Australia's first Saint's original resting place gets a makeover

Minister for Lands, Tony Kelly, officially opened the Saint Mary MacKillop Memorial Wall at Gore Hill Memorial Cemetery in February following the completion of improvement works at the cemetery.

The Memorial Wall depicts the life and work of Saint Mary MacKillop and was created as part of a range of works carried out at the site by the Catholic Cemeteries Board. It will be available for the interment of ashes of Catholics and Christians wishing to have their remains close to the original burial place of Australia’s first Saint.

The work was designed to improve the site’s appearance, public access, and understanding of the site’s significance and included the installation of fencing and signage around the Sisters of St Joseph burial sites as well as an increased paved area for visitors.

Gore Hill Memorial Cemetery is a dedicated Crown Reserve managed by a community trust board.

Following the canonisation of Saint Mary MacKillop last October it is anticipated that visitation and use of the cemetery will increase to a level requiring significant changes to the management of the reserve.

Gore Hill Memorial Cemetery Trust has been granted $30,000 from the Public Reserves Management Fund (PRMF) to help with the preparation of an updated Plan of Management.

The cemetery, which is closed to burials, has significant heritage values and the Plan of Management will investigate how to preserve these important values, along with the feasibility of a Visitor Centre on the site.

A further grant of $12,000 from the PRMF will help fund repair work and repainting of the heritage fence at the cemetery and will also support the preparation of concept drawings and a feasibility study for a cemetery office.

The office is currently based in a small temporary shed donated by Lane Cove Council after fire destroyed the original wooden heritage gardener’s shed.

The remains of Saint Mary MacKillop are now situated within the Mary MacKillop Chapel at North Sydney, but she was originally buried at Gore Hill in 1909, before her remains were relocated to their present site.

Gore Hill Memorial Cemetery was established in 1868 and is one of the oldest and largest general cemeteries remaining in the Sydney metropolitan area. It was given State Heritage Status in 2001.