Rookwood Cemetery
Rookwood Cemetery (officially named Rookwood Necropolis) is the largest multicultural necropolis in the Southern Hemisphere, close to Lidcombe Station in Strathfield municipality, Sydney, Australia, about 15 kilometres west of the central business district.
The first burial took place in 1867, and the Cemetery is still being used today. In the past the Cemetery was served by a branch railway line with 4 separate Mortuary Stations. Regular bus services within the Cemetery have replaced the line. Rookwood Cemetery is one of the best and largest surviving examples of a Victorian cemetery in the world. (Coincidentally, one of the largest in the Northern Hemisphere is called Brookwood Cemetery.)
The building which served as a railway station for Rookwood Cemetary between 1868 and 1948 - a Gothic Revival sandstone edifice - was relocated to Canberra in 1957 where it was transformed into All Saints Church. The line's city terminus was the Mortuary Station that is still located between Redfern and Central railway stations, but which is no longer in regular use.
Rookwood Necropolis, which is located several kilometres from the current geographical centre of the Sydney metroplitan area, near Homebush, is sometimes jokingly referred to as the dead centre of Sydney. It is also perhaps the only cemeteries in the world to have been immortalised in a song: "Rookwood" by the 80's Australian indie rock/indie pop band The Mexican Spitfires.
Approximately one million people have their final resting place within the boundaries of its almost 3 km expanse;. The "Friends of Rookwood Inc" raise public awareness of the cultural and historical value of the cemetery and also the need to ensure its preservation.
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