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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-09-16 Daily Xml
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CAROLINE CLARK MEMORIAL GARDEN

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (15:06): My question is directed to the Minister for Urban Development and Planning. Minister, will you advise the chamber of recent work undertaken by the Adelaide Cemeteries Authority at the West Terrace Cemetery in regards to the Caroline Clark Memorial Garden?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister Assisting the Premier in Public Sector Management) (15:07): I thank the honourable member for his important question. I was honoured to attend and officially open the Caroline Clark Memorial Garden back in July this year at the West Terrace Cemetery. The West Terrace Cemetery is one of four major cemeteries administered by the Adelaide Cemeteries Authority and obviously the state's oldest cemetery. The other cemeteries administered by the authority are the Cheltenham Cemetery, the Enfield Memorial Park and Smithfield Memorial Park.

I greatly appreciated the invitation from the Adelaide Cemeteries Authority Board to officially name and open this new memorial honouring those buried in unmarked graves at the West Terrace Cemetery. The Caroline Clark Memorial Garden provides a sign of respect to the 50,000 people buried at public expense in unmarked graves at the West Terrace Cemetery from settlement until the mid-20th century.

In colonial South Australia, as in Britain, a lavish funeral was seen as a symbol of social status and respectability but, by contrast, those who had the misfortune to die without next of kin or whose family could not afford the cost of burial faced a paltry farewell. From the earliest days of settlement many families facing hardship had to rely on the state to bury their loved ones. Sadly this often translated into burial in common graves and without ceremony.

This approach reflected societal attitudes at the time both in Australia and overseas and contrasts sharply with government and community values in the 21st century. Today government-assisted funerals offer the deceased and the grieving families the same level of dignity and respect as any member of the community, and that is why it is important for us to remember now those who were not provided such respect in times past.

The Caroline Clark Memorial is named in honour of philanthropist and reformer Caroline Emily Clark for her tireless efforts in the fight for improved treatment of destitute children. Caroline Emily Clark is a remarkable woman in our state's proud history. Caroline Clark was appalled by the inadequate treatment of destitute children. She believed that they should be removed from the destitute asylum and placed with families who were subsidised to care for, clothe and educate them.

With the support of her friends and family, Caroline Clark successfully lobbied the government to introduce a boarding-out system, as it was called, back in 1871. To aid the Destitute Board in supervising the system, she also formed the volunteer-based Boarding-out Society with another well-known reformer, Catherine Helen Spence. By 1888, 700 of the 800 state wards were boarded out, affording destitute children better conditions and reducing the burden on the Destitute Board's limited resources. So successful was the system that it was substantially adopted in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Following her death in 1911, Caroline Clark was cremated at the West Terrace Cemetery crematorium and her remains were interred in the Clark family vault within the cemetery.

Those attending the official opening and dedication ceremony to the Caroline Clark Memorial Garden were also privileged to be present to hear from Kathy Grant, who spoke about the many members of her family buried at the West Terrace Cemetery, including those buried in unmarked graves at the site. Kathy Grant spoke most poignantly on the importance of the memorial to members of the community who, like herself, have loved ones buried in the unmarked graves at the West Terrace Cemetery.

The Caroline Clark Memorial Garden provides families with an area they can visit to reflect on and remember those who have gone before them. The memorial garden also offers families, in many cases several generations removed, the opportunity to place a lasting tribute to their loved ones and ancestors buried in unmarked graves at the cemetery.

I would like to thank all those involved in the Adelaide Cemeteries Authority for their work in bringing to reality this outstanding memorial to those buried in unmarked graves at the West Terrace Cemetery. In particular, I would like to thank Mr Robert Pitt, Chief Executive Officer of the Adelaide Cemeteries Authority; Ms Kathy Bowden, Manager, Marketing and Client Services; Mr Tony Amato, Tourism and Marketing Officer; the grounds staff at the West Terrace Cemetery; and all those involved in this initiative.

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