The Melbourne General Cemetery exhibition showcases and links diverse material from the Library and Special Collections, enabling students and staff to explore the character and history of our “quiet neighbour” through a range of intriguing objects, including maps, plans, botanical samples and 3D scans. Exploring University collections as part of the curriculum sparks new modes of inquiry and brings a great richness to student work.
In this video Wendy Walls and Soon-Tzu Speechley talk about how the Melbourne General Cemetery is used as a pedagogical space. They discuss what we can learn from the landscape - its layout, distinctive qualities and what grows there - and what we can learn from the architectural styles employed in the design of tombs, buildings and other features. They also consider the history of various communities; stories of Indigeneity, colonisation, and migration; and how the cemetery has adapted to increasing spatial pressures.
3D Scans
3D scanning technology, such as LiDAR, helps to capture the distinctive qualities of complex spaces. The Cemetery encompasses a very large site, full of intricate detail: the iron lacework of the heritage gazebos, the textures of native grasses, the undulating terrain and layers of graves. Digital scans allow us to see these elements in relationship to one another.
The 3D scans were produced by the NExT Lab.
Explore a selection of 3D scans of the cemetery.
Maps and Aerial Photography
Historic maps and aerial photography document physical changes to the Cemetery and the surrounding city. Using this material, we can see how spaces and landscapes have been transformed and how neighbourhoods have grown and changed. The Cemetery maps reveal where roads, entry points, and even whole buildings have been moved, and by comparing these maps over time, we can begin to understand other influences on the built environment. One example is how the evolving transport system has impacted the shape of the cemetery and surrounding parks, and how that has in turn effected the suburbs around the cemetery.
See more historic maps of the cemetery:
- Melbourne photo-map. Department of Crown Lands and Survey
- Melbourne 1970 project. State Aerial Survey.
- Sands & McDougall's Melbourne directory map. [1870]
- Melbourne and suburbs [1910] compiled at the Dept. of Lands and Survey Melbourne, under the direction of J.M. Reed.
Explore the University’s map collection.
Plans from the University Archives
Architectural plans offer insight into changing fashions, values and ideals. The University’s archival holdings include beautiful documentation of what have become important heritage elements of the Cemetery. This exhibition features plans from the David Gawler archive circa 1960. Earlier records from the Gawler and Drummond archive show the executive office and residence of the Melbourne Cemetery (1932).
Explore the University archives.
You can find more material featuring the work of John Gawler and a myriad of records concerning cemeteries in Victoria and beyond.
Flora from the Herbarium
The University of Melbourne Herbarium houses over 150,000 specimens and is the largest University flora repository. Samples from the Cemetery site include native grasses as well as introduced flowers such as poppies and daisies, and an assortment of weeds, all dating from the early twentieth century. The mix of planting types gives us an idea of the types of plants that grew on the site originally, the social practices of mourning and what was planted on graves, as well as plants that were introduced (or escaped) from surrounding gardens.
Explore the Herbarium collection.
View the online collection of specimens from cemeteries across Victoria. These include high resolution images of eucalypts, seeds and several varieties of acacia. Find out more about these plants on the Flora of Victoria website.
Acknowledgements
We extend our gratitude to the staff at the University of Melbourne who have contributed to this project, particularly Dr Wendy Walls, Dr Soon-Tzu Speechley, Nextlab, University Archives, the University Herbarium, and the ABP Library staff.
Special acknowledgement must go to both current and past custodians of collections for the amazing contribution they have made to the University and its community.
Thank you to the teams at Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust who run our quiet neighbour, the Melbourne General Cemetery. We appreciate all of your help and shared expertise in understanding the complexities of the cemetery and allowing our students to enjoy and learn from this special place.
Images used with permission from The University of Melbourne Herbarium, School of BioSciences; NextLab; The University of Melbourne Archives.