Part 2 - A wander through the Boulder Pioneer Cemetery by Steve

After attending the little Lutheran Church in Boulder and having morning tea with them we headed back to the van for lunch. As it was raining we weren't sure what to do for the afternoon. Looking at the map we decided that we would drive out to the old Boulder Pioneer Cemetery before going on to the Mt Charlotte Lookout, which is the end of the 560 km pipeline that delivers water from Mundaring Weir near Perth to the Goldfields.

We had to cut our visit to the cemetery short because the rain became heavier but not before being able to explore most of it. The sombre greyness of the sky became my feeling as I wandered around the cemetery. The children’s sections were heart-breaking, showing just how hard life was (at least from the perspective of our much lower infant mortality rate) for people at the end of the nineteenth century in these rural areas.

Presbyterian Section

 

Presbyterian Section

Presbyterian Section

Presbyterian Section

Presbyterian Section

Presbyterian Section

Presbyterian Section

Baptist Section

Baptist Section

Disciples of Christ Section

She is gone like a flower, cut down in full bloom
From the sunshine of earth to the shade of the tomb
But death cannot sever the chain of our love
Or steal the fond hope, we shall meet her above.

Church of England Section

Church of England Section

Church of England Section

The Superpit Mine behind the Church of England Section

A stately gum

Methodist Children's Section

Though only a few graves have any monumental work, there is an abundance of grave-site markers
 in Methodist Children's Section 

Methodist Children's Section

Methodist Children's Section

Methodist Children's Section

Methodist Children's Section

Methodist Section

Methodist Section

Methodist Section

Methodist Section

One of only three graves I saw that have had a recent commemorative plaque added

Here follows the historical information that I gleaned about "Old Boulder":

Both neglect, with the whole area becoming overgrown, and vandalism have led to the present state of this cemetery, though the council has now erected a fence around the property to prevent vehicles entering and causing more damage.

The first burial was in the Church of England section on 9^th September, 1899. The first Methodist burial was on 4^th October, 1899 and five days later a burial took place in the Roman Catholic section. The Presbyterian section was first used on 19^th December, 1899 and over the next four and half years there were almost 800 burials, which averages one burial every second day. Because of the excessive cost of grave digging the ironstone sections and the inadequate road access, a new cemetery was established closer to Boulder, with the last burial here being on 30^th May, 1904, when this cemetery was officially declared “closed”. Of the 797 burials the following statistics are available: Methodists 36%, Church of England 28%, Roman Catholic 24%, Presbyterian 8.5% with the Baptists, Disciples of Christ and others accounting for 3.5%. An interesting fact is that following its closure there were 46 removals to other cemeteries. Only 62 graves, which is barely 8%, had any monumental work, which indicates the economic circumstances of the early Boulder families. In the Methodist section, Block 21 was opened as a Children’s Section (for still-born babies through to about 12 years of age) and over the two years from its opening, 73 children were buried here. The Methodists, with 289 burials, were the largest denomination and this has been traced back to the early preaching of John Wesley in the mining districts of Britain where many in Wales and Cornwall were converted to the truth of Jesus Christ. Though the Presbyterians were the smallest of the four main Boulder denominations, the Scots brought many of their traditions with them so that with their Caledonian Societies, the Highland Pipe Bands and their kilts they were a prominent part of life in both Boulder and Kalgoorlie. Their Caledonian sports, first run in 1896 and held annually for many years, drew large crowds to watch events like running and cycling and ‘tossing of the caber’. The first Secretary of the Boulder Cemetery Board was Rev. Stanley S. Read, minister of St George’s Presbyterian Church in Boulder. Though only arriving in Boulder City in 1899, and quickly becoming popular with his people, he applied for leave of absence in 1900 so he could accompany the West Australian contingent to the Boer War. He was granted permission to go, only to be killed in action in the Transvaal in October 1901.

To finish off this blog entry here is a panorama of Kalgoorlie from atop Mt Charlotte Lookout: