Boonah: Baptist Cemetery, Red Bridge Road, Boonah (Hoya)
The Boonah Baptist Cemetery located in Red Bridge or Hoya Road is part of the original Baptist church site. The church was opened in May 1888, but services were held for about ten years before that in private homes, especially Fred Schneider’s, in the area which was known as Dugandan Station. The church was an outstation of the Baptist work at Kalbar (known then as Engelsburg). Eventually land was given by Mr Swartz, a storekeeper of Boonah, for the erection of the building, at which time the Boonah church became independent of Kalbar. This primitive building was extended in 1918, but by the 1920s it was quite inadequate for its purpose. So a decision was made in 1923 to move to the town area. Land was purchased in Church Street, the old building at Hoya demolished and the new church opened on Jan 1, 1927. In 1940 it was moved to the present block next door. This building is now the church hall, having been moved to make way for the present modern church which opened Oct 1, 1966.
Most of the old church site in Red Bridge Road was sold in the early 1980s, leaving only the small cemetery area in the hands of the church. There are no burial records for the old Baptist cemetery, but the earliest marked grave is dated 1894, the latest 1911; there are several unmarked burials. Baptist burials since have mostly taken place in the town cemetery, records for which may be consulted at the Boonah Shire office.
The cache is not on any grave sites