By Alesha Capone
A weekend tour of the Rothwell Cemetery in Little River is set to provide a fascinating glimpse of the past.
The Little River Historical Society will run the walk and talk event on Sunday.
Society president Les Sanderson said the cemetery was established in 1859.
The first registered burial, of Gordon Cameron, occurred in October that same year. Gordon, aged in his early thirties, was a farmer who died of consumption.
Mr Sanderson said the historical society hoped Sunday’s tour attendees would enjoy hearing about the personal tragedies, achievements and community connections of those buried at the cemetery; seeing the different styles of monuments; and learning about people who built some of the monuments.
Mr Sanderson said that teaching residents about the history of their local area “provides a reminder of what the district was like all those years ago”.
“If people like me don’t tell what happened in the past that knowledge and information will disappear,” he said.
“The more people know, the better people will understand why some (both good and bad) things happened,” he said.
Among the graves at the cemetery is that of Mary Henry, daughter of John Henry, one of the first white settlers in Little River.
“Mary was among the few, and early, women students to be admitted to Melbourne University,” Mr Sanderson said.
Mary completed a bachelor of arts and was conferred with her degree in 1894.
However she died five years later, aged just 27.
Registration for the Rothwell Cemetery tour will start at 1.30pm on Sunday, with the event to begin at 2pm.
The cemetery is located on the corner of Hughes Road and Calvert Road, Little River.
