GENEALOGISTS are having the time of their lives at Yackandandah cemetery, writes KIM WOODS

Being gored by a milking cow while walking in Melbourne's Swanston Street in the late 1800s was not a usual occurrence.

But Yackandandah's Reverend James Greig, a leading light of the Presbyterian assembly, was attacked by an angry bovine near St Paul's Cathedral.

Mr Greig, who served at Yackandandah from 1864 to 1893, was equally unlucky with horses.

He bought a horse from a local teamster to use as a saddle hack.

Under its previous owner, the horse had developed the habit of stopping at every public house and refusing to move.

It was not until the Rev. Greig began to shout "Mt Murramurrangbong, Tangambalanga, Mudgegonga, Mitta Mitta", that the horse took off like the wind.

And so goes one of the stories behind the many names that lie silent in the historic Yackandandah cemetery.

With views to Mt Buffalo, the cemetery, in Victoria's North East, boasts almost 4000 burials, dating back to the gold rush.

For keen genealogists, it is a gold mine.

Yackandandah Cemetery Trust secretary Peter Ross spent three years compiling the cemetery records on to CD-ROM.

Each plot containing a burial, including the Chinese section, has been listed on the CD.

"I had just retired from the tax office when I was asked to take on the secretarial position," Peter says.

"They were beautiful records and I knew something had to be done with them.

"It was surprising for such a small cemetery how long the task took."

Trust president John McIntyre retired from his mixed farm at St James to Yackandandah seven years ago.

"I found this to be an interesting aside to my hobby of genealogy," John says.

"There is a huge interest in tracing family trees and we constantly get inquiries from people."

The first burial, which took place in 1858, was of 14-month-old Ellen Anderson, who is recorded as dying of convulsions.

John says many of the early graves were marked by wooden crosses, which had rotted away.

He says the maintenance work was constant for the band of 11 volunteer trustees.

"Barely a day goes by when we don't have people wandering around the cemetery looking for information," John says.

"We want this place to be regarded as a living community resource."

Each month, prisoners from Beechworth help the volunteers with mowing, hand weeding, gardening and maintenance work.

Ungrazed across the decades, the cemetery has been a showcase for an extensive list of native grasses and flowers.

"We have received much assistance from the Department of Sustainability and Environment in identifying the grasses, photographing them and writing descriptions for visitors," John says.

Plaques have been erected on those graves containing native plants needing protection.

Four large trees have been listed on the National Trust's register of significant trees of Victoria.

This year, the cemetery celebrated 150 years with a series of well-attended walks.

In conjunction with the celebration, local primary schools interviewed nursing home residents on their early memories of Yackandandah for a booklet.

"It was all about young people accepting and appreciating the value of our older ones in the community," John says.

The trustees are planning a new brochure detailing the cemetery's layout and history, primarily aimed at genealogists.

"With a cemetery we can't think in terms of tomorrow, so all our plans are long term," John says.

"We are developing a natural burial area in the northwest corner where people can be buried without coffins. This area will feature native herbage replanted from other parts of the cemetery.

"Most of the internments are burials and not cremations, but we are developing modules for vertical burials in the future."

Of the 4ha cemetery, about 60 per cent has been taken up by burial sites.

But John can see alternative uses for the balance. He says a planned new visitors shelter and amenities block could potentially act as a refuge for residents during bushfires.

    CHECKLIST
  • The Yackandandah Cemetery is a short distance northeast of Yackandandah along the Wodonga Rd.
  • Original cemetery registrars, minute books, cash books, mourning accessories and a general cemetery plan can also be seen at the Yackandandah Museum.