The+Cemetery

= The Victoria Market Cemetery =

[[image:ceme.jpg align="right" caption="Cemetery, Photo taken maybe around 1870's - 1917?"]]
Today the Queen Victoria Market is known for its wide variety of foods, delicatessens, clothing needs and even pets. In its 130 years, Queen Victoria Market has had a colorful and a sometimes disagreeable view of history. During its wonderful 130+ year reign, it was a cemetery, a livestock market and a wholesale fruit and vegetable market.

====Between the years 1837 and 1854, Queen Victoria Market now stands on the site of the first official cemetery in Melbourne. It housed the remains of an estimated 10,000 settlers, including one of those John Batman. (1801-1839) ====

====In 1917, when the market extended upon most of the cemetery site, 914 bodies were formerly buried and were buried again in different cemeteries around Melbourne, including Melbourne General Cemetery in Carlton and Fawkner Cemetery (Which is now a resting place for all pioneers). Unfortunately numerous bodies remain buried and unnamed beneath the existing car park; there are no known records left of those buried there. Following the cemeteries closure, the cemetery fell into disuse and many of the red gum headstones were stolen for firewood. The official records for the cemetery were destroyed during a fire in one of the wings of the Melbourne town hall. The last burial in fact took place in 1917. ====

====There were certain parts of the land that Victoria Market stands on were spots for burials, each spot was a category for peoples religion, their race and etc. ====

====Two acres to the Episcopalians [Church of England], two acres to the Presbyterians, two acres to the Roman Catholics, one acre of Independence, one acre to the Wesleyan's, one acres two the Jews, half an acre to the Qualeers, and half an acre to the Aboriginals. The convicts were buried just outside the northern end of the cemetery in no man’s land. 10/15 acres of the market land was cemetery. In 1920 the clearing of the cemetery, then in 1922 clearing of the cemetery was completed. ====