Tuesday 31 July 2012

Taphophile Tragics


I was taken by the design of these markers.


Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, Saturday, 9 June 1906 -
We regret to have to record the death of Miss Emily Dare, a lady whose long residence in Parramatta was characterised by many acts of true, unostentatious charity and good works. The end came at her residence, in Taylor Street, on Wednesday. Miss Dare was the daughter of Mr. Alexander Ellison Dare, who, some 50 years back, ran the flour mill at the foot of Smith Street, Parramatta. At that time the family lived in Smith Street in the cottage afterwards occupied by Dr. Phillips. The family were always staunch supporters of St. John's Church. Her brother is Mr. A. H. Dare, flour merchant, Sydney. Her sister was Mrs. John Harris, who predeceased her, and she was an aunt of Mr. F. H. Dare, the manager of the Granville branch of the Commercial Bank. The funeral, the arrangements for which were entrusted to Messrs. William Motcalfe and Co., took place on Thursday morning in the St. John's burial ground, the Ven. Archdeacons Gunther and Langley officiating, and there being a large attendance at the graveside. During the portion of the service held in St. John's Church, the choir sang a favourite hymn, 'Hushed,blessed are -the dead,' and at the close Mr. Alfred Barry played the 'Dead March in Saul.' Many beautiful floral tributes were sent in.


Sydney Morning Herald, Thursday, 6 May 1937 -
Mr. Francis Henry Dare, of Elderslie, Harris Park, who died at the age of 74, was the eldest son of Mr. Alexander Dare, and a grandson of Mr. Alexander Ellison Dare, a pioneer of the Parramatta district. He was educated at All Saints' College, Bathurst, and later joined the staff of the London Chartered Bank. He transferred to the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney, in whosj service he continued until his retirement nine years ago. For 33 years he was manager of the Granville branch. Mr. Dare is survived by his wife, a son. Mr. H. S. Dare, manager of the Commercial Bank at Bogan Gate, and two daughters. His elder son was killed In the war.

This is an entry in Julie's Taphophile Tragics meme.

7 comments:

Dina said...

Those old crosses are beautiful, so unique.

VioletSky said...

Poor Mr Francis Dare's mother is not mentioned at all and his wife not by name. Miss Emily Dare's sister is only mentioned as Mrs John Harris.

Mark R said...

Yes, I agree with Dina. I guess the crosses must have been carved in sections and pieced together, or they would have been incredibly expensive. is that right?

SeaThreePeeO said...

Wow, such beautiful stones. Poor little George. My own daugther is 4 months old. Their loss must have been terrible.

Beneath Thy Feet

Julie said...

Yes, 4 months in 1808. That is very young. And also very old. Very devastating.

I agree about the crosses: their design is quite gorgeous. I have no idea how many pieces they were carved in, but marvel at the work. They seem to me to be somewhat Irish, but I am a novice at cross-spotting.

I like how the 1937 Obit. simply states that the elder son was 'killed in the war'.

St John's burial ground is a treasure trove.

Julie said...

OOps ... forgot to answer your question about North Head, Ann.

NO need to do a tour - I didn't. I took the ferry to Manly. Then to the 135 bus from Stand J. Now that is on the OTHER side of the road that you come out on. Walk diagonally across, and it is the only Stand there. Very bloody cold. Now on a Sunday the bus I caught was the 11:38 as many of the others no longer run. You are heading for North Fork Museum. The bus goes to the museum (there is a lovely Italian cafe there, too) waits for 5 minutes and does the return trip. This is on a cycle of 2 hours. Which is tons of time. Cemetery #3 is beside the museum but not sign-posted that I could see. If you look at Google maps and zoom in, it is pretty bloody obvious.

Anonymous said...

I would like to know more about this headstone. Seems that every Dare in St Johns cemetery has one.. there's about 3 of them. Alexander Dare II is buried at Bathurst Cemetery and he has one the same.