Like most cemeteries around the world Greensborough Cemetery was created out of necessity due in part to the harsh conditions experienced by pioneers of the township and though infant mortality was common they didn’t have it on their own.
William Poulter Snr owner of land along the Plenty River donated an allotment on the corner of James Street (now Jessop) and Hailes Street for the cemetery and a small church was constructed opposite the cemetery where the train line now runs.
There were 17 people buried in the cemetery prior to the records being formally started in 1874, the earliest memorial being for Elizabeth Aldridge (William Poulter’s sister Betsy) who died on 30th January 1864 aged 34yrs.
However Mary Ann Limmer 4yrs old was recorded as buried there in 1861 and the last burial was on 28th July 1963 although ashes have been interred there since.
The Greensborough Cemetery Trust was formed on June 17th 1874 with the appointment of three trustees, James Mann, John Scotland and William Poulter Snr with subscriptions totalling eight pounds.
It was their job to oversee the running of the cemetery including setting of plot size, their cost, excavation of same and general maintenance. Plots were 10 shillings each and a minimum 3.5ft wide by 5.5ft deep.
There have been five changes of trusteeship over the years until the Shire of Diamond Valley took it over in 1979 after more than 10 years of complicated legal issues being resolved. The last surviving trustee at the time was Wally Butterworth and legally the signatures of two existing trustees were required for the transferral to Council.
The then Attorney General would not release the land due to the inability to prove that all the other trustees were deceased, the records associated with the land ownership could not be found and there were road construction charges outstanding against the property.
Finally Council agreed to absorb the road making charges and the Health Commission successfully sought legislation in the 1977 Autumn session of state parliament to resolve all outstanding issues for the transfer.
At the time of transfer the records consisted of a hardback book dating from 1874 to 1933 with no site plan or indication of where the remaining records might be, these didn’t appear until 1990 when they arrived from the Health commission consisting of two exercise books, various receipts and registrar certificates.
They had been forwarded to the Commission from the Shire of Tallarook with no explanation as to how they had got there in the first place but it was a very welcome return and a turning point in documentation of the cemetery.
A computer generated plan of the cemetery was created in 1995 from a survey carried out with the assistance of a licensed surveyor.
This plan enabled the positioning of grave plots to be made with considerably more accuracy than the plans on record that were freehand sketches and not to scale, this plan and an up to date alphabetical listing of burials are on display at the cemetery.
There are approximately 350 persons buried in the cemetery and records since Council amalgamations are now in Banyule City Council’s filing system (SDV system 200/01/2 parts 1 & 2),
The Victorian Government directed that burials be discontinued in the cemetery as of 7th March 1979 however recent approval has been sought and obtained for the internment of ashes where the deceased has a family plot.
In October 2002 Banyule City Council applied a “Heritage Overlay” to the cemetery.
Banyule City Council provides periodic maintenance such as mowing and the spraying of weeds however grave site maintenance is the responsibility of the descendants of those interred there.
Therefore some memorials that have been vandalized or have succumbed to old age are in poor condition and in need of repair this can only occur if the families of the deceased exist and are willing to fund the work or from voluntary contributions.
Volunteers have worked in the past to lay crushed rock footpaths, prune overgrown bushes and trees, pegged grave sites and general clean up.
Noel Withers, Greensborough Historical Society
