A Guardian Australia investigation has found that unmarked communal graves are still being used in large numbers at Sydney's Rookwood cemetery, despite a 2013 government pledge to mark all graves. The investigation identified hundreds of unmarked graves, often containing the remains of four to six people.
A family's 16-year fight
Jayne Kinsolving and her foster mother, Barbara Davis, first visited the site 16 years ago to see where Jayne's biological mother, Christine Halpin, her sister Jessica, and grandmother Patricia were buried. The cemetery staff guided them to a spot described on a handwritten note as section "NNNN" with the plot number left blank.
Jayne recalls wading through knee-high shrubs and standing on water-logged soil. "We had been walking on grave after grave after grave," she said. The visit sparked fury in Barbara, who had cared for Christine as her foster carer for four years. No one had told her about the unmarked grave or asked if she would fund a proper burial.
Broken promises
Barbara lobbied the government, wrote submissions to parliament, and went to the press, securing a commitment in 2013 from the then Liberal government that all graves would be marked. However, the investigation found that unmarked burials have continued, albeit in different sections of the cemetery.
Asked about the 2013 promise, the operator of Rookwood said: "Metropolitan Memorial Parks has not identified a legislative or regulatory requirement giving effect to that statement." The operator said the government had not funded it to provide grave markings.
Calls for reform
The investigation prompted an apology from NSW Health, which has flagged changes to improve the process. NSW health minister Ryan Park described the failings as "unacceptable" and said his department would explore reforms, including emulating the Victorian model where individuals are buried with their own plot and marking.
"I think it's something that we need to do better," Park said. "Quite clearly, the dignity of those who have … passed, as well as for their families, is something that we need to take into consideration, and we need to do this better."
The investigation also found multiple cases where the state government did not properly notify friends, family, or those associated with the deceased, to give them the chance to intervene and pay for a proper funeral. Homelessness support services say they are not being notified before their clients are put into graves, despite a NSW health department policy document suggesting authorities check with organisations associated with the deceased.
In place of the site visited by Jayne and Barbara, the cemetery operator has placed a path of remembrance, opened in 2017. Members of the public can pay $880 for a plaque on a rock to commemorate people in unmarked graves. There are only about a few dozen plaques for deaths after 2020, despite hundreds of burials and ash internments in that period. There is no plaque for the Halpins.
"It's almost just like they did enough to shut people up," Jayne said. "That's honestly how it feels."
