MOUNT KOROITE CEMETERY

Mount Koroite Homestead cemetery, located off the Cavendish-Coleraine Road at Coleraine, dates from the 1860s, a time of consolidation for squatting interests generally and a time when many of the first generation squatters determined to remain on the land which they had pioneered. It is also well after the establishment of public cemeteries in townships. This rare private cemetery is sited across a valley about 1km to the north-east of the present homestead on the side of a hill. It is immediately above the site of the original homestead, which is located nearby in Heffernan Lane. The few graves, at least three of which survive in ruins, are sheltered by a single pine tree, possibly a Black pine (Pinus nigra), and several Funeral cypresses (Cupressus funebris). The graves are typical of the era having white marble headstones, loosely Gothic in style, surrounded by low fences. The ruinous condition of the cemetery might be said to enhance the picturesque quality of the setting. More dramatically sited is the white marble obelisk on top of the bald hill above the cemetery. It is intact and in good condition. There may have been an intention to create an aesthetic relationship between the original or later homestead and the cemetery and obelisk.

How is it significant?

The Mount Koroite Homestead cemetery is of historical and aesthetic significance to the community of Coleraine and to the Southern Grampians Shire.

Why is it significant?

The Mount Koroite Homestead cemetery is of historical significance for its commemoration of an important pioneering family on one of the more significant homesteads in the district, marking not only their dates of birth and death but also their interrelationship. It demonstrates a desire for permanence in a new land. It also demonstrates an aesthetic sensitivity to the landscape because of the sheltered siting of the graves, including the planting of symbolic trees, opposite the homestead and the dramatic siting of the obelisk on the bald hill-top above.

Group

Cemeteries and Burial Sites

Category

Isolated Grave/Burial Site