved monument. This week's blog is following on from that same idea. The headstone is very close to last week's one and quite unique in its design. The families from which the people buried there came from were prominent ones from the earliest days of the colony. DAVID HENRY DUNLOP David, the eldest child of David Dunlop (Snr) and Eliza Hamilton was born in Londonderry Northern Ireland on 12 May 1794. He joined his parents, and 3 siblings onboard the 'Superb' arriving in Botany Bay on 26 February 1838. David Snr, although a bookseller in Ireland, was appointed a Magistrate in Penrith for a short time before being appointed to the position of Police Magistrate and Protector of Aborigines in Wollombi NSW in 1839, a position he held for ten years. He was the youngest son of Captain William Dunlop who had lost his life in the Irish Rebellion of ’98. Eliza, his wife, was the daughter of Solomon Hamilton, Supre...

 Welcome to 2023 and I'm happy to have you along with me on a journey through Rookwood. I have a number of stories to share as the year progresses. For this post I am veering in a slightly different direction. During Victorian and Edwardian times in particular, stonemasons issued books that detailed the various types of headstones that could be made and purchased, a bit of a production line of design. We see many similar headstones throughout cemeteries of this time and this practice still continues. Wandering around the older parts of Rookwood, there are many examples of very unique and beautifully carved headstones and monuments, and it is a few of these that I want to share with you today.  JOHN WILLIAM WOOD John William was born in 1811, the son of John Wood, tailor, and his wife Elizabeth. John senior was convicted of forgery and uttering and was sentenced for life, arriving here in 1813. He received a pardon in 1847 whilst residing in Parramatta and conducted a successfu...