Graves vandalised, remain in disrepair at historic Bar Island Cemetery

Century-old headstones at the historic Bar Island Cemetery on the Hawkesbury River remain in need of restoration following an appalling act of vandalism in early 2018 which left them broken and in pieces.

Some of the damage caused by an appalling act of vandalism in early 2018.

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Century-old headstones at the historic Bar Island Cemetery on the Hawkesbury River remain in need of restoration following an appalling act of vandalism in early 2018 which left them broken and in pieces.

Eight headstones were damaged on the uninhabited island in January 2018 in a disgraceful act described by a local historian as a “complete disregard of the site”, where burials were held between 1878 and 1906.

Hornsby Council told the Advocate it planned to fix the damaged grave sites but it had been difficult to find a stonemason with the skills to restore the century-old headstones.

One of the headstones vandalised at Bar Island Cemetery.

Council confirmed it was working with specialists but there was no time frame around when the project would be completed.

“The Bar Island Cemetery is a significant heritage site where almost two centuries of our history is preserved,” Hornsby Mayor Philip Ruddock said.

“Council is appalled by this disgraceful act of vandalism and we are determined to set it right.”

Bar Island is uninhabited but is open to the public who can use its wharf to visit the island.

No-one currently lives on the small island but it was once home to a church, a school and well-used cemetery.

Historian Tom Richmond, who has written a book called Bar Island and the Lower Hawkesbury River Settlements, said burials were carried out at the cemetery from 1878 until 1906.

He said there were at least 59 grave sites in the cemetery and the island was once a hot spot along the Hawkesbury River.

Historian Tom Richmond visiting the cemetery in 2011.

“It was not the inaccessible point that everyone thinks it was,” he said. “It was sort of an intersection of major waterways.

“The church was built there in late 1876, it was Church of England called St John’s Bar Island.”

He said a house for the sexton was also built on the island and the school ran out of the church, which had up to 15 students.

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Mr Richmond said the church was eventually demolished in 1906, after the community in nearby Brooklyn expanded, and all that remains of it now was a chimney.

Mr Richmond, whose great grandfather was buried in the cemetery, said it was sad to hear about the vandalism.

“To vandalise those headstones is just a complete disregard of the site and culture in my book.”

Ku-ring-gai police said they could not find a report of vandalism at the site on their records.