Bluff Pioneer Cemetery
Also known as Bluff Cemetery, Mersey Bluff Cemetery
Devonport, Devonport City Council, Tasmania, Australia
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Get directions Mersey Bluff Headland (Coles Beach Road)
Devonport, Devonport City, Tasmania AustraliaCoordinates: -41.16194, 146.35341 - Cemetery ID:
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Bluff Cemetery, also officially recognised by local government as the Old Mersey Bluff Cemetery, is colloquially known as the Mersey Bluff Pioneer Cemetery.
In 1887 the Formby Council (former name of Devonport) purchased 13 acres of land on the corner of what is now Bluff Road and Coles Beach Road (formerly Laycocks Road). Prior to its establishment, deceased residents were ferried across the river to be interred at East Devonport or conveyed to the Congregational Cemetery Church at the Don. One of the earliest recorded burials at the new site was Mr. Thomas Lloyd on October 25, 1887.
The Cemetery became full around the time of the First World War and was closed in 1922, other than for burials in family plots.
Following decades of cattle grazing and vandalism, many original headstones were severely damaged. In 1963, the local town council decreed that the site be cleared and converted to parkland. The remaining intact headstones were salvaged and re-erected in a single corner of the park, effectively rendering the surviving stones (less than 50) as cenotaphs, as they no longer sit directly over the original gravesites.
The Devonport City Council records place the total historical grave count at over 450 burials.
It is understood that no remains were exhumed when the cemetery site was cleared for conversion to park lands.
Bluff Cemetery, also officially recognised by local government as the Old Mersey Bluff Cemetery, is colloquially known as the Mersey Bluff Pioneer Cemetery.
In 1887 the Formby Council (former name of Devonport) purchased 13 acres of land on the corner of what is now Bluff Road and Coles Beach Road (formerly Laycocks Road). Prior to its establishment, deceased residents were ferried across the river to be interred at East Devonport or conveyed to the Congregational Cemetery Church at the Don. One of the earliest recorded burials at the new site was Mr. Thomas Lloyd on October 25, 1887.
The Cemetery became full around the time of the First World War and was closed in 1922, other than for burials in family plots.
Following decades of cattle grazing and vandalism, many original headstones were severely damaged. In 1963, the local town council decreed that the site be cleared and converted to parkland. The remaining intact headstones were salvaged and re-erected in a single corner of the park, effectively rendering the surviving stones (less than 50) as cenotaphs, as they no longer sit directly over the original gravesites.
The Devonport City Council records place the total historical grave count at over 450 burials.
It is understood that no remains were exhumed when the cemetery site was cleared for conversion to park lands.
Nearby cemeteries
East Devonport, Devonport City Council, Tasmania, Australia
- 338
- 53%
- 16%
- Added: 22 Apr 2012
- Find a Grave Cemetery ID: 2446580
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