Kempsey West
Kempsey West Cemetery, gazetted on 27 July 1863, occupies a 2.94ha site, is the second oldest cemetery in the Shire and one of the few cemeteries in NSW that are aligned north-south. Only three graves are aligned east-west. The earliest known burial occurred on 20 July 1856 and inscriptions extant date from 1860. The cemetery is now closed to new burials except where a prior reservation exists.
The cemetery consists entirely of monumental portions. An on-site map (see above)shows denominational areas but there is no signposting, row or grave numbering within the cemetery itself. There are no facilities provided other than town water. At the time of listing the site had been recently mown and was in good order with no sign of vandalism. Many of the older inscriptions are becoming difficult to read and the south facing monuments made photography difficult.
Ray Cork made digital images of all visible inscriptions during several visits in 2010. His images may be downloaded from the list of inscriptions for this cemetery. Ray also compiled the inscription list with reference to the NSW indices of births, deaths and marriages and to the Australian War Memorial online military rolls for additional information.
Kempsey West Cemetery is about 2km west of the town centre. From the western end of the Macleay River bridge take Belgrave St to the west. After crossing the railway, proceed through the roundabout into Elbow St. At the western end of Elbow St turn right into River Street. The cemetery is on the right about 1.2km further on at the intersection with Broughton St.
West Kempsey Cemetery is administered by the Kempsey Shire Council. For further information, contact Council at PO Box 3078, West Kempsey NSW 2440; phone 02 6556 3200; email: ksc@kempsey.nsw.gov.au
31 Aug 2010