Cemetery stalwart creates a lasting impact

AFTER almost half a century of dedication and hard work at Ballarat Cemeteries, gravedigger and gardener Kevin Frawley has retired.

His retirement was celebrated recently with a function for current and past staff at the Sovereign Chapel at Ballarat New Cemetery.

During his 47 years at Ballarat Cemeteries, Mr Frawley also held the roles of cemetery foreman for 32 years, gardener, and bus driver for the cemetery’s Heritage Week historic tours.

Mr Frawley shared stories from his time at the cemetery, highlighting how much the work has changed since he first began.

“I’ve had the satisfaction of helping families in times of need and helping with the development of new areas,” he said. “We’ve been able to give families more of a choice in recent years compared to what they once had.

“They used to have to have a lawn grave and we picked it for them, whereas now they have a choice of where they can go.

“I’m happy with what I’ve achieved.

“There’s been a real lot of change especially through the ’80s and early ’90s, when the bigger changes happened, going from hand digging to machinery.

“There were no computers or mobile phones or anything back then, and it all changed.”

When Mr Frawley started, all graves were dug manually with picks and shovels.

To get in and out of graves, he had to lay a shovel across the top and haul himself out. There were no tape measures, and just a stick for measuring depths.

Mr Frawley has witnessed and been involved with the development of the cemetery’s landscaping in different ways, from physically clearing land and levelling graves in existing areas to improving the surroundings and assisting with the creation of new areas.

He has worked on just about every location at the Ballarat New Cemetery, seeing the shift from burials to a mix of burials and cremation and different trends in memorialisation.

A caricature of Mr Frawley in his operations team uniform was presented to him by the organisation, along with other gifts, as an expression of thanks for his contributions.

Mr Frawley said he enjoyed spending the afternoon catching up with former colleagues and admitted he was looking forward to having a well-earned rest before considering his next options. Now he has retired, he and his wife plan to do some travel within Australia.

“There’s a lot here in our backyard to have a look at,” he said.