ref: cm46/07 andrew lysaght park - old roman … · ordinary meeting of council 19 march 2007 page...

Ordinary Meeting of Council 19 March 2007 Page 27

Wollongong City Council

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REF: CM46/07

ANDREW LYSAGHT PARK - OLD ROMAN CATHOLIC BURIAL GROUND BURIAL REGISTER Report of Manager Commercial Projects and Property (MT) 28/02/07 05.14.002

PRECIS

As part of the Andrew Lysaght Park refurbishment, a memorial wall incorporating a burial register is proposed to be constructed to honour the heritage of Wollongong’s oldest European burial ground. Finalising details of the burial resister list has proven more difficult than anticipated due to conflicting information from credible sources. This report outlines details of the circumstances surrounding this source of conflict and seeks Council’s authority to finalise the details for the register as set out in the body of this report.

RECOMMENDATION

1 An Old Roman Catholic Burial Ground Burial Register be inscribed in the memorial wall at Andrew Lysaght Park in accordance with option 4 in this report.

2 Council’s Local Studies Library create an Andrew Lysaght Park documents collection for

inspection by the public.

BACKGROUND

Andrew Lysaght Park (ALP) is located within the Wollongong City Beach foreshore precinct, south of Crown Street, between the Wollongong Entertainment Centre and Quilkey Place and to the north east of the WIN Sports Stadium. ALP is a rest park in accordance with the Old Roman Catholic Cemetery Crown Street Wollongong Act 1969 and is the last remnant of Wollongong’s oldest burial ground, the Old Roman Catholic Burial Ground which was established at what is now lower Crown Street. The cemetery existed before government surveyors laid out the town of Wollongong. From 1830 until 1861 the cemetery was exclusively a Roman Catholic burial ground. The graveyard was initially closed in 1862, although three further burials of the Lysaght family were undertaken, to accompany an earlier family burial, with the last occurring in 1914. At the time of its closure in the 1860s, 155 persons where listed in the Burial Register for the cemetery. This original Burial Register of the Old Roman Catholic Cemetery at Crown Street is considered to be questionable because the Priest who recorded names was not always present in the town when a death and subsequent burial took place. The archaeologist who wrote a 1996 Conservation Plan for The Old Roman Catholic Cemetery, Crown Street, Wollongong, as part of the development of the Northern Grandstand by Wollongong Sportsground Trust, estimated that there is likely to be up to 200 persons buried in the cemetery. In February 2002, Council, through the Wollongong Heritage Advisory Committee, allocated funds for a search of the New South Wales Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages to complete the Burial Register of The Old Roman Catholic Cemetery, Crown Street Wollongong. The report to the Heritage Advisory Committee states, “Should the Committee agree to contribute to this task it would provide Council with a more complete register of who is buried in the cemetery, which could then be displayed on the site”. In the five years since the allocation of funds, death certificates relating to the Old Roman Catholic Cemetery have been reviewed and inspected by volunteers, notices have been posted in national papers, direct descendants have been interviewed, a book has been written, and countless documents and a variety of theories relating to the cemetery and who could be reasonably considered buried there have been considered by Wollongong’s heritage enthusiasts. This desire to have a more

Ordinary Meeting of Council 8 19 March 2007


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complete Burial Register has caused much community debate and been the subject of many years of research by numerous persons. At this point in time, Council is in procession of two proposed Burial Registers for the Old Roman Catholic Burial Ground. One proposed Burial Register has been completed by the Friends of Andrew Lysaght Park, a group of descendants of those known to be buried in ALP. The Friends list comprises of 255 persons and is shown as Attachment 1 to this report. The Friends believe their list is the most accurate and complete register of who is buried in the cemetery. The Friends of Andrew Lysaght Park want Council to place their list on the proposed Memorial/Burial Register in the refurbished Andrew Lysaght Park. The Friends have spent years on this project in cooperation with Council. They feel their time, effort, expertise and personal expense should be acknowledged by Council by placing it on site as the only Burial Register for the Old Roman Catholic Burial Ground. The other proposed Burial Register has been developed by Wendy Nunan, a past member of the Illawarra Family History Group and author of “Wollongong Old Roman Catholic Burial Ground” published in April 2005. The Nunan April 2005 book did contain information that conflicted with research complied by the Friends so the Friends began work on their burial register listing in response to the Nunan Book. Nunan has updated her original 2005 Burial Register a number of times when new information has come to light, the end result being listed in Attachment 2 with 322 names. Mrs. Nunan also believes her list is the most accurate and complete register of who is buried in the cemetery. Primarily, the Friend’s Burial Register takes a family historian perspective in relation to name spellings/death dates and took a conservative approach to listing names. Carol Herben (Friends representative) explains, “In fact, where historians could not agree, e.g. the Larkins where one family member stated their ancestors were buried in Andrew Lysaght Park and another [another family member] at West Dapto, we were forced to omit the Larkins altogether from the listing. It was considered that it was far better to exclude names rather than include them before proven wrong in the future.” In contrast Mrs Nunan takes a broader approach to inclusions on her list, she states in an email to Council staff, “..I do not find it acceptable to delete people from the list when their death registrations state Wollongong Catholic Burial Ground and there is no evidence to the contrary and no evidence showing them buried elsewhere. Also it is wrong to delete those Catholics identified from the Magisterial Inquiries where again there is no evidence to the contrary.” Mrs Nunan and The Friends disagree on what constitutes evidence and what are acceptable theories to determine who was buried at the Old Roman Catholic Cemetery at Crown Street Wollongong. Proving either one “right” to the exclusion of the other would be impossible as the records of that time are scarce and entirely up to individual interpretation. Hiring an outside Heritage expert to review each proponent’s source documents and evaluate their theories would be cost prohibitive, running into the tens of thousands of dollars. The existing lists are the subject of at least five years of work. Council held a meeting with the Friends in September 2006 to discuss incorporating both the lists on site. This proposition was not supported by the Friends. Council then decided to hold an independently facilitated meeting between the stakeholders. Meeting notes of that November 2006 meeting are shown as Attachment 3. Councillors, stakeholders and Council officers were in attendance. Although a consensus was not reached, it was generally concluded that there would be no on site Burial Register. Instead there would be an on site



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story about the Old Roman Catholic Cemetery’s history engraved in the memorial wall with a reference to finding out more by visiting Council’s Local Studies Library. This conclusion angered many members of the Friends and the matter now stands before Council. The Friends and other descendants feel that not having an onsite Burial Register in the refurbished Andrew Lysaght Park is a violation of the terms of the Plan of Management for Andrew Lysaght Park, which was adopted by Council in December 2002 and a breach of past promises by Council to acknowledge the history of the rest park. The Plan of Management for Andrew Lysaght Park (POM) does describe a design proposal “…to better reflect its status as a rest park…The Crown Street entrance has been given a special formal emphasis through the use of memorial wall structures and seating integrated into the planting bed walls. It will also incorporate a Burial Register…(excerpted from pages 22 and 23). However, the POM also states, “Note that the Landscape Master Plan is intended as a concept only. Minor changes may be necessary during design development and construction stages of the project.(page 24)”Acknowledging the history of the site by an onsite story board rather than an on site Burial Register is deemed a minor change to the concept design in the POM and would be legally acceptable in terms of the POM. The problem faced by Council is that the advocates of Andrew Lysaght Park see the deletion of the on site Burial Register as a major change and a breaking of promises. The idea has generated a number of complaints. To date, 10 persons have sent in letters regarding their wish that Council have an onsite burial register to properly acknowledge the site’s history. In their opinion, a story board will not do Wollongong’s “Pioneer Cemetery” justice. The best argument for an on site burial register is reflected in attachment 4, a photograph taken in Andrew Lysaght Park of a 35 person family reunion of the descendants of William and Joseph Ricketts. These descendants and others like them have asked Council for an onsite burial register. PROPOSAL

In light of the depth of feeling this issue has created among descendants of those interned in the Old Roman Catholic Burial Ground it is proposed that Council develop an on site Burial Register in two parts as follows: Part 1 - be an alphabetical list of persons common to both the Friends and Nunan lists. Part 2 – be an alphabetical list of those persons not common to both lists but listed on either. Council has a desire to accommodate the wishes of family descendents. In the event that a family descendent has expressed a preference to Council in writing, the burial register entry will be in accordance with that family preference rather than in accordance with the Friends or Nunan Lists. When there is a conflict regarding entry details for Part 1 of the burial register then the Friends list will take preference. Details for Part 2 of the register will be in accordance with either the Friends list or Nunan list, which ever applies. Subject to Council adopting this proposal, details of the list will be forwarded to the stone mason responsible for inscription on the memorial wall in Andrew Lysaght Park. Any variation to this list will only occur with the agreement of all parties. As the proposed burial register is comprised of two parts, there will be some explanatory text that will be approved by the Council’s Heritage Strategic Planning Officer prior to submission to the stone mason.

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Finally, it is proposed that the Council Burial Register should have the following details: Surname Christian Name Date of death or burial (B) Age When the date of death is not complete, then the date of burial would be given, noted with a (B), eg: ADAMS Peter 05.03.1855 (B) 60 years Finally, Council will also create a collection of Andrew Lysaght Park/Old Roman Catholic Burial Ground related documents in the Local Studies Library available for the general public to inspect as the site’s history is rich and varied. This proposal has been referred to the Diocese of the Catholic Church and they are supportive of the recommendations in this report, as noted in Attachment 5. CONSULTATION AND COMMUNICATION

City Strategy, Design and Library Services Divisions and the persons/organisations that attended the 8 November meeting (see Attachment 3), were consulted on this matter. The Catholic Diocese of Wollongong has submitted a letter (Attachment 5) supporting the idea of an onsite burial ground as proposed in this report. PLANNING AND POLICY IMPACT

The refurbishment of Andrew Lysaght Park is a key element in Council’s current Corporate Plan. Council’s Works Division has been improving the site since November 2006. An on site Burial Register is part of the works proposed under the approved development application.

ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABILITY Refurbishment of Andrew Lysaght Park has been undertaken with the principles of ecological sustainability in mind. RISK ASSESSMENT

This proposal is aimed at mitigating the risk of Council being criticised for not meeting the expectations of the descendants of Wollongong’s first settlers. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

The onsite Burial Register has been costed as part of the budget allocation for the ALP refurbishment. OPTIONS

1 Adopt the 8 November 2006 Meeting outcome and have the site’s history acknowledged by an onsite storyboard and a Local Studies Collection rather than an on site Burial Register.

2 Adopt the Friends list (Attachment 1) as the onsite Burial Register, except when refuted in

writing by a family member. 3 Adopt the Nunan list (Attachment 2) as the onsite Burial Register except when refuted in

writing by a family member 4 Adopt the Council developed onsite Burial Register and Local Studies Andrew Lysaght Park

Collection as proposed in this report. CONCLUSION

Council should adopt option 4 and have both an onsite Burial Register and Local Studies Andrew Lysaght Park Collection as outlined in the proposal section of this report.



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Name Position Title Date Signature This report provides Councillors with all the relevant information and is correct at the time of writing.

This information has been relied upon in preparing the report and its recommendations. Signed by:

Martha Tyndall Community Land Officer 28/2/07

Peter Coyte Manager Commercial Projects and Property

2/3/07

Stephen Payne Chief Financial Officer 7/3/07

ATTACHMENTS

1. The Friends of Andrew Lysaght Park Old Roman Catholic Burial Ground Burial Register 2. The Nunan Old Roman Catholic Burial Ground Burial Register 3. Notes of Meeting held 8 November 2006 4. Photograph of William and Joseph Ricketts' descendents in Andrew Lysaght Park 5. Letter from the Diocese of Wollongong dated 20 February 2007

ATTACHMENT 1 - The Friends of Andrew Lysaght Park Old Roman Catholic Burial Ground Burial Register


ATTACHMENT 1 - The Friends of Andrew Lysaght Park Old Roman Catholic Burial Ground Burial Register Page 33


ATTACHMENT 1 - The Friends of Andrew Lysaght Park Old Roman Catholic Burial Ground Burial Register Page 35


ATTACHMENT 2 - The Nunan Old Roman Catholic Burial Ground Burial Register Page 37


ATTACHMENT 2 - The Nunan Old Roman Catholic Burial Ground Burial Register


ATTACHMENT 3 - Notes of Meeting held 8 November 2006 Page 43


Meeting Notes Meeting on Andrew Lysaght Park, Wednesday November 8, 2006 From 2.15 pm – 5 pm.

1. Participant introductions: Participants introduced themselves to the group: Vivien Twyford (facilitator) Carol Herben – Member of Friends of Andrew Lysaght Park, President of Illawarra

Historical Society, past member of Illawarra Family History Group. George Herben – Husband of above Valerie Hurry- Member of Friends of Andrew Lysaght Park Councillor Kiril Jonovski (Ward 6) – Wollongong City Council Wendy Nunan - Genealogist and Local History Researcher, Member of Society of

Australian Genealogists Sydney, Member of Tongarra Heritage Society , Foundation member of Illawarra Family History Group for 21 years, Member of the Illawarra Catholic Sesquicentenary Committee.

Wayne Douglass – Manager, Special Projects and Statutory Property, Wollongong City Council

Martha Tyndall – Community Land Management Property Officer – Wollongong City Council

Beverly Booth – President of the Illawarra Family History Group Ian Torrance – Secretary of the Illawarra Family History Group Tony Abela – Catholic Church, Diocese of Wollongong Councillor Anne Wood (Ward 3) – Wollongong City Council

2. Ground Rules Participants agreed to follow meeting ground rules as follows: Speak one at a time Not interrupt the person speaking or speak over the top of them Let the facilitator know if we want to speak Listen to others with respectful curiosity Treat other people’s views and ideas with respect Raise differences openly and constructively

3. Decision to be made It was agreed that this meeting was called to address a decision that would be made by Council. The decision is “What names will be included on the plaque to be erected in Andrew Lysaght Park to commemorate those who were buried in the cemetery that used to exist on the site?” It was agreed that Councillors present are looking for information from people involved in the research that will help Council to make the decision. Councillor Jonovski indicated that Council is looking for agreement from those in the room and if agreement is reached, Council will support that agreement. However, if no decision is reached, Council will use the information gained to make a decision.

4. Meeting purpose and personal objectives for attending Generally those attending were there with the objective of providing information to Council and listening to information provided by others.

ATTACHMENT 3 - Notes of Meeting held 8 November 2006


5. The purpose of the memorial wall in Andrew Lysaght Park After a general discussion was held on the purpose of the memorial wall there was agreement that the purpose of the wall is to: Enable future family historians to check out their ancestors. Develop a comprehensive burial register of those people whose bones currently lie

in Andrew Lysaght Park and those who were buried there and later moved. Develop a list of names, with a date of either death or burial and age, of people once

buried in Andrew Lysaght Park and who are not recognised as being buried anywhere else.

6. Background information Carol Herben provided extensive information based on her research over several years. Essential points from her presentation (supported by overheads of photos and maps) were: That there were two Catholic Burial Grounds from 1858 onwards. These were

Andrew Lysaght Park and Wollongong General Cemetery. The records are not always clear as to which place Catholics were buried. Some people who are thought to be buried in Andrew Lysaght Park are likely to be buried in Wollongong General Cemetery.

Information provided on death certificates, including names and places of burial, is not always accurate.

Wendy Nunan provided additional information. Essential points from her presentation were: That there are significant differences between Wendy’s interpretation of the historical

records and Carol’s interpretation of the same information. It is unlikely that there were burials at Wollongong General Cemetery prior to 1867

as the site was not dedicated as a cemetary until then. Catholics buried prior to 1867 are most likely to have been buried in the cemetery at Andrew Lysaght Park.

Church burial registers are not always accurate as there was not always a requirement to register burials.

7. Where to from here The remainder of the agenda was not followed. Instead the meeting addressed the question “Where do we go from here?” There was agreement that there can be no certainty about past events. Documents are unclear and exactly who was buried where is a matter of interpretation and deduction. It was decided that there are two immediate options for Council to pursue:

Continue to develop a list of agreed names for the plaque in Andrew Lysaght Park based on people known to have been buried at one time in Andrew Lysaght Park and who are not recognised as being buried anywhere else. Use an independent arbitrator to finalise the list, if Wendy and Carol cannot agree to agree.

Not to put a list of name on a plaque. Instead to create a plaque that contains: o A story of the site o The approximate number of people who were buried at Andrew Lyaght

Park.

ATTACHMENT 3 - Notes of Meeting held 8 November 2006 Page 45


o A reference to a register of documents that together provide a history of those who were buried at the site.

In either case Council will create a Register of Documents which would be placed in the Local Studies Room in the Library which would be dated 2006 and contain all the relevant documents used in both Carol and Wendy’s research. This would allow family historians in the future to have a single repository of documents to refer to in seeking information on their ancestors.

8. Final Agreement It was agreed that it is unlikely that Carol and Wendy could agree on a list of those known to lie in Andrew Lysaght Park. Councillors did not wish to proceed with putting a list of names on the plaque if there was no agreement as future arguments might cause problems for the management of the Park in the future. It was decided not to put any name on the plaque in the Park, but to include:

o A story of the site with a civic and a Catholic touch o An approximate number of people who were buried in the site over a

known period. o A reference to a register of documents that together provide a history of

those who were buried at the site. In addition Council agreed to create a Register of Documents which would be placed in the Local Studies Room in the Library which would be dated 2006 and contain all the relevant documents used in both Carol and Wendy’s research, the list of names of people who might have been buried in Andrew Lysaght Park with dates and ages. Anyone at the meeting was invited to provide input to the story of the site to Martha Tyndall. Martha will draft text for the plaque which will be circulated to all those who register interest. The final draft text will be reviewed and signed off by both Council and the Catholic Church prior to the plaque being made and erected in Andrew Lysaght Park. Notes provided by Vivien Twyford, Facilitator.

ATTACHMENT 4 - Photograph of William and Joseph Ricketts' descendents in Andrew Lysaght Park


ATTACHMENT 5 - Letter from the Diocese of Wollongong dated 20 February 2007 Page 47
