Historical information
The discovery of gold in Smyth's Creek in 1854 and subsequent gold rush to the Caledonia diggings led to the establishment of Queenstown (present day St Andrews). The first recorded burial was July 31st, 1861 and it was officially declared a Cemetery Reserve in 1866. Many graves are unmarked and unrecorded including many Chinese and other itinerant miners. The cemetery was closed for new burials in 1851. The last recorded burial was in 1981 in an existing family grave.
In
Loving memory
of
David Band
Died 30th Decr. 1862, aged 51 years.
John Cork Knell
Died 11th April 1867, aged 42 years.
Eliza Smith
Died 20th Jany. 1874, aged 3 1/2 years.
William Band
Died 20th Feby. 1883, aged 51 years.
Published: Nillumbik Now and Then / Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p73
Significance
This collection of almost 130 photos about places and people within the Shire of Nillumbik, an urban and rural municipality in Melbourne's north, contributes to an understanding of the history of the Shire. Published in 2008 immediately prior to the Black Saturday bushfires of February 7, 2009, it documents sites that were impacted, and in some cases destroyed by the fires. It includes photographs taken especially for the publication, creating a unique time capsule representing the Shire in the early 21st century. It remains the most recent comprehenesive publication devoted to the Shire's history connecting local residents to the past.
Physical description
Born digital image file
