More than 110 unmarked graves have been discovered at Epping cemetery, quashing a council-led bid to reopen it for burials.
A week-long survey by Hunter Geophysics revealed more than 110 areas of “disturbed soil, most likely associated with unmarked grave shafts and funerary urn burials”.
The findings put a halt to a plan, led by Cr Rex Griffin, to reopen the 165-year-old cemetery on the corner of High Street and O’Herns Road. Cr Griffin wanted to build niche walls that could house burial urns.
Last year, the council applied for funding from the Department of Health to conduct a survey to ascertain if any of the land at the cemetery could support the urn walls.
The council believed that the walls could be built on undisturbed land which was free of native grasses.
An $11,500 survey assessed soil density and whether the land had previously been disturbed for unmarked grave sites.
Whittlesea’s managing director of property and valuation services, Gino Mitrione, said the income from reopening the cemetery would help pay for its upkeep.
He said the walls would have to be built at the front of the cemetery, which is where the survey was conducted.
In light of the survey findings, Mr Mitrione said the council had decided not to reopen the historic cemetery.
But Cr Griffin said he wanted another survey of the rest of the land to determine if the idea was viable elsewhere.
“I think we’ll be able to find somewhere for ashes,” he said.
Long-time Epping resident Ken Jeffery, who joined Epping CFA at 12 and is now a life member, was interested in the idea of opening the cemetery to residents with long-standing connections to the area or who have family and friends already buried there.
“Maybe, if you have lived in the town for a number of years, that could make you eligible,” he said. “It’s part of Epping’s history. Even if they don’t reopen it, it’s important that it be preserved the way it is.”
More than 800 people were buried at the cemetery before it was closed in 1960.
