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Old Ross Cemetery, Ross, West Coast.

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Date: 1866 to 1 Feb 1886
Location: James Street, Ross, West Coast.map
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Location

Old Ross Cemetery

The (second) Old Ross Cemetery is 10 minutes walk from St James Street, Ross, Westland District, West Coast 7812, New Zealand. Coordinates: -42.90232, 170.81132. Sited on a rather steep hill, having funerals, carrying coffins and digging graves would have been difficult, but at that time the more convenient areas of land would all have been subject to gold mining.

History
A gold rush called Jones's led to diggers hurrying south from Hokitika along the beach, some fording the Totara River near the beach and others crossing inland near Donnelly's Creek to a high spur east of Jones Creek, then down to the creek bed in a narrow gully with steep walls. Jones Creek valley was the centre of the new gold diggings while a town rose up on an extensive terrace. At first named Georgetown or Totara, within a few weeks it was given the name Rosstown, which was shortened to Ross in about 1866, after George Ross, who was the Canterbury Provincial Council's treasurer at the time of the naming. The First Ross Cemetery, West Coast.was on a terrace above and south of the town.

In October 1865 diggers, ignoring convenience and law, began sinking shafts among buildings within Ross town, even on the Government Reserve. To allow for mining of the land under it, the town was gradually moved to the west side of Jones Creek, centre of the gold claims, leaving Ross town on the east side deserted by late 1865.

The Old Ross Cemetery
The First Ross Cemetery continued to be used until about 1868 when sluicing for gold encroached on the graves. During the latter half of 1868 and in 1869, bodies were exhumed, each placed in a separate box, and moved to the new cemetery on a hill south of the new Ross township west of Jones Creek.

Old Ross Cemetery view north.

Interments
Only people paying for a Class 1 Plot were permitted to have a headstone on the grave and few of the headstones that were allowed to remain. There may have been as many as 200 burials in the Old Ross Cemetery (sometimes referred to as the Historic Ross Cemetery). Burials appear to have begun at the bottom of the hill and gradually digging of graves worked up the hill.

Researcher Anne Hutchison compiled a list of burials from the few Ross newspapers that still existed and from two other West Coast newspapers. Many deaths were not reported in newspapers. About 30 basic 1879-1885 burial records are pasted into the front of the Ross Cemetery Burial Accounts Book. A complete search of the relevant records held in Wellington by the NZ Government Historic Births, Death and Marriages would produce a more comprehensive list. Julia Bradshaw in her report on this cemetery to the Department of Conservation, March 2013, provides demographic information about the burials.

Andrew Miller's Headstone
In the available records Andrew Miller (39) is said to be 'husband of Janet' with no occupation, place or cause of death. He was buried in March 1872. His headstone, with a cross, has his date of death at 28 March 1872. Two sons of Janet and Andrew, Arohie, drowned in 1879, and George (38) died, 28 March 1897, are buried in the grave with Andrew.

Cause of Death
Between 1868 and 1882, fifty one percent of known causes of death were from accidents, indicating the dangers associated with mining for gold at the time. Twenty five percent died from natural causes, twenty percent from drowning ( 71% from accidents and drowning combined) and four percent committed suicide.

Evan Hughes, miner, one of the earliest residents was killed when he fell 40 feet from a wooden water flume. Evan was buried 11 August 1882.
Andrew Ross (40), ferryman from Scotland, was drowned in the Mikonui River, south of Ross. He was buried 15 October 1880.
Charles La Mothe Ralfe (33), also known as John Henry La Mothe Ralfe, from the Isle of Man, died from a stroke. He was buried 5 July 1873.
Age at Death

People who died in Ross during this time appear to have been relatively young, the average age at death being 40 years old. The eldest, Bernard Mulhearn was 73 years old. Later, Mary Ann Lopas (76) was buried 8 January 1923. Headstones show the high rate of mortality among children In 1881, four children ages from 8 years to 14 years, died from diptheria.

Robert Thompson (13) died from diptheria and was buried 30 April 1881.
Charles Thompson (10), brother of Robert, died from diptheria and was buried 15 May 1881.
Thompson Headstone

Women died in childbirth, some babies were stillborn and at least 22 other infants and children from age 40 hours to 15 years are among the few recorded as having died during the period that there were burials in the Old Ross Cemetery.

Emma Searle (40), wife of William, died in childbirth. Buried 6 May 1883.
Jane Appleton (5 months), buried 28 February 1883.
Maude Mary McBride (5 years) died from burns at Donoghues, south west of Ross. She was buried 4 december 1871.
Country of Origin

Those who are buried in the Old Ross cemetery were mainly from England, Ireland and Scotland, but there was a cosmopolitan population. People were from China, Italy, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Belgium, France, United States of America, Sweden and Russia.

John Andrews (50) also known as 'California Jack', a boatman from the USA, was drowned in the Totara Lagoon. He was buried 3 April 1870.
Leopoldi Rossi (32) a miner from Italy, died in Ross froma ruptured aorta. He was buried 8 January 1872.
Andrew Tyson (40) from Denmark, was killed when he was travelling between Ross and Kanieri and a tree fell on him. He was buried in Ross 5 February 1872.
Chinese

The bodies ofTwo Chinese who were buried in the Old Ross Cemetery are likely to have been exhumed and, along with bodies of almost 500 Chinese miners from other gold fields, to have been taken aboard the SS Ventnor bound for China. The ship sank off the coast off the Hokianga heads in 1902. On 10 April 2021, the SS Ventnor memorial was unveiled in front of the Manea Footprints of Kupe Centre in Ōpononi. The striking concrete and steel structure was commissioned by the New Zealand Chinese Association.
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Occupation

Included among those occupations that are recorded for people buried in the Old Ross Cemetery are: baker, boatman, butcher, cook, contractor, ferryman, gardener, hairdresser, hotel keeper, labourer, mailman, miner, packer, seaman and store keeper.

William Quinn (36 or 38) was an hotel keeper from Ireland. He drowned 'near the hotel' and was buried 2 September 1872.
Conrad Lihnke (26), a baker, was drowned in the Totara River, 31 December 1871.
L (Lawrence?) Harris (32) mailman between Ross and Okarito, was drowned in Saltwater Creek in July 1876.
John Cowan (27) a blacksmith from Scotland, was killed when he was thrown from a horse.
Headstones Old Ross Cemetery

Third Ross Cemetery
The first headstone in the (third) Ross Cemetery was for William Dove who died 19 July 1884. After the Old Ross (second) Cemetery was officially closed closed in 1886, burials of those related to people buried in Class 1 plots were continued. The last confirmed burial was of Mary Grace Ellen Lopas in 1923.





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