Fawkner Crematorium and Memorial Park explained

Fawkner Memorial Park
Established:	1906
Country:	Australia
Coordinates:	-37.7119°N 144.9572°W
Size:	282acres
Findagraveid:	1967502

Fawkner Memorial Park is located in the northern Melbourne suburb of Hadfield, Victoria, Australia. It is the largest cemetery by land size in the state, and managed by Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust.^[1]

Merlynston Creek, a tributary of Merri Creek, is a major geographical feature running through both Fawkner Cemetery and the Northern Memorial Park.

History

In 1906, the Municipal Cemetery, Fawkner (as it was then called) opened to meet the needs of the north . The cemetery was designed and run by Charles Heath, a surveyor and architect. The first burial took place on 10 December 1906. This was considered to be the unofficial opening of the cemetery. The funeral was conducted by John Allison from Sydney Road. The cemetery was adjacent to Fawkner railway station on the Upfield line, with special trains carrying the deceased to the cemetery from 1906 to 1939.^[2]

On 1 November 1997, Mersina Halvagis was murdered in the cemetery by Peter Dupas.

Management

Fawkner Memorial Park is operated by Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust (GMCT), who manage 18 other sites across Victoria, Australia.

Interments

• Lilian Alexander (1861–1934), pioneering surgeon
• John Barrett (1858–1928), Senator
• John Batman (1801–1839), pioneer, one of the founders of Melbourne
• Kathleen Best (1910–1957), founder of the Women's Royal Australian Army Corps
• Thomas Blamey (1884–1951), Field Marshal (cremated)
• Deirdre Cash (1924–1963), novelist, wrote under the nom-de-plume "Criena Rohan"
• George Ward Cole (1793–1879), pioneer
• Revel Cooper (c.1934–1983), Nyoongar artist
• Charles Dight (1813–1852), pioneer
• Alphonse Gangitano (1957–1998), underworld identity
• James Henry Gardiner (1848–1921), North Melbourne Football Club founder and administrator
• Pinchas Goldhar (1901–1947), writer
• Henry Gregory (1860–1940), WA politician
• Edward Harrington (1895–1966), writer
• Sybil Irving (1897–1973), army officer, founder of the Australian Women's Army Service
• Donald Alaster Macdonald (1859–1932), nature writer, conservationist
• Kylie Maybury (1978–1984), murder victim
• Charlie Mutton (1890–1989), Labor politician
• Laurie Nash (1910–1986), footballer and Test cricketer
• Jack Patten (1905–1957), Koori activist, leader, writer
• Peeter Pedaja (1931-1985), Estonian-Australian adventurer
• Marie Pitt (1869–1948), journalist
• James Quinn (1853–1934), finder of Ireland's famous Ardagh Chalice also known as the Ardagh Hoard
• Mark "Chopper" Read (1954–2013), underworld identity and writer
• Alice Ross-King (1891–1968), nurse in both world wars, "Australia's most decorated female"^[3]
• Bernard Rubin (1896–1936), first Australian winner of 24 Hours of Le Mans and member of the Bentley Boys
• William Ruthven VC (1893–1970), soldier, politician
• Isaac Selby (1859–1956), historian
• Ernie Shepherd (1901–1958), Labor politician
• Issy Smith VC (1890–1940), soldier, born Ishroulch Shmeilowitz
• Ethel Spowers (1890–1947), artist
• Lyra Taylor (1894–1979), pioneering social worker
• Alfred Tipper (1867–1944), outsider artist, showman, cyclist
• Frank Traynor (1927–1985), jazz musician

War Graves

Fawkner Memorial Park contains the war graves of 173 Commonwealth service personnel from World War I and World War II.

In addition Fawkner Crematorium has a Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorial to 28 Australian service personnel of World War II – 23 soldiers, 4 airmen and one naval officer – who were cremated there. They included Elwyn Roy King (1894–1941) who had been a fighter ace in World War I.

External links

• Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust
• Fawkner Memorial Park – Billion Graves

Notes and References

1. Web site: Home – GMCT. 2020-06-03. Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust. en-AU.
2. Web site: Restored Mortuary Carriage.
3. Book: Alice Ross-King. Alice Ross-King (1887–1968) . http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/ross-king-alice-8276. Australian Dictionary Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University .