Ipswich General Cemetery is a monumental cemetery with historical significance and only existing reservations or, in some cases, family graves can be used.
Location
Cnr Warwick Road and Cemetery Road, Ipswich
Facilities
- Closed to new burials
- Historic monumental cemetery
- Public restroom
- For details of burials and cremated remains contact Ipswich Cemeteries
History
- It is said that a cemetery is the story of a town written in stone - some headstones in Ipswich Cemetery record major events such as mine disasters, floods and war, while others relate the history of families.
- The first recorded burial, that of four-year-old John Carr, took place in this cemetery on 20 July 1868 - but burials are known to have occurred as early as 1842.
- Of the first nine burials, six were children and a walk around the cemetery evidences a high proportion of infant graves.
- Statistics show that in 1862 there were 117 deaths in the Ipswich area, with 47 of these being children under the age of five and in 1863 there were 146 deaths, 80 of them children.
- Children's graves are often marked by figures of lambs and cherubs.
- Many other symbols will be seen on graves, including Celtic crosses, a gateway opening into heaven, clasped hands of a husband and wife or a broken column.