Signs and symbols: the grave language of a Victorian cemetery
A walk around St Thomas’ Rest Park in Crows Nest will give you the opportunity to read many moving epitaphs and touching sentiments, from the earliest burial in 1846 to the last in 1950. However, there is another language on those stones – that of symbolic imagery. When you can understand this language, you will discover a new level of meaning as you wander around the park.
The monuments in St Thomas’ reflect traditional Christian influences, as it is the cemetery for St Thomas’ Anglican Church. They also reflect the classical styles of ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome that appealed to Victorian tastes, despite their ‘pagan’ origins.
Many of the headstones are ‘upright slab’ monuments, some simply rounded, others with Gothic style peaked tops. Others feature elaborately carved classical columns. Columns can be seen as ‘pointing to heaven,’ with their height signifying the social status of the person buried. A broken column may represent the break between life on earth and in heaven, or the death of the head of the family – the ‘pillar’ of the family.
The most dominant classical feature is the imposing pyramid in the centre of the Park, which church patron Alexander Berry had erected over his wife Elizabeth’s tomb in 1846. It is a highly significant example of Egyptian revival style and reflects the fascination with Egypt that emerged during the Napoleonic Wars, when France and Britain fought for control of that region. Pyramids were built as mausoleums in Europe, but the Berry tomb may well be unique in Australia. Another ancient Egyptian symbol that features prominently at St Thomas’ is the obelisk. For Egyptians, obelisks honoured the sun god Ra and symbolised the rebirth of their kings. In Victorian funerary design, they came to represent eternal life, heaven, or even the rays of the sun shining down forever on the deceased.
The cross is an obviously christian symbol. The most common at St Thomas’ is the simple Latin cross usually mounted on a three-stepped base symbolising faith, hope and charity. There are several ringed Celtic crosses which were popular with Anglicans, despite the strong association of this design with Irish Catholicism. Curiously, there is no record of angels featuring in the masonry at St Thomas’.
Victorian funerary design also draws upon ‘floriography’ – the language of flowers. In the 1840s, Alexander Berry planted cypress trees which had been associated with burial since ancient times, when that timber was used for coffins by Egyptians and Greeks. Flowers and plants carved in stone at St Thomas’ include the lily, symbolising purity and resurrection, ivy meaning eternal attachment, forget-me-nots for undying memory, and poppies symbolising eternal sleep. Wreaths represent victory. In funerary symbolism, that is victory over death. The age of the deceased can also be revealed by the size of a flower or plant: a bud represents a child, while a full flower represents an adult.
Visit Sexton’s Cottage Museum for free on Thursdays and Saturdays to learn more about the history of the Church and Cemetery.
Historical Services, North Sydney Council.
