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Castle Hill Cemetery - History and Headstones

An 1897 Parish of Castle Hill map shows a large area bounded today by Showground and Gilbert Roads dedicated on 31 August 1895 for Public Recreation with a section reserved for a cemetery. The land, originally part of the 1801 Castle Hill Government Farm, had been included in a 165 acre Castle Hill Village Reserve set aside in 1861.

The NSW Government Gazette of 8 September 1902 stated that the land had been dedicated for a General Cemetery on 29 April 1881 and announced the appointment of Bruce Purser, Edwin George Crane, Clare Agrippa Gilbert, George Alexander Muir, Alfred William Bayly, Albert James James and Sylvanius Montefiore Charles Black as Trustees of the Church of England Burial Ground portion of the General Cemetery of Castle Hill.

The earliest burial in the Cemetery was in 1914 beside Cemetery Road as a fence had not been constructed to mark the boundaries. It was for George Philip Fitzroy who died 25 May 1914 aged 3 years 11 months. The first grave inside the fence (in the Anglican Monumental section) was also for another small boy, Robert James McKay who died 17 Feb 1918 aged 2 ½ years.

Originally Church of England (Anglican), Roman Catholic, Methodist (Uniting) and General sections were designated. A Cemetery Trust had been formed with representatives from each of the three local church groups. In June 1951 talks began about altering this and eventually a Local Government Act of 1967 transferred responsibility to The Hills Shire Council.

Since the late 1960s Lawns, Vaults, a Columbarium and Gardens have been added to accommodate the changing needs of our growing population. There are Anglican, Roman Catholic, Seventh-day Adventist, Presbyterian, Methodist, Muslim, Independent, Jewish and Baptist sections.

The Castle Hill Cemetery Entrance Gates, commissioned by Baulkham Hills Shire Council and designed by Giuseppe Organo of Fairfield, were dedicated in September 1978.

In 1967 Cemetery Road was renamed Gilbert Road after the Gilbert Family who had farmed extensive orchards for 100 years on land opposite the Cemetery and extending to Showground Road.

Following are images of some of the headstones found in Castle Hill Cemetery.

Click to images to see the stories that lie behind the names on the headstones.

Baldwin, Ernest Mark