Yesterday, we had Dr Celestina Sagazio, Historian and Manager of Cultural Heritage’ of the Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust, come out to talk to us about the hidden side of Melbourne’s cemeteries.
Dr Sagazio introduces us to the a side of the Queen Victoria Markets you might not know
Did you know that the Queen Victoria Market in the City of Melbourne is built on the first Melbourne cemetery? When the cemetery was closed in the 1920s, only about 1000 of the 10,000 bodies buried there were moved to the new cemetery in Carlton. They say you can’t dig a metre in any direction at the Markets without hitting bones!
A 1865 map of the cemetery
Dr Sagazio’s talk was filled with interesting facts and figures, the celebrated, the notorious and the just plain odd!
This is a slide of John Batman, whom many consider was a co-founder of Melbourne
It was a fascinating talk and we’re looking forward to having Dr Sagazio back to tell us more interesting tales from Melbourne’s history next year.
