People expected to embrace historic park

The Ripplebrook cemetery will be formally closed and become an historic cemetery park.

The cemetery, which is currently maintained by council staff, is a small pioneer cemetery.

Councillors were told historic cemetery parks were effectively closed cemeteries converted into parkland, removing the ability for future internments and ongoing compliance obligations.

A report to council said council was the sole member of the Ripplebrook Cemetery Trust.

While the cemetery was inactive with no funds held in the trust, it remained officially open because it had never been formally closed.

Council staff maintain the area as a bushland reserve, including removal of hazardous trees, branches and clearing weeds and undergrowth.

To formally close the cemetery, there had to be no internments for at least 25 years.

Community consultation also is required as part of the closure process.

Cr Keith Cook said the cemetery was created in 1879, originally serving the Yannathan and Longwarry communities before the areas was named Ripplebrook in 1934.

Cr Cook said of the 34 people buried at the cemetery, 21 of them were under 10-years-old which demonstrated the difficult times people endured.

“The cemetery holds a lot of the history of the area and this will be good to have it as an historic park,” he said.

Cr Michael Leaney said the Ripplebrook cemetery was an example of history being forgotten.

“It is a great little spot but it was never formally closed.

“When you have a working cemetery people don’t necessarily go there but when it’s a historic park people tend to embrace it,” he said.