St Virgil's College - Land Transformed

CATHOLIC CHURCH CEMETERY

ST. VIRGIL'S COLLEGE LAND TRANSFORMED

ABOUT 1,000 SKELETONS REMOVED.

Following upon Parliamentary sanction to remove the human remains of all persons interred in the old Roman Catholic Cemetery to the rear of St Virgil's College, Hobart, a complete transformation has been effected to this land, which is situated on the roof of Hobart, and from which a commanding view from north, south, and east can be obtained such as is unsurpassed from any other point within the city's boundaries. 

In addition to the removal of the human remains of about 1,000 persons, who lived in Hobart from between 46 to 90 years ago, the contour of the land, including the cemetery, between Brisbane street and Patrick street, has been so altered that instead of particularly steep land, which was useless for building or recreative purposes, there are now two terraces which can be utilised for either purpose.

In 1915 a private bill was introduced in the House of Assembly by Sir Elliott Lewis to authorise the trustees of the property of the Roman Catholic Church, to transfer to the Society of the Christian Brothers 3a. 3r. 11p. of land, which from 1829 to 1872 had been used as a burial ground, for the purpose of improving it, and of using the land in connection with St Virgil's College which adjoins, and for that purpose to remove the remains of the persons buried there, and also all tombstones, monuments, and material, the living relatives of persons buried there having consented to such removal and transfer. The bill provided that a statement should be prepared describing the names and dates on the tombstones and monuments, for the purpose of identification, a copy of which was to be deposited with the Chief Secretary and another with the person who had charge of the archives of the Roman Catholic Church in Tasmania, such copies to be open to inspection by all persons and also that the remains of all persons buried in the land should be collected with due care, and removed to the Cornelian Bay Cemetery, where they should be reverently reinterred, a suitable monument recording the names to be erected over the remains, the tombstones and monuments to be used as the society thought fit, provided that the representative of any person buried there could within three months of the passing of the Act remove the tombstone or monument. 

This bill was passed through the House of Assembly in December 1915, and subsequently was agreed to by the Legislative Council, and received the Royal assent.

Previously, however, a Select Committee had reported on the bill after examining Monsignor Gilleran, Vicar General of the Roman Catholic Church, and viewing the land and cemetery. 

The committee recommended the passing of the bill but placed upon record "its opinion that other closed cemeteries within the boundaries of Hobart should not necessarily be treated similarly, but that the future disposition of each of such cemeteries should be dealt with in such manner as under the circumstances of the case may be deemed desirable. 

"Monsignor Gilleran in his evidence, stated that the late Archbishop Murphy spent £2,700 on the erection of the first portion of St Virgil's College, and the present Archbishop Delany had spent £3,050, in addition to which the Christian Brothers had spent between £5,000 and £6,000 on the building, furnishing, and laying out of the grounds, etc. 

The object of the bill was to provide additional accommodation for the work of the college, and to improve the appearance of the cemetery site, which was an eyesore.

The relatives of those buried there gladly gave their consent to the removal of the remains. 

The Christian Brothers proposed to spend between £2,000 and £3 000 in clearing out a portion of the land, and transforming it into a park style area, making it into terraces, and laying it out with the assistance of a professional landscape gardener. The land would thus become useful as a place laid out in walks and a beauty spot, and it would also be of educational advantage to the boys. It might be necessary, later on, to extend the buildings.

The reasons given for the transfer of the remains were that the condition of the cemetery was a reproach to beautiful Hobart, that its bad condition was becoming worse, and improvement was impossible unless the remains were removed 

• that the hill overlooked the city, and was visible from any part of Hobart and the Domain 
• that the original grant was not for cemetery, but for a chapel, priest's residence and garden, so the proposal was a restoration to the original purpose
•  that the cemetery was close to St Virgil's College, which was attended by 200 scholars, the cemetery in its neglected and discreditable condition being undesirable 
• that the college was visited by tourists from the mainland, who expressed surprise and regret that this cemetery, like the rest of the old cemeteries of Hobart, was so situated, so neglected, and so ugly a patch, in the midst of the scenic beauty around. 

The land in question sloped at a steep gradient from the Molle-street boundary towards Barrack-street, and in order to obtain a level surface it was necessary to begin operations just at the rear of the college buildings, and by cutting out the high ground and banking up the low ground with the soil and stone removed thus make a couple of terraces and two fairly large stretches of level ground. In some places 25ft. to 30ft. depth of soil and stone was excavated, the average removal being 7ft. The soil, which was about 3ft. deep was removed to one spot, so that subsequently it could be used for top dressing after the ground had been ploughed over and thoroughly levelled.

Five men were regularly engaged for over three years in the colossal task, which had been carried out under the supervision of a lay brother, who had his heart in the work, and had never once been absent when work had been in progress.

The first body was removed on July 17, 1916, and, as far as can be ascertained, the last was removed yesterday, [26 March, 1919] as the whole of the ground has now been levelled, with the exception of the top corner adjoining Patrick-street, which had been sold and repurchased. 

During the exhumation and removal of the human remains the health inspector has made frequent and unexpected visits and always expressed satisfaction at the careful and reverent manner, in which the bones were gathered together, placed in suitable boxes, stored in a vault, and finally removed to Cornelian Bay Cemetery for reinterment. 

There have been six reinterment services conducted by Monsignor Gilleran, over a hundred separate boxes containing human remains being buried simultaneously on each occasion. 

The boxes, which were specially made for the purpose, are 18in. long by 11in. wide, and 8in. deep, and are of celery pine and white celery. The last collection of 180 of these was seen yesterday by a "Mercury" reporter in a vault under the higher terrace and when these have been removed and reinterred the vault will be filled in and the terrace completed.

Altogether about 1,000 graves have been opened, and the contents thus removed, and a complete list of the inscriptions has been kept. 

After the final reinterment a handsome cemetery chapel is to be erected over the remains as a monument, and inside the chapel will be placed brass plates bearing the names of all whose remains have been removed from one cemetery to the other.

During the process of excavation, which it is hoped will be completed by the end of this year, huge rocks and boulders have been removed and these have helped to form the foundation of the bank, which at the Brisbane-street end sweeps round in a circular formation, with a depth of about 25ft. It is intended to grow a thick hedge at the foot of the bank and creeping geraniums along the face of it whilst the level ground will be grassed and converted into a beauty spot, which being on the roof of Hobart, is bound to prove an attractive resort to both residents and visitors.

Cyprus trees have been planted along the top of the boundary banks, and these will help to enhance the improvements.

The Christian Brothers who are bearing the whole cost of the improvement, have already spent over £2,700, and it is expected that when the fencing and planting are complete the total cost will be well over £3,000.