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BORAM BORAM CEMETERY

Location Boram Boram Lane PENSHURST PENSHURST, Southern Grampians Shire File Number 113 Level Stage 2 study complete

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Statement of Significance

How is it significant?
The Boram Boram cemetery comprises 8 acres [3.2ha] located on the south side of Boram Boram Lane off the Hamilton Highway 5.5kms north-north-west from the centre of the township of Penshurst. The cemetery takes the traditional form of denominational division, with remains of a formal layout between, being wide serpentine paths bisected by a straight path leading from the gateway. The remains of red scoria can be seen on the paths. There are no surviving substantial plantings. The earliest grave located is dated from 1860, and the cemetery contains the names of many local pioneering families. An unusual gravestone is that dedicated to six of seven men who were accidentally killed on the Koroit Railway on the 1st March 1890. Interestingly there is a separate grave with an almost identical gravestone for another worker, Michael McMahon, also killed on the railway who died in July, 1890. The cemetery overall is in poor condition although individual graves and gravestone range in their condition from good to poor.

What is significant?
The Boram Boram Cemetery is of historical significance as an enduring record of those who have lived and died in the community, as a reflection of passing phases, ways of life and death, particular events, and as a source of documentary evidence. The cemetery has further historical significance for the burials of individuals and families who made important contributions to their community, such as the Eales, Chesswas, O'Brien, Olle, Barker, Waller, Ritchie, McIntyre and Kinnealy as well as many others.

The Cemetery is of social significance for reflecting the customs and tastes of the community, for reflecting different religious values, and for reflecting different economic and social status. It is also important as a place of homage and of passive recreation. It is of architectural significance for its range of tombstones, memorials and iconography reflecting the aesthetics of different periods and groups within the community. It is also of interest for its overall design and position within the broader landscape.