Burial Recovery Project

“The work is guided by a single purpose: to find these people and return them to rest with the dignity they were denied” Nicci Foster

The first burials at Castlemaine Cemetery occurred in 1852 in Sections A, B, C and D. Almost 100 years later, the Trust started removing historical headstones and reusing those graves. The Trust were warned on numerous occasions by the Department of Health to cease reusing the old graves as it was illegal. The practice continued. In 1994 a police investigation should have ended the desecration of those graves once and for all and yet the practice resumed a few days after the police finalized their report. The illegal reuse of graves was finally stopped in 2020. By this time, tragically approximately 3,000 burials had been displaced.

There is no denying that Castlemaine Cemetery has a distressing history. Uncovering the desecration of thousands of historical graves across three sections of the cemetery has been a challenging to say the least. My first directive after taking over the management of the cemetery was ensuring the practice ceased immediately. The Trust has also worked at protecting the remaining historical graves in these sections. In 2024 we unveiled the Pioneers Memorial Garden to acknowledge the mistakes of the past and ensure the tragic desecration of graves never happens again.

We are now at the next phase of this project. Heritage Consultant, Nicci Foster, has agreed to project lead the “Burial Recovery Project” pro bono.

Having an experienced person like Nicci lead the next phase of this project is invaluable, especially considering the sensitive nature of the work. Nicci’s dedication and empathetic approach is evident when reading about this project on her website. Nicci has documented the known facts and details the different stages of the archeological program

To stay informed and up to date please follow Nicci Foster’s website Know Your Place .

Please reach out to us or Nicci if you have any concerns, questions, or information you would like to share.

I would like to thank everyone for all the support you have shown for the work we do at this beautiful cemetery, and hope you continue to support us as we navigate through this important next phase of the project.

Debra Tranter

Chairperson

Castlemaine Cemetery Trust