Cabarlah Cemetery

Those of you who have followed our blog for a while know that we love us a good cemetery. So many stories are told in a kind of haiku of chiseled stone. Even the stories told in boring bland verse are interesting. Every life...

Today was a buy day with several high points. In the afternoon, we visited a cemetery in Cabarlah, just north of Toowoomba. This is a unique graveyard in our experience. There are five clearly separated sections for Anglicans, Presbyterians, Catholics, Lutherans, and non-denominational. We've never see a cemetery remarked in such a way. Each section has a sign tell what sort of believer is interred there and there is a space between them and the next flavor of church-goer.

There are markers for people buried in throughout the 19^th century. Some died in the 1^st World War other later. Some clearly were the sons and daughters of those transported and some may have been transported themselves. Oh, the stories.

The markers were in remarkable condition when compared to the ones from the similar period we found in English cemeteries. There, the cities contribute so much acid to the rain that the victorian markers were often simply etched clean. Here the oldest ones were still quite legible.

Many of the grave stones were broken up on top and the ground underneath were sunken in. Perhaps this is because the cement was too thin or the elements were too harsh for the composition of the mixture. Perhaps it is because the ground below subsided. Perhaps it is because the spirit was too willing. Who knows.

This is play among the gum trees that is remarkably peaceful even though it is next to a main road with all the traffic. all the grave sites are laid out in regular and even grid and, while in various states of repair, are in each section in a uniform style and orientation. A little bit of looking around reveals that all the graves face the east regardless of the section of the grave yard they are in.

This place is on the top of hill. as you drive in from Brisbane, there is a steep mountain to climb to reach the downs. Toowoomba is scattered down the uneven and gentle backside of this steep climb. If you drive up to the top of ridge going north, you find Carbarlah. All-in-all a pleasant place to spend eternity.