TRAGEDY, mystery and tales of heroic deeds lie behind the walls of Footscray cemetery.
Every headstone tells a story, whether it refers to a poet, politician or preacher.
Among thousands of graves at the Geelong Road landmark are the likes of Joseph Goble, a church minister revered by the people of Footscray during the Great Depression for standing up against social injustice and taking up the fight for the unemployed.
It’s also the final resting place of Yarraville shopkeeper Mary Punshon, who argued for the rights of workers and the 8-hour day, while operating her haberdashery and mixed business store for more than half a century.
One of Australia’s greatest poets, John Neilson, was also buried at Footscray.
On Sunday, the fascinating stories of their lives and many more will be told as part of a walking tour of the cemetery.
Guide Meyer Eidelson will take people through the lives and deaths of important personalities of the past, including one
of the area’s founding fathers, James Cumming, mayor when Footscray was proclaimed a city in 1891.
The cemetery also has graves of the victims of one of Melbourne’s most horrific industrial accidents during the construction of the Spotswood Pumping Station (now Scienceworks), also in the 1890s. Constructing the city’s first underground sewerage system, the workers were building a tunnel underneath the Yarra when it collapsed, killing six people.
Mr Eidelson, who regularly conducts cemetery tours across Melbourne, told the Weekly Sunday’s walk would provide residents, both new and old, with a unique insight into their city’s past.
“Cemeteries are like history books, they’re very undervalued assets,” he said.
“By reading a headstone, you can learn so much about a person and their back ground.
“From the outside, cemeteries are often seen as frightening places representing death and a sense of doom, but on the inside they’re actually very relaxing, peaceful and sentimental and calm.
“When you read the inscriptions on the headstones, they show people coming to terms with loss and seeking inspiration and guidance; they’re often very beautiful.
“Once people grasp the spiritual side of cemeteries they tend to feel more comfortable with their own mortality.”
The walk will be held between noon and 2pm.
To book, phone 96880591 or e-mail walking@maribyrnong.vic.gov.au before Friday 3pm.
