Friday, May 7, 2010

WEETANGERA CEMETERY

Located South of the corner of Drake Brockman Drive & William Hovell Drive, Hawker is the Weetangra Cemetery (near the belconnen entry sign). On a rise above the highway is the entrance to the cemetery which is flanked by two old cypress pines. The cemetery served the largely methodist community of Weetangera between 1873 and 1964. Most of the internments are of the family of Thomas Southwell and subsequent generations of his family.

This was the site of the Weetangera Methodist Church erected in 1873 (demolished in 1955). A stone cairn near the entrance of the cemetery marks its site. It represents an important phase in the developmentof the methodist religion in the Australian Capital Territory.

I have a post with photos of the headstones (here)


The entrance.


The cemetery


Thomas & Mary Southwells headstones.


Mary Southwell (died 1894 aged 12)


The stone cairn of the church site.

There is an excellent read here from the National Trust
HISTORIC CEMETERIES and RURAL GRAVES IN THE ACT (pdf)
By Anne Claoué-Long

The Canberra History Group also has a collection of letters here


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