Old Hermannsburg Cemetery
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Lot 143(A) Township of Hermannsburg. Adjacent to the historic precinct (old mission site). | 
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| Gazettal Date | |
| 14 February 2001. Northern Territory Government Gazette G6. | |
| Description | |
| The cemetery is bounded to the north and east by a rendered river rock and random rubble wall with a limewash finish. A concrete wall has been constructed along the southern boundary. Graves are aligned east west with the headstones facing east. | |
| Statement of Heritage Value | |
| The Old Cemetery at Hermannsburg was established around the death of Johann Baden in October 1886 and the number of burials grew. By 12 October 1919, the 25th Anniversary of Pastor Carl Strehlow's time at the Mission, 53 Christian Aborigines had died and received Christian burials - 45 of these had been children. Fourteen Europeans, mostly children had died in the same period.
Many more deaths occurred as a result of epidemics of measles, whooping cough, typhoid and in 1929, scurvy. Christians, including Aboriginal converts were interred at the Cemetery. The last recorded burial at the Old Cemetery was in 1960. The Old Cemetery is highly significant in reflecting the tragedies and hardships faced by the missionaries and Aborigines, the attitudes of the missionaries in creating a common graveyard and in providing important information to document the history of the Hermannsburg Mission and its inhabitants. The Old Cemetery is essential to the interpretation of this important phase of the Territory's historic, cultural and social development. |
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| Further Reading | |
| Leske, E. 1977. (ed.) Hermannsburg: a vision and a mission. Lutheran Publishing House: Adelaide.
Scherer, P.A. 1988. A day in the life of Hermannsburg. Privately published by the author. Scherer, P.A. 1995. The Hermannsburg Chronicle. Privately published by the author. |
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