Churchyard on the Hill

In 1826, the parish of St Anne’s at Ryde, NSW, began burying local people in the churchyard even before the church building had been completed. There were five burials in that first year. On New Year’s Day 1901, St Anne’s was officially closed and the last burial was in 1914, bringing the total number in the burial register to 1608. This publication of 448 pages includes colour photographs, a plan of the churchyard and an alphabetical burial register covering the whole period of the cemetery’s operation. Transcriptions of headstones in 1948 and 1966 are included, along with biographies of anyone represented on over 300 headstones, as well as several other people, such as the first person buried in the cemetery, Anthony Bryan. The cemetery map enables graves to be located and biographies used when strolling through the cemetery.

There are seven First Fleeters known to be buried in St Anne’s churchyard: James Bradley, Edward Goodin, Joseph Hatton, Richard Hawkes, Betty Jackson (Mason), John Small and Ann Smith (Colpitts). There are several Second and Third Fleeters, two Premiers of NSW (James S. Farnell and William Forster), a Premier’s wife (Lady Eleanor Parkes), a Surveyor-General of Queensland (William A. Tully), the wives of two nationally important surveyors (Emma Oxley and Mary Scrivener), an architect of Sydney Town Hall (Thomas Sapsford), several patients from Gladesville Hospital, including Australia’s first stockbroker, Matthew Gregson, victims of crimes or accidents and many pioneers of Ryde and Hunters Hill, such as Maria Ann “Granny” Smith and, of course, many descendants of the Small family.

The land for the St Anne's Church and Churchyard was exchanged by John Small with the Church of England for some Glebe land. There are about 29 members of the Small Family including our ancestor John Small, who appear on headstones at St Anne’s Ryde and they have biographies in the publication Churchyard on the Hill ($40 including postage-  order form). 

Churchyard on the Hill Order form