By Belinda Nolan
In the absence of a proper graveyard, the first 800 to die were hastily buried in makeshift graves in Gellibrand Point.
The impromptu site quickly became the last resting place of ship’s fever victims, sailors and convicts, as well as Williamstown’s early pioneers, who migrated to the seaside town to make a better life for themselves.
But as the population grew, so did the town.
As the sea-swept graveyard crept closer to the settlement, it became a priority to find a new, more hallowed ground to bury the dead.
Williamstown Cemetery was established in 1857 and became the town’s first official burial ground.
The first person to be buried there was Captain Lawrence Lawson, a Master Mariner and long time resident of the suburb.
In 1899 more than 800 corpses were dug up from Point Gellibrand and re-interred at the new site.
These new arrivals were buried in a mass grave and surviving gravestones were mounted on a vault in 1901.
Altona resident Chris Gibson’s great-grandparents were among those buried in the mass grave when the cemetery was moved.
Mr Gibson said he often visited his relatives’ graves to remind himself of his heritage.
“When you think about everything those early pioneers went through, it’s just amazing,’ Mr Gibson said.
“It really makes you appreciate where you came from.”
The Champion Road cemetery is listed on the Victorian heritage register as a site of special significance to the people of Williamstown and a testament to the early history of the state itself.
The Geological Society of Victoria is inviting cemetery buffs to participate in a new project to measure climate change at their local cemetery.
The project involves measuring the weathering of marble tombstones to investigate shifts in pollution levels and climate change worldwide.
For more information about the gravestone project visit www.goearthtrek.com.
