Brighton General Cemetery is located in the
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
suburb of
Caulfield South, Victoria
Caulfield South is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 10 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Glen Eira local government area. Caulfield South recorded a population of 12,328 at the 20 ...
, but takes its name from
Brighton, Victoria
Brighton is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 11 km south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Bayside Local government areas of Victo ...
.
History
The Cemetery pre-dates the Caulfield Roads Board – the first official recognition of the suburb of Caulfield. Established in 1854 it became, together with
St Kilda Cemetery
St Kilda Cemetery is located in the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda East, Victoria.
History
St Kilda Cemetery covers a large block bordered by Dandenong Road, Hotham Street, Alma Road and Alexandra Street. It is bounded by a historic wall and cont ...
, an alternative resting place for those who had lived south of the
Yarra River
The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, (Kulin languages: ''Berrern'', ''Birr-arrung'', ''Bay-ray-rung'', ''Birarang'', ''Birrarung'', and ''Wongete'') is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia.
The lower st ...
. There are up 70,000 people interred, including famous Australian artists, politicians and military heroes.
The first representative of the Jewish community of the Board of Trustees was
Phillip Blashki
Phillip Blashki (21 February 1837 – 21 October 1916) was a Polish immigrant to Australia who rose to be a successful businessman, magistrate, Justice of the peace, JP, holder of many positions of public responsibility and associated with numero ...
. He organised the building of the
Tahara house, where the deceased were watched until buried. He instigated the idea of half-graves for children, as they were expensive and child mortality was high in the 19th century. Blashki also founded the
Jewish burial
Bereavement in Judaism () is a combination of Jewish custom ( ''minhag'', modern pl. ''minhagim'') and commandments ( ''mitzvah'', pl. ''mitzvot'') derived from the Torah and Judaism's classical rabbinic literature. The details of observance ...
society, Chevra Kadisha, still in existence today.
War graves
the cemetery contains the identified war graves of 156 Commonwealth service personnel, 135 from
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and 21 from
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Most are members of the
Australian Armed Forces
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia and its national interests. It consists of three branches: the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army and the Royal Australian Air Fo ...
, but three served for
New Zealand Army
The New Zealand Army (, ) is the principal Army, land warfare force of New Zealand, a component of the New Zealand Defence Force alongside the Royal New Zealand Navy and the Royal New Zealand Air Force.
Formed in 1845, as the New Zealand Mil ...
(1) and
British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
(2).
Notable interments
People buried there include:
References
* ''The Jews in Victoria in the Nineteenth Century'', L.M. Goldman 1954
* ''The enduring remnant:the first 150 years of the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation, 1841–1991, Joseph Aron, Judy Arndt, ''Melbourne University Press, 1992 – History – 438 pages
* ''Phillip Blashki, A Victorian Patriarch'', Gael R. Hammer, 1986
External links
* {{Official, https://smct.org.au/our-locations/about-brighton-general-cemetery
Brighton General Cemetery– Billion Graves
1854 establishments in Australia
Cemeteries in Melbourne
Buildings and structures in the City of Glen Eira
*