Ballarat Cemeteries

If you've ever wanted to find out how our Ops team coax such beautiful, long-flowering blooms out of our roses, reserve your spot in our FREE rose pruning workshop soon, as places are starting to fill up.

When: Thursday 8 August
Time: 10.00am
Venue: Ballarat New Cemetery

Bookings are essential as places are limited. Please call 03 5332 1469 or email [email protected] to reserve your place.

An interesting arrangement of symbols on the Heron family tombstone at Ballarat Old Cemetery (F2 - Section 22 - Row 2 - Grave 22). Five members of the family are interred here.

The anchor, etched with the word ‘hope’ at the base, was a symbol of Christ and how he kept the faithful grounded and secure during the difficult times in life. In the context of this memorial, the anchor links back to a passage from the bible: “… which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.” (Hebrews, 6: 18-19, KJV)

Note: Sometimes the anchor in cemetery symbols relates to a sea-faring profession, rather than a religious symbol, although not in this case.

The Latin cross supporting the anchor reinforces the religious symbolism of the tableau.

Behind the cross and anchor is a branch of ivy, an eternally evergreen plant associated with friendship and attachment. Its three-pointed leaves also connect back to the symbolism of the Holy Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit).

Marcella Heron’s sudden passing was reported in The Ballarat Star on Monday 6 June 1898: “The deceased, who was a widow, aged 65 years, had enjoyed excellent health up to Friday evening, when she was seized with a fit of sickness. Her relatives desired to send for a doctor, but the old lady declined to let them do so, and assured them that she would soon be well again.”

You can read the full report here: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/215224820?searchTerm=Marcella%20Heron

Join us at our first FREE Death Cafe on Wednesday 7th August, 2024 from 10.30am - 11.30am.

Enjoy coffee and cake while having conversations about death, dying, and end of life planning in the relaxed, friendly surrounds of The Botanical House Ballarat.

Hosted by Ballarat Cemeteries’ CEO Annie De Jong, the purpose of our Death Cafe is to encourage our community to talk openly about mortality and end-of-life matters. Discussing death is not always easy, but it can enhance our appreciation for life and ensure we are more equipped to fulfil a loved one's last wishes.

Bookings are essential as places are limited. Please call 03 5332 1469 or email [email protected] to reserve your place.

☕ Not sure what a Death Café is? Have a read about the origins of this global movement and its aims here: https://deathcafe.com/what/

Can't make it on this date? Stay tuned for news about the other Death Cafe events we have planned for August.

Beautiful photo of a rainbow over Lawn E at Ballarat New Cemetery taken by one of our Client Services team members on Sunday.

Finding a meaningful way to remember a loved one after their death is a deeply personal choice. Some may find comfort in placing their ashes in a traditional urn as a symbol of remembrance. Others may desire a completely different way to honour the life of their special person.

Handcrafted in Australia by award-winning artists, Memorial Glass® cremation keepsakes provide an elegant and artistic way to celebrate your loved one's life. These exquisite pieces lovingly encase cremation ashes in beautiful, tactile objects and jewellery, designed to be cherished forever.

Featured here are the stunning Galaxy Memorial Domes, showcasing a spiral of ashes intertwined with swirls of your chosen colours, all encapsulated in solid glass. These original creations are available in a variety of colours and styles, offering a unique and heartfelt way to keep your loved one's memory close.

Visit our showroom to view samples of exquisite Memorial Glass® keepsakes in person. We're open every weekday from 8:30am to 5:00pm.

Peaceful green views looking down Hall Drive at Ballarat Old Cemetery.

The beautiful Dreamtime area at Ballarat New Cemetery is our tribute to Indigenous communities, providing a special place of belonging for those wishing to be buried on Wadawurrung country.

Open to anyone in our community, this peaceful bush location honours the Traditional Owners and their enduring connection to the land.

This enchanting area lies beyond an inspiring entrance flanked by large natural boulders depicting the silhouettes of Bunjil (the eagle-hawk and spirit creator) and Waa (the Australian Raven). A fire pit with a yam daisy design sits at the center of the space, offering a place for traditional ceremonies and family gatherings.

Dreamtime provides a more natural bushland setting for burials, with eucalypts and native shrubbery creating privacy and a strong connection to nature. The elevated site also offers picturesque views extending to Creswick Regional Park.

Memorial plaques can be mounted on small stones embedded into the earth, blending seamlessly with the surrounding natural landscape.

To make an appointment to find out more about locations available within Dreamtime please call us during business hours on 03 5332 1469.

Will we see you at our FREE rose pruning workshops this year?

Bookings are essential as places are limited. Please call 03 5332 1469 or email [email protected] to reserve your place.

The Aboriginal flag is flying at Ballarat New Cemetery in honour of NAIDOC Week, an annual event dedicated to celebrating the history, culture, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

NAIDOC Week takes place from Sunday 7 July to Sunday 14 July. This year's theme is ‘Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud’, celebrating the unwavering spirit of First Nations communities and calling on everyone to stand in solidarity and amplify the voices that have long been silenced.

To see what's happening locally this week head over to the new Ballarat First Nations Events website for full details ➡️ https://ballaratfirstnations.com.au/naidoc-2024

Detail of a pair of roses on the marble tombstone at the Ballhausen family memorial at Ballarat Old Cemetery (CEN, Section 02, Row 2, Grave 21).

In the Victorian language of flowers, the rose symbolised love, hope and beauty.

In cemetery symbolism, the rose in full bloom usually represented older members of a family who were in the prime years of their life when they passed away.

The hand reaching down could represent the Hand of God, offering those in the grave hope of eternal life in heaven.

There are five members of the Ballhausen family interred at this location; two of them were under the age of 6.

Interested in attending a FREE Death Cafe in Ballarat this winter? ☕

Keep an eye on our social media pages in the next few weeks for news of dates, times, and venues.

Not sure what the global Death Cafe movement is? Check out the website here: https://deathcafe.com

A beautiful photo of the Arch and the Memorial Wall, taken on a cold night in Ballarat by Chippy Rivera

Shared with permission

Mining Mud & Medals

🌹 PLEASE NOTE UPDATED EVENT DATE

Want to learn how to correctly prune roses to encourage healthy growth and beautiful blooms? Interested in sustainable gardening and integrated pest management strategies?

If yes, then make sure you book a place at one of our FREE rose pruning workshops at Ballarat New Cemetery.

Date: Thursday 8 August
Time: 10.00am
Venue: Ballarat New Cemetery

Our expert staff will discuss pruning techniques, and share advice on how to enhance your own roses this season. You'll also get the chance to practice your pruning skills under the guidance of your tutors.

The workshops run for approximately 90 minutes. Light refreshments will be served afterwards in the Dobson Lounge.

Bookings are essential as places are limited. Please call 03 5332 1469 or email [email protected] to reserve your place.

Memorialisation means more than just choosing a future location for your final resting space, or for the placement of your ashes.

It’s about creating a special place where family and friends can visit to remember you or other loved ones when you’re no longer physically here.

Ballarat New Cemetery offers a number of exceptional spaces to gather and commemorate a loved one.

Call our friendly staff on 03 5332 1469 to make an appointment to do a tour and discuss the many choices available at our beautiful botanical cemetery.

🌹 PLEASE NOTE UPDATED EVENT DATE

Beautiful rose blooms along the driveway near the Information Centre at Ballarat Old Cemetery earlier this year.

If you'd love to know how our expert horticultural team make all our roses look so good make sure you book a place in our FREE rose pruning workshops on Thursday 8 August at Ballarat New Cemetery.

To expand your knowledge, this year they will also be talking about sustainable gardening and integrated pest management strategies.

Bookings are essential as places are limited. Please call 03 5332 1469 or email [email protected] to reserve your place.

Yesterday Member for Ballarat Catherine King announced funding of over $140,000 from the Albanese Government’s Saluting Their Service Commemorative Grants Program for production company Wind & Sky Productions at Ballarat New Cemetery’s Book of Remembrance.

The funding will finance the development of a digital exhibition and documentary marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second Word War titled Indispensable: Australian service women in east and southeast Asia 1945-1955.

Although Australian women have always contributed to war service, their stories are not often well known.

This groundbreaking project will explore a variety of stories, including the contributions of individual Australian women who served in the armed forces or had a military support role in east and southeast Asia in the aftermath of the Second World War and in the decade that followed.

The project has strong support from the Returned Nurses RSL Victoria sub-branch, the Red Cross Australia archives and a number of eminent researchers and experts. The producers will also partner with volunteer historians at the Royal Historical Society of Victoria to research the subject.

If there are women's war stories in your community that are yet to be told, visit the Saluting Their Service Commemorative Grants Program to view the funding opportunities available: https://www.dva.gov.au/about/overview/consultations-and-grants/grants-and-bursaries/saluting-their-service-commemorative-grants-program

Welcome to the tiniest keepsake urns in our collection.

Measuring in at just 25mm and 30mm, these lovely Tree of Life thimble urns are a discreet and personal way to memorialise a loved one after their death.

Available in stainless steel or rose gold finishes, they feature the silhouette of a tree etched into the body of the urn in black, plus a threaded lid which allows a small quantity of ashes to be securely placed inside.

These diminutive urns are perfect for creating an enduring and portable tribute to a loved one, especially if their ashes are being scattered and no central place for memorialisation has been planned.

They are also ideal for large families who may wish to divide ashes among family members for personal memorialisation or future cemetery placement.

To view our full range of keepsake urns please visit our showroom in the administration building at Ballarat New Cemetery during regular office hours.

In the Victorian language of flowers, red roses symbolised love in its deepest forms.

In the Christian faith, it was said that a red rose bush grew at the site of Christ’s death. Red roses were also one of the floral symbols associated with the Virgin Mary, representing passion and sacrifice.

Red roses have been popular additions to funeral flower arrangements for these reasons and many more.

If you are interested in all things roses, stay tuned for some exciting, rose-related news very soon ...

An iconic view looking through the entrance gates at Ballarat Old Cemetery.

There are over 32,000 individuals interred within this cemetery.

Do you have relatives here? Would you be willing to share their stories with us?

If the plaque on your loved one’s monument at Ballarat Cemeteries has developed a greenish patina (which is a normal part of the weathering process, but some may not like it) or is looking dull, we can help you have it restored to an almost-new state.

Here is an example of a plaque that was recently reconditioned for a family (images shared with permission from the family).

Before commencing this process, you will first need to confirm you are the holder of the Right of Interment (ROI) for the monument.

Once proof of this has been provided and payment has been made, our friendly Client Services team will arrange for the plaque to be lifted and returned to our office. It will then be sent to our industry partner for professional reconditioning at their manufacturing centre.

As per the manufacturer’s guidelines, the process can take between 10-12 weeks. The process involves a number of steps, including stripping the plaque back to raw bronze and sandblasting it, repainting the plaque in the required colour, linishing the text, borders and emblems, and then coating the plaque with a Diamond Shield lacquer. Photos are attached (if required) and then the plaque is returned to the cemetery.

Once we have received your plaque back and it has been reinstalled on the monument, our team contact you by phone to let you know that the restoration has been completed.

To make an appointment to discuss plaque refurbishment with a member from our Client Services team, please call us on 03 5332 1469 or email us at [email protected].

The death of a loved one is always a difficult and emotional time as families and friends simultaneously navigate their grief, try to ensure that final wishes are carried out, and tie up the inevitable loose ends that are always left at the end of someone's life.

Having an end of life plan written in advance and stored in an easily accessible place will take help your family or friends more easily carry out your final wishes and minimise conflict and stress.

The Groundswell Project have created a handy checklist to help you start your planning - you candownload it as a .pdf from this link: https://www.thegroundswellproject.com/your-final-checklist

It covers three key planning areas including important documents, the involvement of family and friends, and ideas for ideal send-off.

It's never too late to make a start, so grab a notebook, open a new document, or types some notes into your phone, and make a start on your planning today.

Patrick Hamilton Brooks was just over 8 years old when he tragically drowned while bathing with two other boys in the Moonlight Company's water-dam at Woolshed Lead (located near Yarrowee Creek in present-day Sebastopol).

A report in the 'Yesterday's Gazette' section of The Age on Wed 27 Oct 1858, provides more details of the accident: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/154877287

Patrick's memorial, which he shares with his mother Catherine, is located beside a large tree at E1, Section 05, Row 2, Grave 10 at Ballarat Old Cemetery.

Soul Bird keepsakes by Final Touch Australia are a creative and personal way to keep your loved ones close after their passing.

Each of these small-sized birds are available in mirror (shown) or dapple finish, and provide a comforting weight when held in the hand. They feature an opening in the base where a small quantity of ashes can be placed, and are also available in a larger size.

These keepsakes provide an enduring, portable tribute to a loved one, especially if their ashes are to be scattered and no location for a permanent memorialisation has been arranged.

If you’re looking for a unique way to remember a loved one, visit our office between 8:30am – 5:00pm every weekday to view our range of beautiful keepsakes urns.

We need your help to give families the chance to create enduring legacies for future generations.

We are seeking information that may assist us in locating the family of individuals with expired tenures on cremation memorials. A full .pdf list of names can be found here:https://www.ballaratcemeteries.com.au/media/0yxnjlif/tenure-list.pdf

If you have information that could help families organise a more permanent memorial site for their loved one, please contact our office by phone on 03 5332 1469 or by email at [email protected].

Looking down Hynes Drive toward Lexton Street at Ballarat Old Cemetery.

This path is named after John Joseph Hynes from County Clare, Ireland, who died of a gunshot wound received during the battle of the Eureka Stockade.

Memorialisation is a deeply personal choice, and there are countless options when it comes to choosing a vessel to hold the ashes of a loved one.

If you are looking for something different to a traditional, vase-shaped urn, why not consider an expertly hand-crafted timber box?

Made from a variety of reclaimed timbers including Myrtle, Jarrah, Mahogany, and Tasmanian Oak, these boxes come in small and large sizes, and are ideal for home memorialisation or the temporary storage of ashes until a permanent memorial location has been chosen.

The boxes featuring side latches can also be used to store special keepsakes and heirlooms bequeathed by a departed loved one.

We currently have a number of different styles available on display in our show room. Come and visit us between 8:30am – 5:00pm on weekdays to see and experience the beautiful craftsmanship of these boxes in person.

Lovely Gothic tracery along the top of a beautifully aged cast-iron fence around a grave in Private 'D' at Ballarat New Cemetery.

Picturesque late afternoon view from the E¹ section at Ballarat Old Cemetery.

To the left is the trunk of a magnificent Smooth-barked Apple/Sydney Red Gum (Angophora costata subsp. costata).

This tree occurs naturally in Queensland and New South Wales but is usually planted as an ornamental in Victoria.

The Sovereign Chapel at Ballarat New Cemetery offers people from all cultures and faiths an ideal venue to celebrate the memory of a loved one.

The Chapel features access for people of all abilities, contemporary furnishings, modern audiovisual equipment, local artwork, a garden atrium providing natural lighting and greenery, toilets, and plenty of parking nearby.

It's a beautiful, comfortable space designed to imbue your service or ceremony with a peaceful atmosphere.

To book or find out more about this space, please call us on 03 5332 1469 or email us at [email protected].

Please note that one side of the Crematorium driveway and the pedestrian gate will be inaccessible (see orange areas of image) from Thursday 30 May to Tuesday 4 June due to ongoing works.

The cemetery can still be accessed by the open lane, but please be mindful of oncoming traffic and pedestrians when entering or exiting.

We apologise for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience as we finalise these necessary upgrades.