MEMBERS of Bathurst’s Long Swamp Cemetery volunteer group have been honoured for their work cleaning up and maintaining the historic cemetery 45 kilometres south of Bathurst.
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Planning Minister Tony Kelly presented the awards last month when the Long Swamp group was among 17 groups and individuals named “heritage heroes” at the annual NSW Government Heritage Volunteer Awards.
The awards, presented at the Heritage Branch in Parramatta, recognised the outstanding contribution of volunteers in conserving the state’s heritage.
“Volunteering makes a significant contribution and the work being done by community members is so important in helping to protect, preserve and bring to life our heritage places and stories,” Mr Kelly said.
The Long Swamp volunteer group consists of Paul, Shane and Chris Hanrahan, Terry Byrnes, Paul Edwards, Gary Begley, Sylvia and Don Kilby, Carmel and Byron Green, Ivan and Mary Hanrahan, and Errol and Marie Nightingale.
They started work at the cemetery in 2008 and it continues today. The group has invested countless hours and resources cleaning up and maintaining the area.
Work undertaken has included the removal of weeds and overgrowth, slashing grass, replacing the boundary fence, hand cleaning the 50 headstones, and repairing damaged graves.
The group also engaged Mudgee monumental mason Kerry Roberts, with the assistance of funding from the Bathurst Region Heritage Fund, to restore a number of graves, including the historically-significant tomb of Patrick Casey.
The group’s work has resulted in many community benefits.
A reunion was held in November 2008 with 160 relatives of those interred at the cemetery attending. A second reunion is being organised for April this year.
In 2009 Bathurst Regional Council hosted a seminar focusing on the management of rural cemeteries, with the Long Swamp Cemetery used as a case study. Bathurst mayor Paul Toole congratulated the group on its award.
“The work undertaken by the group has demonstrated what can be achieved at other rural cemeteries” he said.