CEMETERICALLY SPEAKING

Today I decided was to be the day I headed off to the cemetery to ensure they don't bulldoze my mothers grave. Turns out you only get a grave plot for around 50 years and then they can redevelop the land. I don't think they disturb the burial, they just remove the headstone and any trimmings. You can renew the plot for a price if you want, but they aren't renewing the area where my mother is. Plans are to redevelop it in the next 20 years or so, so it turns out I still have some time to figure out what to do.

karrakatta

I kind of like visiting this cemetery. It's an old one and the grounds are beautiful. It's also one of a very small number of places in this city that's pretty much quiet. The residents don't make much noise. Big old gnarly trees, beautiful just the same, hundreds of birds and lots of flowers. You tend to forget the sorrow that flows in and out of the place daily.

karrakatta1

I've visited enough times over the years to be comfortable here, some people get creeped out visiting a cemetery, I don't. It's a bit of an adventure in history, style, tackiness and the occasional good laugh. All you have to do is wander the graves and you'll find past leaders, explorers, archbishops, plain old common people and some really interesting plots....

I was walking along the northern edge of the cemetery and came across the place where they bury the priests and nuns. The nuns get simple plaques on the ground, the priests a larger stone and the second Archbishop of Perth gets this monster....

It's good to be King

archbishop

I so love this one. First up it's a bust of the deceased, man they haven't been doing this since Julius Caesar and friends, add to that the effort that has been put into keeping bird shit off of it and you have one very cool headstone, who looks a bit like Tin Tin.

covered

I also found what I want my grave to look like, exactly like this, over grown with jungle greenery. I want a machete kept in a scabbard next to it so that people have to hack their way in to read the inscription....

"Here lies a man who was once an archaeologist"
"Do not touch the circular panel"


my kinda grave 1

my kinda grave

And I'll finish will a little graveside anarchy
"we don't need your stinkin rules man"

rules


Comments

Anonymous said…
The best cemetary I have ever seen is in Ingham, a town about 100km north of Townsville. It is filled with actual houses for the dead and looks like a small Italian township. The fact that Ingham is full of Italians might have something to do with it. Will take a photo soon and send it on.
Mum
stu said…
Sounds a lot like my friends village cemetery in Italy mum, they had all of those house like vaults and some amazing artwork. Click this link to see some....

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3161/2544660636_a4204355dd_o.jpg


For those of you confused by my mum posting a comment below a blog about her grave....I have two mums, my birth mum (Dec) and my mum ever since :)
stu said…
hmmm you may not be able to click that link, so just copy it into a web page
Anonymous said…
Oh yes as if I know how to do that on this little black gadget.
Mum