Babes in the Cemetery. Rookwood Cemetery, New South Wales, Australia

BABES IN THE CEMETERY

Rookwood Cemetery, New South Wales, Australia.
- 2009

I was visiting my son's grave, and I thought I would take a long walk through Rookwood. I am intereseted in history, so I started taking high definition pictures of graves so I could read some of the inscriptions later. I didn't have unlimited time, and it was a really hot day, so I thought I would just go click-click-click for an hour, and look at the results at my leasure - what with digital photos being free n'all!
I did not set out to take pictures of infant graves, but in the end (probably inspired by my own circumstances) that is how it ended up - so I put this video together. For me, it sums up the fragility and random unfairness of life. Note that on two stones the fathers [@ 2:13 Timothy Maher & 4:27 Alfred Bourne] (both aged in their mid 20's - T.M. with the most impressive cross I have ever seen) died just 1 month and nine months after their babies passed away - how, why? An epidemic? Grief? Suicide? Who knows .... the stones tell of profound tragedies, long forgotten.
On the aforementioned grave of Alfred Bourne, and his 3 month old daughter, Helen, another infant's name appears near the base of the same tombstone, but with a different surname and an earlier date: ALFRED FREDERICK the beloved son of John & Louisa Willson, Died 13th [18th?] September 1876, Aged 1 year and three months. Generally speaking, this is odd, as it's a different surname, and usually the earlier dates end up at the top, and later additions to the memorial end up lower down. My guess is that Alfred Frederick was his nephew [note they shared the same Christian name] it was then decided to bury the two babies together, but then 24 yr old Alfred died a few weeks later, so they all ended up being buried together, with a new memorial stone replacing any previous headstone for baby Alfred Frederick - if there ever was one.
One grave [@ 00.33] with an infant statue above it (Leslie Raymond Hawkes, 3yrs, 3 mths, 1923) you can actually imagine that the grief-striken parents made the area like a garden, with a mini-wall around it. As there was no stone covering, and the plot was very wide, almost square. I guess there were flowers growing there once, now it's falling apart and the only plants are weeds - the parental gardeners long gone, and the babies forgotten - yes "babies"; to add to the sad vista, it is evident that another baby of theirs died too, some time afterwards, and that little one's details (Norma Lesley - named after her brother?) is awkwardly squeezed below that of her sibling. She died at 15 days old in 1929.
On a similar grave with a statue, also from the 1920's [Ronald James Cleeson 3yrs & 5 mths. @ 00:16] I note that the mother, Elsie, in an act of motherly devotion some 53 years later, was buried with her baby, according to a brief inscription at the foot of the monument: "Also Elsie A. Cleeson, Mother of the Above, Died 15th July 1983" - (her age is not recorded) - this quite recent date is not immediately noticable, as the lettering has decayed badly for a mere 25 years, and the tomb is obviously not cared for by anybody that knew Elsie in her lifetime.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Death
• lost babies
• berieved parents
• Rookwood Cemetery
• cot death
• graves
• burial
• mourning for children
• NSW
• Australia
• tombstones

[Jhannon1999]

this is a beauitful video it makes us realize how far we have come to save children. But it makes me sad that the cemetary doesn't look after the site where no-one comes to visit it looks very run down would it hurt for a rose tree to be planted around the old section and for the grass to be cut out or is this the forgotted section where they realize no-one will come and check on the graves

[MsnHacker2010]

this cemetery is haunted....

[flodelor]

So sad, the loss of these beloved children.

[behappy1976]

i love watching videos like this brings backs memories of how life is fragile.Blenhemshots my heart goes out to u god bless u xooxox

[behappy1976]

i love watching videos like this brings backs memories of how life is fragile.Blenhemshots my heart goes out to u god bless u xooxox

[behappy1976]

i love watching videos like this brings backs memories of how life is fragile.Blenhemshots my heart goes out to u god bless u xooxox

[behappy1976]

i love watching videos like this brings backs memories of how life is fragile.Blenhemshots my heart goes out to u god bless u xooxox

[behappy1976]

i love watching videos like this brings backs memories of how life is fragile.Blenhemshots my heart goes out to u god bless u xooxox

[behappy1976]

i love watching videos like this brings backs memories of how life is fragile.Blenhemshots my heart goes out to u god bless u xooxox

[behappy1976]

i love watching videos like this brings backs memories of how life is fragile.Blenhemshots my heart goes out to u god bless u xooxox