Friends of Mays Hill Cemetery in Parramatta, New South Wales | Cemetery

Friends of Mays Hill Cemetery

Locality: Parramatta, New South Wales

Address: Corner of Great Western Highway and Steele St 2145 Parramatta, NSW, Australia

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24.01.2022 Did you know? WILLIAM HENRY CARTER (From the Cumberland Argus & Fruitgrowers Advocate dated 22 Feb. 1911)... "Mr W.H. Carter, chief attendant of the Hospital for the Insane, Parramatta, was in his usual robust health until Thursday of last week, when he suffered a slight stroke during the afternoon, but he seemed to have apparently recovered. On Friday evening, however, there was a sudden and very severe relapse of symptoms, caused by a fresh attack of haemorrhage on the brain, which proved fatal on Sunday morning. The deceased officer was in his 55th year, and had been engaged in the service of the Lunacy Department since 1879. He joined first at Gladesville, and was soon transferred to Callan Park upon the opening of that institution, where he received early promotion to the rank of charge attendant. He was subsequently selected for the responsible post of chief attendant at Parramatta in succession to the late Mr James Wharf, on 1 April, 1903. Mr Carter was born near Picton, in which neighbourhood his family are old residents and much respected, and several members of which are now, or have been in the past, connected with the Department to which Mr Carter belonged. The Chief, as he was popularly known at the Hospital for Insane, Parramatta, was a man of kindly disposition, warm-hearted and generous, always sympathetic to those working under him, as well as to the afflicted placed in his charge. He was indeed slow to anger and of infinite patience, and, as many of the patients in his care at Callan Park and at Parramatta have reason to remember, was almost an ideal officer for the position he filled. His loss will be severely felt by the Lunacy Department, and we extend our fullest sympathy to Mrs Carter and her daughter. He also leaves one son, who is at present, a marine engineer in a line of steamers running between England and Argentine. William died 19 February 1911 aged 55 years."

24.01.2022 Another heritage building in Parramatta is at risk of being spoilt by inappropriate surrounding development. Will be interesting to see if the Land and Environ...ment Court upholds the rejection of the DA by the Heritage Council and Sydney West Central Planning Panel. "Roxy owner David Kingston wants to overhaul the 1930s theatre as a multilevel "leisure and cultural facility" with a 700-seat auditorium, ballroom, function centre, cafes, restaurants and retail space. The ambitious 30-storey building design concept submitted to planning authorities also included office space in a tower set back from the state heritage-listed theatre's facade. That plan was recommended for rejection by the Heritage Council of NSW and was knocked back by the Sydney West Central Planning Panel last September. While the heritage council said it "strongly supports a reactivation of the Roxy Theatre" that protected and complemented its state-heritage significance, it opposed the tower's height. Mr Kingston's company, K Capital Group, has since launched legal action against the City of Parramatta Council in the NSW Land and Environment Court in a bid to win approval for the tower."

20.01.2022 SIGN THE PETITION & SHARE The Parramatta Light Rail route is set to run through the heart of Cumberland District Hospital Heritage Precinct with major implicati...ons for the precinct. Described by the Heritage Council as being of 'exceptional heritage significance', the precinct provides 'abundant physical evidence of the formative years of the Colony of New South Wales and the initial settlement of Parramatta.' Join us calling for the Minister for Planning & Public Spaces to modify the route to minimise its impact. To Sign & Share: https://greatersydneycommunity.good.do/signthepetition/ See more

15.01.2022 This will be a very interesting tour ! https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/parramatta-heritage-walk-wi

13.01.2022 Please be advised that due to the Corona Virus restrictions on the gathering of people, all maintenance within the cemetery has currently ceased. We understand that the cemetery is currently looking very untidy but we look forward to the near future when restrictions are lifted and regular maintenance can recommence. Anyone wishing to help restore it to its usual neat and tidy condition is more than welcome.

10.01.2022 PARRAMATTA FOUNDATION FESTIVAL As part of the Parramatta Foundation Festival The Friends of the Parramatta Cemeteries are conducting : Meet the Ancestors - Guided Tour of Parramatta's Cemeteries on Saturday, 2nd November. This is a guided tour of Parramatta’s four cemeteries with true stories of their ‘residents’. Tours are led by popular historian and past-Parramatta expert, Judith Dunn OAM.... Visiting May’s Hill, St John’s, All Saints and St Patrick’s cemeteries and hear about the women and men, convicts and entrepreneurs, aboriginal and colonials, heroes and villains, artists, politicians and working people who made Parramatta the city is today. The cemetery is the resting place of many of Australia’s founding colonists, including 17 First Fleeters with memorials and many more in unmarked graves, pioneers, statesmen, clergymen, clerks, soldiers, and convicts. Judith Dunn OAM is the author of the Parramatta Cemeteries book series, the tour includes amazing tales of the Old Parramattans at their gravesides. We encourage descendants attending the tour to offer a little "potted history" of their ancestor/s as we get to their graves. Don't be shy! Where: May’s Hill, St John’s, All Saints and St Patrick’s cemeteries (participants will be taken between cemeteries by bus) When: 9.00 am - 11.00 am & 2.00 pm - 4.00 pm , Saturday 2nd November. Cost: $5 - Purchase tickets via the Eventbrite website : https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/meet-the-ancestors-guided-t The link to all the Foundation Festival events is : https://www.discoverparramatta.com//parramatta-foundation-

10.01.2022 So proud. Today I can announce that a Shorten Labor Government will immediately seek to World Heritage list the Parramatta Female Factory. Our Parramatta Female... Factory is the oldest convict women’s site in Australia and is immensely significant to Australian history, particularly the history of women and girls. It's time the site and the women and children who passed through there received proper recognition. So many of us have been fighting for this for so long. Well done to everyone who contributed. Parramatta Female Factory Friends North Parramatta Residents Action Group - NPRAG, National Trust Australia (NSW) Penny Sharpe MLC

10.01.2022 Not long now until our first Open Day for 2020 and as always we have some very interesting stalls and displays for you to see - plus our scrumptious Devonshire ...Teas will be available as always! The guys on the BBQ will be cooking up a storm and highly recommend the 'Linnwood Special'! Not to be missed! Come along and have a look through this wonderful old home - only $3 entry per person with children under 5yrs admitted free. See more

09.01.2022 THE ROXY SAVED The L & E Court has handed down its decision to uphold Parramatta Council's refusal of the controversial development application for a 30-storey... office tower to fund the theatre restoration. Purchased in 2002 by David Kingston, the former MD of Rothschild, the battle to save the Roxy has been in the news since 2015 when the redevelopment plans were first mooted. Following the Judgement, the developer, indicated he would instead 'pursue plans to turn the Roxy into a 24-hour pub catering for almost 2400 people', adding no further approvals were needed: https://bit.ly/2LnLxNz To view the Judgement: https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/dec/5d11a9b2e4b08c5b85d8a73b Other media: https://www.abc.net.au//roxy-theatre-parramatta-s/11255038

08.01.2022 Did you know.................................... Charles Johnston Ferguson was born in Parramatta on 13 April, 1856. He married Elizabeth Pepperds Drew at Waterloo in 1876. They had five children, three of whom died before reaching adulthood. Two, Edith Lizzie (May 1882 July 1882) and Lottie May (1877 1884) are buried with him. He lived on the Western-road at Parramatta. His father-in-law, William Drew, is also buried in that family grave. He was deeply involved in t...he running of St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church at Parramatta. At a Memorial Service for Charles, the Rev. J. Paterson said that his life was that of a true Christian. He was a man with three interests in life his work, his home and his church, and in carrying out his duties connected with each sphere of labour he did not spare himself. His temperament was singularly placid, and he (the minister) was told that during the eight years he worked in Macquarie-street, those in the office with him had never known him to speak an angry word. His home was his joy, and in the love of his dear wife and daughters and aged mother-in-law, was his reward. Church work was his recreation, and the diligence, tact and patience, which at all times characterised his conduct, made him invaluable as a servant of the Church. Besides being an elder for many years, he was at one time choirmaster, and last year occupied the position of treasurer. So thoroughly did he carry out the duties of that last-named office that the church was not only able to meet its own obligations, but to help other churches less favourably situated. He was also president of the Fellowship Association. At the end of the service, Rev. Paterson stated that the Session and the members of the congregation had rightly decided that C. J. Ferguson’s services should be remembered by the erection of a memorial which he was about to unveil. It would speak to generations yet unborn, of him who was so perfect an example of what a follower of Jesus Christ should be. The contents of the tablet read:- In memory of Charles J. Ferguson. Born at Parramatta, 13 April, 1856. Died at Sydney, 4 July, 1909. Ordained an elder in this church 2 January, 1898. He was faithful and diligent in all his duties as an elder, and counted the services of God’s house his chiefest joy. A few years ago the tablet was still in the entrance lobby of the old St Andrew’s Church on the corner of Marsden-street and Phillip-street, Parramatta. Almost as a sign of the times, the church is now used as a restaurant. Information courtesy Brenda Gardiner Photo is of the first St. Andrews Church, Parramatta (later moved to Wentworthville in 1928) before the church in Phillip St. was built.

04.01.2022 Our first public meeting for 2020 will be held on Saturday 15th February at the small Jones Park Hall cnr. Burnett & Lansdowne Sts. Merrylands. Meeting starts at 1pm and our Guest Speaker will be Ronda Gaffey from the Parramatta Female Factory Friends. All welcome

03.01.2022 As part of the Australian Heritage Festival, come along and join our Cemetery Tour on Sunday 28th April. Lots of interesting tales to be told!

02.01.2022 Did you know.............................William Abbott was born about 1846 in North Devon and arrived in Sydney on the Mary Bannatyne on the 26th July 1849 in the company of his parents, Richard and Martha (nee Lang) Abbott and siblings, Mary Ann 10, Elizabeth 7 and Eliza who was born on the voyage. His brother Henry was born in June 1852 and baptised at All Saints Church, Parramatta. Sadly, Martha Abbott died in "childbed" in 1857 aged about 41 and was buried in All Saints... Cemetery in a grave adjoining that of Gregory Blaxland who accompanied Wentworth and Lawson in the first crossing of the Blue Mountains. When she died, Martha was living in Pennant Street, Parramatta. This marks a long association of the family with this street, now known as Victoria Road. Husband, Richard, was a gardener in Parramatta. He died in 1877. The Abbotts had lived in North Molton, Devon for generations. Richard's father, another Richard, was ill for a number of years and the family had to be supported by poor relief for at least seven years prior to his death and at least for twelve years after he died - his widow Ann/Hannah possibly for the rest of her life. The Abbotts were obviously keen to start a new life and throw off their impoverished background. Richard had sufficient money to erect a humble but touching monument to his wife. William and Henry became boot makers and each fathered four boys and four girls. In 1869, William had married Mary McEwan whose Scottish parents and step father are buried in Mays Hill Cemetery. William's daughter Ethel, taught Parramatta's children for many years at the primary school in Macquarie Street. Another daughter, Mildred, married Norman Gould, a dentist and cousin of the flier, William Ewart Hart. Norman Gould’s parents, George Henry and Mary Jane are buried in Mays Hill as are Mary Jane's parents, William and Elizabeth Hart. William Abbott's grandson, JSL (Jack) Macdonald is honoured by a memorial garden at Doyle Park for his services to youth sport. William himself was a staunch member of the North Parramatta Centenary Methodist Church where he was Sunday School Superintendent for many years. William built four houses, 2, 4 and 6 Victoria Road and another around the corner in O’Connell Street. The family lived firstly at 4 Victoria Road, then in the large O’Connell Street house, and then moved back to No 4 after William's death. Nos 2 and 6 Victoria Road was rented out to produce income although William Jnr did live in No 6 at one stage. William and Mary Abbott and their youngest child, Eileen Macdonald are buried in Mays Hill. The ashes of Ethel Abbott and Mildred Gould were interred in the same grave. William died 4 March 1919 and Mary died 2 April 1944.