Normally War Memorials and Cenotaphs are centrally located within towns and cities and especially so in smaller country towns. Consequently, it did strike me as a little odd that Goulburn’s memorial, to those who served in World War I, should be situated a few kilometres away from the centre of the city on top of a prominent rocky outcrop. Continue reading “Rocky Hill War Memorial”
Goulburn Jewish Cemetery
I have to say that it came as a bit of a surprise to me that Goulburn had a relatively high proportion of Jews amongst its population from the 1840s to the 1870s. The Census of 1841 recorded 22 Jews living in the town. The Census of 1846 recorded 54 Jews in Goulburn with another 59 in the adjoining Argyle County. At this time Goulburn had the third largest Jewish population in Australia, after Sydney and Melbourne. Continue reading “Goulburn Jewish Cemetery”
Mortis Street Pioneer Cemetery – Goulburn
The was the first Goulburn General Cemetery (Roman Catholics, Presbyterians and Methodists could use it) and it was established in the late 1830s, slightly later than the Anglican Cemetery of St Saviour’s, located less then a kilometre from here at the other end of Cemetery Road. The cemetery was officially closed for burials when the new, and current, Goulburn General Cemetery was opened in 1904 though family members continued to be buried here in family plots until around 1954. Continue reading “Mortis Street Pioneer Cemetery – Goulburn”
St Saviour’s Cemetery Goulburn
While there are a small number of graves in the grounds of St Saviour’s Cathedral (mainly bishops, deans and other church officials) the cathedral’s official, though now closed, cemetery is located at Cemetery Road on the Sydney side of the City. Continue reading “St Saviour’s Cemetery Goulburn”
The Goulburn Club
The Goulburn Club, ‘a social club for gentlemen’ until 1988 when it opened up to anyone wishing to join or visit, was established in 1877. It originally met as a group of whist players in the Commercial Hotel then located on the corner of Market Street and Sloane Street – less than one hundred metres to the right of the current club premises and now the site of the Goulburn Soldiers Club (worthy a visit in its own right). Continue reading “The Goulburn Club”
Smell the Roses -Victoria Park Rose Gardens
Goulburn has for a long time been seen as little more than a highway stop and a place to see the Big Merino (see separate review on this oversized ram) en-route between Canberra/Melbourne and Sydney. In 1992 the Hume Highway bypassed the city by a few kilometres and to make matters worse, eateries and fuel stations set up at one of the highway turnoffs and soon the Big Merino was moved there as well. Many saw the bypass as a death knell for the main part of the city. Continue reading “Smell the Roses -Victoria Park Rose Gardens”
Goulburn Masonic Temple
Even were it not for the fact that this renaissance/classical style building is called “The Masonic Temple”, the iconic compass and square symbol atop the building immediately gives it away as a Masonic/ Freemason building. Continue reading “Goulburn Masonic Temple”
It’s Green! – St Peter and St Paul’s Old Cathedral
Yes, it is indeed green!
It is green, I can assure you not because of the Irish connection (that will become evident shortly) but rather, because it is built from a locally quarried green diorite porphyrite igneous stone. It is finished with a Marulan sandstone dressing (I make it sound rather like a salad!). The deep purple roof slates are from Bangor in Wales. Continue reading “It’s Green! – St Peter and St Paul’s Old Cathedral”
St Saviour’s Cathedral
This is one of the, if not the, most beautiful Gothic Revival churches in Australia. It is the Cathedral Church of the Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn, named after Jesus, in his role as Saviour. It may come as a surprise to some readers that the Anglican Cathedral and the Bishop for Canberra (Australia’s capital city) are located in this small city of around 20,000 people, nearly 100 kilometres from the capital. Continue reading “St Saviour’s Cathedral”
Goulburn Courthouse – “More for ornament than use”
Seeing the magnificent Victorian Italianate Goulburn Courthouse for the first time brought back to my mind some of the grand colonial buildings I have seen in India. I certainly hadn’t anticipated coming across such a structure here in what I might unfairly call sleepy old Goulburn. Continue reading “Goulburn Courthouse – “More for ornament than use””
The Rambling Wombat 