By Nick Bikeman
Driving past the Footscray cemetery on Geelong Road, Pop would say, “That’s the dead centre of Footscray.” As a kid, I thought the dead centre of Footscray was the Mall in Nicholson Street, or maybe the Kmart, but I wasn’t going to argue.
“People living in Footscray aren’t allowed to be buried in Footscray cemetery, you know why? Because they’re not dead yet!” said Pop, laughing. I guess the joke’s on him as he wound up being one of the last locals to be buried there.
Footscray General Cemetery was officially opened for burials in 1869 and occupies 13 hectares of prime real estate, fronting Geelong Road, bordering Yarraville, West Footscray, and Brooklyn. The last approved burial took place in 1997. With approximately 20,000 interments on site, the cemetery is currently full and no longer taking paying customers. However, local folklore would have you believe that several ‘unofficial burials’ of missing persons, underworld figures, and former associates have taken place there over the years. What better place to hide a body than a disused cemetery?
On a dare, as teenagers, high on a diet of horror movies, beer, and bravado, a group of us scaled the walls of Footscray cemetery at midnight, seeking to commune with the dead. Armed with a Ouija board, a bottle of Bundaberg Rum, and the fearlessness of youth, we held a séance atop the icy granite slab of an unknown gravesite, daring the forces of darkness to show themselves. Our death-defying antics only succeeded in scaring us half to death as the Ouija board took on a frightening life of its own, sending everyone scurrying in fear to the nearest exit in a state of absolute panic.
Footscray cemetery is full of life, but still creepy. Shrouded in a veil of fear and superstition, it exists as a potential portal to another world. It’s beautiful too, set amongst well-manicured gardens that provide opportunities for reflection and remembrance.
I’m completely absorbed, tomb strolling by the rows of gravestones, ghosting over the inscriptions and epithets, while speculating on the lives of the dear departed, did they live full lives surrounded by love? The cemetery attracts all kinds of people: tearful mourners, amateur historians researching family histories, clandestine lovers seeking refuge from prying eyes, and recently, a clutch of birders with binoculars seeking out the nesting Brown Falcons in one of the large cypress pine trees. Footscray cemetery is also a magnet for freaks and weirdos.
‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ and ‘Satanic Forces at Work in Footscray’. The news headlines screamed out across the national media in February 2022, with the discovery of stolen body parts, skulls in particular, taken from a mausoleum at Footscray cemetery. Wild speculation suggested that Satanists or devil worshippers might be behind the crimes, or perhaps it was some criminal underworld payback designed to send a message. The police said, “It appears that the human remains were the primary focus of the offender.” In the search for a motive, investigations were opened into the lives of the dead victims and their families. Interviewed by the press, a nearby resident said, “It’s usually such a quiet place to live, the dead make great neighbours.” A couple of weeks later, after interest had died down, an unassuming local man was charged with the crime of removing human remains from a place of interment.
In Australia, burials have a bleak future. 75% of dead people now opt for cremation, which is seen as cheaper, more hygienic, and portable too. You can keep Nanna at home on the sideboard in a vase-like urn or perhaps scatter her ashes at the Whitten Oval (only by appointment and not during training times), where you have the choice of three versions of the club song: Sons of the Scray, Sons of the West, or Daughters of the West.
With the high cost of land and increasing population, there has been a worldwide rise in vertical cemeteries, especially in densely populated areas like Hong Kong and Japan. In the city of San Paulo, Brazil, they have constructed a 32-story high-rise cemetery that has room for 25,000 tombs. With the baby boomer generation currently fuelling a funeral boom, you could say the funeral business is looking up.
As the gentrification of the neighbourhood continues, I imagine it won’t be long before Footscray cemetery is sold off for redevelopment, with the interred to be relocated to high-rise accommodation. The former cemetery could then be converted into a new estate, perhaps called ‘The Graves’, with an appropriate mix of private and social housing located in a well-sort after area, right in the dead centre of Footscray.
Footscray General Cemetery is open to the public from 7.30 am to 5.30 pm seven days a week.
