Cranbourne cemetery, on the corner of Sladen Street and Cemetery Road, Cranbourne, Vic., has been operating for over 150 years. The cemetery was formally gazetted in 1856 but burials took place there as early as 1850. The cemetery was originally divided into four main sections: Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, Wesleyan and Church of England. There are currently over 3000 people buried there.

In the 1850s, the average life expectancy in the area was 30-33 years and by the 1870s it had improved to about 47 years!

Cranbourne cemetery is unassuming from the highway that has grown around it since the days when it was in the middle of a paddock. The fences that surround some of the gravesites were erected to protect the monuments from damage by wandering stock. It is a carefully planned layout, similar to many of the middle and late nineteenth century plans, which are a contrast to the layout of much older graveyards in England and other parts of Europe. It is lined with a row of cypress trees, providing special symbolism for the Christian belief in the soul’s journey to heaven. Cypress also demonstrates a pagan tradition, where they were used as an allegory for the end of bodily life. Cypress tress represent the Roman tradition of planting evergreens to symbolise eternal life and their tall, cylindrical shape represents ascendance to heaven. There were most likely other plantings in the cemetery dating from the early years of Cranbourne’s settlement, but time and possibly bushfires have contributed to their demise.

To find this cache you will need to find a few graves...We hope this isn't considered too morbid, but it is history, and as some of these old Cemeteries are starting to get a little more neglected each year, the more people coming, the more some of these lives may be remembered. We have spent alot of time here piecing together our little histories of the area.

If you are inclined to learn a bit more about the cemetery and some of the families associated with a young Cranbourne, visit:
http://www.casey.vic.gov.au/history/hoh/04%20Religion.pdf


WayPoint 1
38° 6'45.21E
145° 16' 18.95E

A=Third Number of Year Archibald Fell Asleep
B=Day Jessie Was Called Home
C=First Number of Jessie's Age
D=Month Archibald Fell Asleep

Waypoint 2
38° 6'47.11S
145° 16'15.83E

E=Last Number of Year Mr Singleton Died
F=Third Number of Year Mr Singleton Died

Final Coordinates Are:
38° AE' DC.EA
145° BE' BF.AF