Disir
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- Sep 30, 2011
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A sailor who took his own life, a mother who died in childbirth, and a solicitor struck by lightning are among 16 people who were buried in an unmarked cemetery in the historic goldmining town of Ravenswood, however nearly 150 years after their deaths, their stories have come alive.
The bodies were discovered in September last year when mining company Carpentaria Gold started preparations for expansion of their Ravenswood mine 130 kilometres south-west of Townsville.
"There were maps and a few newspaper articles from the 1870s but [the original cemetery] had never been gazetted so it had never been acknowledged as such," said Carpentaria Gold's Rebecca McLellan.
The mining company engaged historians Margaret Cook, Narelle Hancock and Ray Holyoak to determine the location and size of the lost cemetery using maps, newspaper articles, and an old artwork from the era.
Suspicions were confirmed with the discovery of graves at Buchanan's Gully just behind the Ravenswood State School oval.
Using ground-penetrating radar (GPR), the remains of nine adults and seven children were unearthed.
The miner then set about trying to determine the identities of those people using DNA testing and further research.
Stories from graves uncovered in mining town brought to life after 150 years
This is cool. I don't care what anyone says.
The bodies were discovered in September last year when mining company Carpentaria Gold started preparations for expansion of their Ravenswood mine 130 kilometres south-west of Townsville.
"There were maps and a few newspaper articles from the 1870s but [the original cemetery] had never been gazetted so it had never been acknowledged as such," said Carpentaria Gold's Rebecca McLellan.
The mining company engaged historians Margaret Cook, Narelle Hancock and Ray Holyoak to determine the location and size of the lost cemetery using maps, newspaper articles, and an old artwork from the era.
Suspicions were confirmed with the discovery of graves at Buchanan's Gully just behind the Ravenswood State School oval.
Using ground-penetrating radar (GPR), the remains of nine adults and seven children were unearthed.
The miner then set about trying to determine the identities of those people using DNA testing and further research.
Stories from graves uncovered in mining town brought to life after 150 years
This is cool. I don't care what anyone says.
