Mount Duneed Cemetery

In 1862 the government agreed to set aside three, then five, acres of land between Mount Duneed and Lake Connewarre but local residents protested that the soil was unsuitable for burial purposes and so the original land grant was revoked and a two acre site was selected higher up Mount Duneed, (i.e. relocated from the Shire of South Barwon to the Barrabool Shire.) The five trustees were William Landale, Levi Swain, Thomas Palmer, James Gleeson and William Mann. Rules and fees were adopted, Mr Faraway was appointed sexton, and the first recorded burial took place on 23 October 1864. The Trust planted a ‘live fence of South Australian Kangaroo acacia’, built a gate and installed a hitching rail for horses. Provision was also made for a few shade trees for the horses that brought mourners to the cemetery because it was not uncommon for fifty horse-drawn carriages to accompany a hearse to the cemetery. There was the usual correspondence between the ‘Duneed Cemetery Trust’ and the Barrabool Shire Council regarding grounds maintenance and fences. In 1876 the Trust reported that it had £13 in the bank. The trustees who signed the annual report were A. Abercrombie, George Williams and Joseph Rainford.

All trees, fences and wooden railings were destroyed with only the stone fittings remaining. Residents noted that the few granite headstones in the cemetery presented a ghostly appearance after the fires had subsided.

There are few records of the management of the Mount Duneed Cemetery. The Victorian Government Gazette of 25 March 1901 indicates that Alfred White and James Calvert replaced Andrew White (deceased) and Daniel Ganley (resigned) but does not name the other trustees.

From Barwon Cemeteries (2016) by Peter Mansfield