Grave Restoration Project - Bulletin No 4

We are moving right along. Patsy Templeton, Committee Secretary for the Paul Bushell and David Brown Heritage Grave Restoration Project, and Jill and Lester Vincent, two of the Friends of Wilberforce Cemetery, met with Sean Perry, Parks and Recreation, Hawkesbury City Council, and Craig Johnson, Project Officer, Hawkesbury City Council, on Friday 8 March 2013, at St. John’s Cemetery, Wilberforce.

It was a very positive and co-operative meeting. As well as the Bushell/Brown grave sites, the group inspected the two Cobcroft altar monuments (the correct terminology for those ‘false coffin’ vaults mentioned in earlier bulletins), Jill Vincent’s family monuments (she’s a descendant of the Tuckerman, Turnbull, Rose and Buttsworth families), and the re-created altar monument for the Yeomans family.

Everyone agreed with our idea of restoration with as little disturbance to the bones or dirt as possible, using the surviving stones to re-create the altar monument. We understand that the Heritage Council of NSW would be more likely to agree to that approach than to any other style of re-creation. Craig Johnson will soon begin the liaison process with Siobhan Laville of the Heritage Council.

The likely way to proceed will be to build a steel frame and then attach the remaining stones to this frame with titanium bolts, as they don’t rust. There may be gaps, as photos indicate that some of the stones have obviously been removed from the site. There would have to be some build-up to support the frame both solidly and squarely, but the drainage should no longer be a problem as a ‘moat’ built above and around the high side of the cemetery, outside the existing new fence, now takes away excess running surface water.

For the Bushell/Brown site, equipment will be needed to move the stones, as they’re very weighty. A small excavator could enter by the roadway, as there is enough room between the fence-line and the upper monuments, or a crane could be used from the upper side of the cemetery, outside the fence.

We are investigating several possible avenues for obtaining grants to supplement the family’s donations – more on the money side of things in a future bulletin. We are not asking for money at present, as the legal fund-raising structures are not yet in place.

To start the whole process officially, we’ve been asked to write to Hawkesbury City Council, making an official request to start planning the restoration of the Bushell/Brown altar monument/s. For that application to succeed, we need substantial evidence of family support.

So PLEASE, we need you to provide written evidence of your strong support for the Paul Bushell and David Brown Heritage Grave Restoration Project and your agreement that the convening Committee (with eight members at present) may act as official representatives for the family. (A full list of Committee members will be published shortly.)

Either send me (Louise Wilson) an email along these lines or indicate your support by posting a suitable comment on the wall of our dedicated Facebook page (we invite you to press the 'Like' button as well, but it is insufficient as evidence of your support).

And PLEASE, vigorously encourage everyone in your extended family to join the campaign. Your circles of Bushell and Brown descendants extend out far wider than ours! We need every bit of help you can provide.