Brighton General Cemetery is located in the
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
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.
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 conta ...
, 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 stre ...
. 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, JP, holder of many positions of public responsibility and associated with numerous community and char ...
. 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 '' minhag'' and '' mitzvah'' derived from the Torah and Judaism's classical rabbinic texts. The details of observance and practice vary according to each Jewish community.
Mourners
In Judaism, the ...
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 (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and 21 from
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Most are members of the
Australian Armed Forces, but three served for
New Zealand Army
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(1) and
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
(2).
Notable Interments
Some of the notable 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 {{ISBN, 0-9589451-0-1
External links
Brighton General Cemetery (Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust)*http://www.brightoncemetery.com/
Brighton General Cemetery- Billion Graves
1854 establishments in Australia
Cemeteries in Melbourne
Buildings and structures in the City of Glen Eira