South Brisbane Cemetery, Heritage cemetery in Brisbane, Australia
South Brisbane Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery at 21 Fairfield Road and Annerley Road in Dutton Park, City of Brisbane, Queensland, beside the Brisbane River. Its 18-acre grant dates from 1866, with burials from 1870. Entrance gates, railings and a boundary wall designed by architect A. B. Wilson were built in 1888 by W. Reid for £662.
In 1866 Queensland granted 18 acres for the cemetery, with trustees including Thomas Blacket Stephens and Albert John Hockings. It was declared open on 7 May 1870, and the first burial was Jane Hockings, Albert's mother, on 1 August 1870. A 7-acre addition south of Cornwall Street followed in 1904, and Brisbane City Council took over management in August 1930.
The cemetery's name honours its original district: the area was renamed Dutton Park in 1914 after C. B. Dutton, Secretary of Public Lands from 1883 to 1887, so the burial ground is also called Dutton Park Cemetery. Its 1888 entrance gates, railings and boundary wall were designed by architect A. B. Wilson and built by W. Reid for £662.
The site is easy to walk through, with paths linking the different sections across the grounds. Before visiting, it is worth using the Brisbane City Council's online search tool to locate a specific grave or plot.
Some of the oldest graves on the site are marked only with a number rather than a name, because families could not afford an inscribed stone at the time of burial. These numbered plots are still visible today and stand as a reminder of the harder conditions many early residents faced.
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