Elsey Memorial Cemetery
| Location | |
|---|---|
|
NT Portion 270, Reserve 1155. About 20km south of Mataranka, adjacent to the old Stuart Highway. |
|
| Gazettal Date | |
| 14 March 2001. Northern Territory Government Gazette G10. |
|
| Description | |
The site occupies about 4 hectares and contains at least 13 known graves although the identification of some graves is open to dispute. Research to date indicates without doubt that the following individuals were eventually buried at Elsey Memorial Cemetery: George Hughes, William Neaves, Lee Ken, William Millar, Aeneas Gunn ('the Malaka'), Henry Peckham ('the Fizzer'), John McLennan ('the Sanguine Scot'), Tom Pearce ('Mine Host'), JH George Conway and VC Raymond ('the Dandy Stockman'). The original Cemetery was proclaimed on 9 September 1926. Later it was declared a War Cemetery Reserve but this was revoked and the site declared Cemetery Reserve 1155 on 22 March 1967. |
|
| Statement of Heritage Value | |
| Elsey Memorial Cemetery is of national and Territory historical significance primarily because it provides the remaining link with many of the individuals made famous by Jeannie Gunn's "We of the Never Never". The Cemetery remains as a tribute not only to those pioneers of the pastoral industry but also to Jeannie Gunn, who portrayed the NT Outback in a manner which captured the imagination of a nation and as a result, the Cemetery is highly valued by the community. | |
| Further Reading | |
Dewar, M. 1993. In search of the Never-Never: the Northern Territory metaphor in Australian writing 1837-1992. Unpublished PhD thesis, Northern Territory University, Casuarina. Dickinson, J. 1990. Gunn, Jeannie. In D.Carment, R.Maynard and A.Powell (eds.) NT Dictionary of Biography vol 1: to 1945, pp.135-137. Northern Territory University Press: Casuarina. Forrest, P. 1989, Jeannie Gunn Pioneer of the Never Never. In S.Coupe (ed.) Australia's Outback Heritage: Frontier Country vol 1, pp.296-297. Weldon Russell Publishing: Sydney. Genealogical Society of the NT Inc. 1996. Elsey Cemetery Northern Territory (We of the Never Never). Compiled by the Genealogical Society of the NT Inc, Winnellie. Gunn, J. 1908. We of the Never Never. Hutchinson: London. |
|
