The Old Cemetery
The Old Cemetery has become known as the Litany Street Cemetery and is open at all times to the public. Although there is no register for the Litany Street Cemetery, an original 1871 plan was redrawn in 1982 and marks the known burials for the pre-1888 period whether or not there is a headstone on the site.
Some of the headstones remain readable and tell unique stories of the life and hardships of the times. As Cromwell expanded the old cemetery was inconveniently near the residential area and drifting sand threatened to overwhelm it. The old cemetery is a record of those early years, especially 1873-75 when primitive standards of hygiene led to a typhoid epidemic.
In 1886, the old site was closed and a new cemetery set up. The first burial there took place in May 1888.
I chose this location for a cache as it is an important part of my history (three of my ancestors are buried here) and Cromwell's history and it often gets overlooked when people visit Cromwell.
This cache used to be part of my A to Z of the Cromwell Area.
But due to time and wear/tear I have disbanded it. The cache will still say "O is for Old" on the logbook.
Coordinates:
S 45° 0A.BCD
E 169° 1E.FGH
A: Robert Campbell died 10/0_/1894
B: How many children did Daniel and Ellen Scally lose in 1873-84?
C: William O'Connell was 7_ when he died.
D: Alice Dawkins died _3/03/1885.
E: John Garrett was 3_ when he died.
F: Patrick Kelly was 4_ when he died.
G: James William Polson died age _0.
H: John Polsen was 7_ when he died.