North Rockhampton Cemetery

North Rockhampton Cemetery was established in 1879. Garden seats and new toilet facilities were also installed. Four men were required to lift the heavy monument so the boy could be freed. In 2005, a risk assessment identified the potential for gravesides to collapse due to the cemetery's close proximity to Moores Creek. The risk of mourners falling into open graves during funerals prompted Rockhampton City Council to commence using a hydraulic ram shoring system to reinforce the ends of graves, significantly reducing the risk of graveside accidents during funeral services. One woman stated in the local media that she would refuse to bury her father in the cemetery due to what she described as its "disgusting" condition, specifically the amount of long grass and weeds which were growing throughout the grounds. Police apprehended a 36-year-old West Rockhampton man who was dressed as a clown and charged him with being a public nuisance. This allowed burials to recommence at the cemetery for several more years. As of 2018, there had been over 25,100 burials in the North Rockhampton Cemetery. Despite the first burials taking place less than twenty years after the smaller South Rockhampton Cemetery, North Rockhampton Cemetery is not yet heritage listed. ==Location==

Originally situated on what was then the outskirts of North Rockhampton, the city's rapid commercial development of the late 20th century saw the cemetery quickly surrounded by urban infrastructure and residential housing. This included the Marian College for Girls which opened next to the cemetery in 1964 (becoming Emmaus College in 1983). A major shopping centre called Rockhampton Shopping Fair was built diagonally opposite the cemetery in 1983 which officially opened in 1985. The centre later re-branded to Stockland Rockhampton in 2004 and underwent a major expansion in 2009 when it expanded over Moores Creek onto the old K Mart Plaza site, which opened in 1979. Many other retail outlets, petrol stations and accommodation providers are located nearby, with applications lodged for further commercial development. North Rockhampton Cemetery is situated at one of Rockhampton's busiest intersections as the Bruce Highway carries large volumes of traffic past the cemetery. As such, there have been numerous traffic incidents near the cemetery. A pedestrian overpass was installed in front of the cemetery in 2010 to provide a safe passage for pedestrians to cross the highway, particularly Emmaus College students. When the Rockhampton Ring Road is complete, the Bruce Highway will no longer go through Rockhampton meaning the volume of traffic travelling past the cemetery will likely decrease. ==Notable burials==

Maria Thozet: In 1923, Maria Thozet, the wife of famed botanist Anthelme Thozet, was buried in the cemetery against her wishes. This was despite her husband, son and daughter-in-law all having been buried in a family plot on "Muellerville", the Thozet family property in Koongal. 1943 air disasters: The bodies of numerous Australian armed services personnel were buried in the Rockhampton War Cemetery at the North Rockhampton Cemetery following two major wartime air disasters which occurred in the Central Queensland region four weeks apart in 1943, during World War II. The Rewan air crash on 16 November 1943 and the Canal Creek air crash on 19 December 1943 killed a total of 50 people, including numerous United States military personnel. Queenie Hart: In August 2022, the remains of Queenie Hart, a 28-year-old Aboriginal woman murdered in 1975, were exhumed from the unmarked grave at the North Rockhampton Cemetery where she originally buried and returned to Cherbourg. Her killer was never brought to justice with the only suspect dying in 2019. Danny Malone: When internationally renowned Irish tenor Danny Malone unexpectedly died on a train between Marmor and Raglan while en route to Gladstone during a 1951 tour, his body was brought back to Rockhampton where he was buried at the North Rockhampton Cemetery. Notable burials at the North Rockhampton Cemetery include: • William Beak (cattle breeder and Livingstone Shire chairman) • George Gray (politician) • Walter Ingram (politician) • Vince Jones (politician) • Thomas Joseph Lee (Rockhampton mayor) • Danny Malone (Irish tenor) • Flora Prior (murder victim) • Phyllis Reiger (murder victim) • Rewan air crash victims • Canal Creek air crash victims == References ==