The “SANDHILLS” An Historic Cemetery. A paper read before the Royal Australian Historical Society October 29, 1918. In the Sydney Gazette, of Saturday, January 22, 1820, may be seen the following announcement:— “Circumstances arising out of the nature and qual­ ity of the ground heretofore used as a place of Burial, within the Town of Sydney, rendering it offensive to the inhabitants in the neighbourhood: it has been deem­ ed expedient to discontinue it for that purpose altogether, and that a place not liable to similar objections should beselected of anextent proportioned to the Increase of the Population. For that purpose His Excellency the Governor has lately caused a spacious Burial Ground to be prepared and enclosed with awall, situated at a short distance beyond the Brickfields, which is hence­ forthonly tobe used as a place of Interment for the ac­ commodation ofthe Inhabitantsof the Town and neigh ­ bourhood of Sydney. Previous, however, to its being made a Place of Interment, the ground thus appropriated for this Solemn and Sacred purpose will be consecrated by the Reverend the Principal Chaplain, which Ceremony stands appointed to take place on Thursday next, the 27th instant, whenDivine Service will be performed at the Church of St. Phillip’s, Sydney, atthe hour of eleven in the forenoon; and it is further notified, ordered, and 154 The Royal Australian Historical Society. directed, that from and after the 28th instant, all Fune­ rals are totake place at the said new Burial Ground, and that from henceforth the Old Burial Ground, which has been enclosed with a wall, will be totally closed up, and no further access suffered to be had thereto for Purposes of Interment. “By His Excellency’s Command, “J. T. Campbell, Secretary.” The Gazette, of Saturday, January 29, 1820, contains further particulars:— “The New Burial Ground at the Brickfield, having undergone the Ceremony of Consecration, is henceforth to be used exclusively as the Place of Interment by the Inhabitants of Sydney and its neighbourhood. And the former Burial Ground, situated within the Town of Syd­ ney, having in consequence of the Opening of the New Burial Ground, according to the Ceremonies of the Church of England, been securely shut up, by the gate being closed, barred and locked so as to preclude all access thereto, unless on occasions of necessity, such as shall be authorised by the Assistant Chaplain at Sydney, it is hereby notified, ordered, and directed, that no Person or Persons shall enter the saidground without obtaining such Permission from the Assistant Chaplain. “It being reported that certain Persons have been hitherto in the habit of drivings pigs, cows, and horses into the old BurialGround, to the great offence of Decency; it is hereby notified that any Animals which shall here­ after be found either in the old or new Burial Ground will be impounded for trespass, and the Owners prosecuted for a misdemeanour. It being necessary that certain Regu- lations should be laid down in order to preserve the future Regularity of Interments in the new Burial Ground, it is Ordered and Directed that from the present Date: “1. That no Vaults or Graves be made without the knowledge ofthe Chaplain on Duty at Sydney,and that all Interments shall be attended by the said Chaplain, unless prevented by Sickness or other unavoidable Cause. ‘12. That all Vaults shall be of the same Length, how­ ever they may vary in Breadth, and be placed uniformly in Line with each other, and all placed on one particular Side of the Burial Ground, under the Direction of the Assistant Chaplain ofSydney. The Sandhills—An Historic Cemetery.155 “3. That the ordinary Description of Graves, whether with orwithout Tomb or Headstone, be also uniformly placed in Line with each other, extending East and West, according to the Order established in the Mother Country, and that the Distances between Graves be not made unnecessarily great. “4. That a portion of the Burial Ground, occupying one corner thereof, be set apart by the Assistant Chaplain for peculiar and special purposes, at the Direction of the said Chaplain. ‘ ‘ 5. That the Parish Clerk do keep a Register distinct from that kept by the Chaplain containing the name of each person interred, the date of Interment, and the situa­ tion interred in, and that the Interments shall be num­ bered annually. “6. As the foregoing Arrangements and the increased Distance of the present Burial Ground must necessarily occasion much additional Trouble to the Chaplain and Parish Clerk, His Excellency is pleased further to order and direct that the Chaplain who shall perform the Funeral Service and the Parish Clerk in attendance there­ on, shall receive instead of the former rate of Funeral Fees, according to the following Scale, viz.:— “The Chaplain for interring a Free Person, 5/-; Clerk attending ditto, 2/6. And the Grave Digger—provided he reside in the Lodge prepared for him on the spot— shall receive for each Grave made by him for any Free Person, the sum of Two shillings and sixpence. ‘ ‘ The Fee to be paid the Person who tolls the Church Bellshall continue asheretofore, namely, sixpence. “By His Excellency’s Command, “J. T. Campbell, Secretary.” The site chosen for the new Burial Ground was one of a range of sandhills lying south ofthe Brickfields, from which it was separated by valleya known to us as Bel- more Park and the Haymarket. Through this valley a stream of water flowed, cross­ ing George-street near its intersection with Hay-street, and emptied into Cockle Bay—now known as Darling Harbor —at that time much nearer George-street than it is to-day. It is easy to picture a stream of water running into the harbor atthe foot of Brickfield Hill; but not so easy to picture a stream crossing George-street near Goulburn- street; yet such was the case, and both there and at the Haymarket bridges were erected across these streams. 156 The Royal Australian Historical Society. We can gain some idea of the changed configuration of Brickfield Hill by recalling the fact that in the Thirties, not less than one million cubic feet of earth was removed from thehill and placedin the valley below. By such means, hills, hollows and rivulets so completely disappear­ ed that to-day one can scarcely believe they ever existed. The Toll Bar and the Carters’ Barracks, built in 1819, and the Benevolent Asylum, erected in 1820, were the cemetery’s nearest neighbours at that period. A plan of Sydney, bearing the date 1822, gives one an excellent idea as to how this southern part of the town looked nearly a hundred years ago. Eighty years passed away, and the town of Sydney grew into a great city. The quiet cemetery saw the Brick­ fields transformed, and the adjoining sandhills covered with houses; witnessed the disappearance of rivulets, shrub and wildflower, and then its own turn came, and the his­ toric cemetery where “The rude forefathers ofthe ham­ let slept” is now but memorya of “Old Sydney.” Through this cemetery, by means of the many pictures tobe thrown upon the screen, we are about to wend our way. We shall see the graves of men and women whose services to the colony were so great and whose lives were so full of incidentand adventure that nothing short of a volume would be. needed to recount them. And now let us turn back the wheels of time for near a score of years, and accepting me as your guide, take ramblea through one of the most historic cemeteries in Australia. Before we enter the gates, we will view the cemetery from an elevation, and so we ascend to the roof of Anthony Hordern’s furniture warehouse, then in Gipps-street, Hay- market. Prom this altitude we get the fine panoramic view shown on the screen. At the corner of Pitt-street and Belmore-road we see the old tram sheds. Adjoining these, are buildings ap­ proximately on the site of the old Carters’ Barracks. The Convent ofthe Good Samaritan was built, it is said, in front of the barracks, while the Female Refuge, to the south of this, occupies the site of the House of Cor­ rection, in which stood that old instrument of punishment —the treadmill. Between these buildings and the Bene­ volent Asylum stood the cottage, for many years the residence of the Inspector-General of Police, Capt. Mc- Lerie. The two-storied house nearer the asylum is Christ’s Church Rectory. At one time the watch-house The Sandhills—An Historic Cemetery.157 was on that spot, but an exchange was effected, and the watch-house was erected at the intersection of George and Pitt streets, on the triangular corner which was part of the church land. The Benevolent Asylum stands out well in the pic­ ture, as does also the old railway station beyond. The cemetery is clearly shown; the northern part is the Church of England section. This is separated from the Roman Catholic and Presbyterian sections by a brick wall, surmounted by a stone coping; the Presbyterian por­ tion ran at the back of the asylum fence,right to Devon- shire:street, and east of this was the Friends’ Meeting House and small burial ground; then the Congregational, Wesleyan, and Jewish sections, which faced Devonshire- street, opposite the railway station,and access was gained from that street. The older portion fronted Belmore Park, and was sep­ arated from it by Belmore-road, awinding thoroughfare that ran from Pitt to Elizabeth streets. From thisroad— which is now completely obliterated—one passed through an iron gateway into the cemetery.