IN 2017, the Ballarat New Cemetery turned one hundred and fifty years old.<\/p>\n
Looking back on the organisation\u2019s history, CEO Annie De Jong said Ballarat Cemeteries Trust had lots of information about men who \u201ccreated the fabric\u201d of Ballarat and were buried at their sites, but not so many about women.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to tell the stories of women. Cemeteries are the keepers of lots of social stories of the people in our town, so we launched a project to get 150 stories of the women in our cemetery, who shaped and built Ballarat,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Years later, they have 95 women\u2019s stories on their website, with another 20 yet to post, and they\u2019re seeking more.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll never stop, but it would be really nice within the next month to have another 30. We would love to turn it into a self-guided tour.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want stories of any women in our cemeteries who have contributed to our society and the community that Ballarat is today,\u201d Ms De Jong said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor example, we have a couple of the Lucas girls, Emma-Kate McGrath who died of meningococcal disease and inspired the 4EK Foundation, and Joan Chambers whose mission in life was to raise awareness of the Uniting Church selling off churches.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms De Jong encourages people to find the eulogy of a special woman buried at Ballarat Cemeteries, and share stories from it with the Trust, whether enough to fill half a page, or is just a paragraph.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe love it when we get a picture,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do ask people to approve that we can feature them in a tour, and share the information online, on our website, and on Facebook.\u201d<\/p>\n