Almost 2000 bodies reburied at Cornelian Bay after Hutchins exhumation

90 per cent of the bodies uncovered during the development of a new Hutchins building were identified before being laid to rest at an interment ceremony on Wednesday

Reinterment Service for those previously interred at the former Queenborough Cemetery, at Cornelian Bay. Picture: Laura Bird

A deep care and respect for history has led to the reinterment of almost 2000 bodies uncovered during development at the Hutchins School.

90 per cent of the 1973 bodies which were buried at the former Queenborough cemetery in Sandy Bay have been identified thanks to the “great care, deep respect and painstaking historical research” of the team, Hutchins principal Rob McEwan told a gathering at the Wellington Chapel in Cornelian Bay on Wednesday morning.

Reinterment Service for those previously interred at the former Queenborough Cemetery, at Cornelian Bay. Picture: Laura Bird

The reinterment ceremony marked the final step in a “long journey of care and reflection” for the school and its community.

“We do not forget where they came from,” Dr McEwan said.

The Queenborough Cemetery was opened in 1873 and was a burial place for locals for eight decades.

The private cemetery was partly exhumed in the 1960s during construction of school buildings and Churchill Ave, but more remains were found early last year as construction of a new building began.

Principal archaeologist of the dig Brad Williams said it was thanks to the Hutchins school’s determination that 90 per cent of the people had been identified.

“These were people like you and I,” he said at the ceremony, detailing the months of “carefully and respectfully” digging at the site.

Reinterment Service for those previously interred at the former Queenborough Cemetery, at Cornelian Bay. Picture: Laura Bird

The undertaking was both an “honour and a challenge” for Mr Williams and the scope of the dig was beyond anyone’s expectations, he said.

It is believed to be the largest exhumation in Australian history.

Mr Williams said there were four World War One soldiers that would not have had the military funeral they deserved without the team’s hard work.

Mr Williams was proud to treat the bodies with the respect they deserved, and said the families gathered at the reinterment ceremony would “not have the closure of knowing where your relatives and those you care for have been laid to rest” without the school’s dedication to identification.

Originally published as Almost 2000 bodies reburied at Cornelian Bay after Hutchins exhumation