Presentation: Professor Miles Lewis entertained the crowd and unveiled the new information board.
Professor Miles Lewis and his wife, Mary, were special guests of the Whroo Cemetery Trust, with the acclaimed architect, academic and historian unveiling the new feature at the Whroo Cemetery.
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“My great-grandfather John Lewis was a real identity around Whroo, not just in connection with the big Balaclava mine but with many community activities including this cemetery, 150 years ago,” Prof Lewis said at the unveiling of a new information board for visitors to the old burial ground at Whroo, in the heart of the Rushworth forest.
“My great grandfather provided patron services to the Mechanics’ Institute, the local church where his family had their own front pew, and to the cemetery as an early trustee and donor. While all this was happening he made, then lost, a fortune in co-ownership of the Balaclava mine.”
Co-owner Archibald Menzies used his share of that fortune to fund the building of Menzies Hotel, a showpiece in central Melbourne but demolished many years ago.
Some 81 visitors made the most of a picnic opportunity in beautiful autumn sunshine on Sunday, as trust chairman Ken Bock outlined the aim of offering information to all visitors in the decades ahead.
Many in attendance are direct descendants of people buried at Whroo, which goes back as far as 1860, when the land, already used for early goldfield burials after 1853, was officially gazetted for cemetery purposes.
Mr Bock highlighted the local supply of timber, local artwork for the sign, and the collective efforts of multiple researchers.
“We are here for today’s unveiling only through team effort,” he said.
Rushworth and District Community Bank board member Christine Borger spoke of her own family connection to the district spanning five generations, with several engaged in the search for gold.
“The bank has been very pleased to provide some grant funding as our contribution to district heritage,” she said.
The trust’s mission is to maintain the now-closed cemetery in a condition to show maximum respect for those buried at Whroo, and trust members appreciated a number of spontaneous donations made towards that objective.
History: Many of the crowd were descended from people buried at Whroo up to 160 years ago.
