These inscriptions shown on this page were copied from inscriptions on the headstones in the "Beale" section to the right of the path leading from the cemetery gates to the church building, that area being reserved for the burial of direct descendants of Anthony and Katherine Rose Beale and, in some cases, the spouses of those descendants. (It was in the year 2000 that the author collected the details of these inscriptions so any placed since then are unlikely to be shown here). The area to the left of the path contains the graves of local residents and pioneers and is evidently now full and closed to further burials.

Location - This little cemetery is in the churchyard of St Katherines Church of England on St Helena Road in the area known as St Helena (between Greensborough and Diamond Creek) in the north-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (See Melway: Map 11, Reference E11).

This photograph of St Katherines was taken in 2004 and shows much of the "Beale" section of the cemetery. The larger "general" cemetery area is out of picture to the left. The church was almost totally destroyed by bushfire on 28 February 1957. Following a public appeal for funds, it was re-built to similar design and re-dedicated on 17 November 1957.

Brief History - The church was built on his property over several years and completed in about 1860 by Anthony Beale as a place of worship for his family and neighbours and was named "Rose Chapel" in memory of his late wife Katherine Rose who died in 1856.

Anthony was born on the Island of St Helena in the Atlantic Ocean and was one of many generations of Beales to have lived there from as early as 1672 (including others with the name of Anthony). In 1814 he married Katherine Rose Young who was born in Scotland and was on the Island with her uncle Colonel Mark Wilks who was Governor at the time.

Anthony was in the service of the British East India Company as Paymaster with pay and status equivalent to the rank of Major and in about 1836, after the Company's Charter was terminated, he and his family moved to England. Of sixteen children born on the Island, thirteen were still living but, due to a perceived lack of opportunities for them in England, the family migrated to Van Diemens Land (arrivinig at Launceston on the Cecilia on 30 July in 1839) apart from two of the older boys who remained in England and gained careers in the army and in medicine. In that same year, after the loss of the oldest boy Onesiphorous - believed drowned in the Tamar River - the family moved (on 4 November on the Perseverance) to the District of Port Phillip (later to become Melbourne) on the Australian mainland where their seventeenth, and last, child was born in 1841.

On 16 May 1876 the church was consecrated by the Bishop of Ballarat. In 1917 the church and burial ground property was transferred to the Church of England Trusts Corporation. Anthony died in 1865 and he and Katherine Rose are buried not far from the church building. Their graves are marked by a double headstone (see picture below).

The Church Today - The church is still used as a place of worship by nearby residents but frequency depends on the availability of clergy from the Anglican Parish headquarters in nearby Diamond Creek, but at the best of times, probably no more than on every second Sunday. Outdoor sporting facilities have recently been developed on adjacent land that was part of the original Beale holdings.
Publicity on that subject says - " A large area of land outside the bounds of church property has been reserved as public open space under the control of the Banyule Municipal Council, so that the historic church will always remain in a quiet oasis for worship in a busy suburb".

Cemetery Layout - The burial ground is divided in two by the central path that leads from the main gates to the church building. The area to the right of the path and nearest to the church is reserved for burials of direct descendants of Anthony and Katherine Rose Beale. The larger area to the left of the path contains the graves of local people, including many pioneers and other notables. That area is now believed to be full and closed to future burials.

Purpose of this Web Page - Much has been written elsewhere about the Beale family and about St Katherines, and it is not intended to write more about that here. (For further information, a starting point might be the office of the Anglican Parish, 61 Main Street, Diamond Creek, Victoria 3089, Australia. Telephone 0394381264 who may be able to supply some information or put you in contact with local descendants and/or historians). The main purpose of this page is to provide an indexed list of all inscriptions on the monuments on the "Beale side" of the path. It is hoped that such a list will be of interest to descendants in general, and of value to researchers of family history in particular.

The Inscriptions - The numbers appearing at the top of each panel in the list are unofficial references to individual burials and do not appear on the actual monuments. Those numbers are also not necessarily related to the sequence or date of burial because they were evidently allotted by a person who mapped the burial ground in relatively recent times.

The wording has been copied as accurately as possible although there are a few instances where the effects of weather and passage of time make it very difficult to read certain letters or numbers on certain monuments.

Inscriptions on monuments and plaques erected since the year 2000 are generally not yet on this list but will be added as soon as possible along with the wording on any plaques on the Church wall relevant to Beale descendants.

This List - Each of the inscriptions in this list is shown here in a rectangular box which of course does not necessarily bear any resemblance to the shape of any particular monument.

In the case of married females, the inscriptions on the actual monuments show their surname at time of death and those names are listed in this index.

Where it has been possible to ascertain the maiden name (and/or previous married name), those are also listed and cross referenced.

Index

(Click on a name to view wording of the relevant inscription).

ALLEN, May - see WINGROVE, May (died 2 Sep 1916) ref647

BEALE, Annie Janet (nee McLENNAN - died 14 Dec 1995) ref226

BEALE, Anthony (died 4 Sep 1865) ref240

BEALE, Anthony (died 24 Jul 1944) ref231

BEALE, Anthony Harper (died 12 Feb 1951) ref232

BEALE, Emma (nee BENNETT - died 29 Jul 1911) ref238

BEALE, Halliburton (died 14 Mar 1899) ref242

BEALE, Ida Ellen (nee HARPER - died 30 Jan 1919) ref236

BEALE, Ida Ellen - see MADDISON, Ida Ellen (died 15 Jul 1994) ref428