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Welcome to Tui Snider's Cemetery News:
Greetings, fellow tombstone tourists! If you're new here, welcome, and if you're not, great to see you again.
Tall Tombstones: Whoever said, "Everything's bigger in Texas" never visited Australia, because they have some really tall tombstones as you can see in the photo above! (If you want to know why their stones are so tall, I talk about it here.) Burial grounds "Down Under" I’ve spent the last few weeks exploring historic burial grounds in Australia. It's been fascinating and I've learned a lot. Here's what's in this newsletter: 1) Tour Italy's Cemeteries With Me! 2) Melbourne's Elvis and a Billiard Table Grave 3) Adelaide 4) Fremantle 5) Symbolism: Shamrocks on Irish Graves
1) Tour Italy's Cemeteries With Me! Who wants to tour Italy’s Cemeteries with Me? Before I dive into Australia, here's a reminder for new readers as well as those who may have missed my exciting news: I’ve been invited to be a tour guide through some of Italy’s amazing monumental cemeteries, known for their incredible statues and gorgeous funerary monuments. Along the way, we will also explore ancient Etruscan tombs, a chapel decorated with skulls and bones, and other historic hotspots. (And, of course, we will enjoy tasty
Italian food along the way!) If this sounds fun to you, check out the details at Lisa’s Gryphon Art Tours. (And don’t delay, because space is limited and folks have
started signing up.): I'm super excited about this tour. It's going to be so much fun!
2) Australia: Melbourne's Elvis and a Billiard Grave In Melbourne, Larry and I visited Melbourne General Cemetery where we saw a unique grotto dedicated to Elvis, as well as a grave shaped like a billiard table to mark the final resting place for a famous billiard
player. I've yet to the learn the full stories behind them both, but you can see more photos from Melbourne General Cemetery here.
3) Australia: Adelaide Adelaide has a marvelous historic burial ground! West Terrace Cemetery offers 4 different walking tours, with signs featuring QR codes throughout. I chose the Culture and Symbolism tour. (No surprise
there!)
I was stopped by groundskeepers twice during our visit. They simply wanted to know how I was doing and if they could help. Both times I let them know how much I enjoyed their walking tours and the fact that they are protecting heritage plants.
Christian monuments dominate the landscape, but there were Jewish, Afghan, Muslim, and Syrian Druze sections, as well. Really fascinating! And
That said, my favorite monument there is the cherub with butterfly wings that we saw on our way out.
You can see some of my favorite photos from Adelaide's West Terrace Cemetery here.
4) Fremantle - Australia's Most Visited Grave Considering that it’s “the most visited grave in Australia,” Bon Scott’s monument is surprisingly humble. As AC/DC’s original singer, and despite lyrics proclaiming, “forget the hearse, cuz I never die,” Scott tragically drank
himself to death in 1980. Cremation was not approved by the Catholic church until 1963. Even then, they frown upon ashes being scattered, preferring them to be buried instead.
Bon Scott’s ashes are buried along with many others in a small remembrance garden, so it took a while to find. The flat monument is covered with grave goods befitting a rock star such as beer caps, booze bottles, and an AC/DC candle.
To learn more and see more photos from my trip to Fremantle Cemetery, click here.
5) Symbolism: Shamrocks on Irish Graves Throughout Australia, I saw numerous headstones featuring shamrocks on them for Irish immigrants. It was hard to pick just one to share in this newsletter, but I thought this cross was especially beautiful.
And St. Patrick’s Day coming up on March 17th, here's my annual reminder that shamrocks and four leaf clovers are two very different things! Here's an article I wrote that explains the symbolic meaning of Shamrocks and 4 Leaf Clovers and difference between them -- Cemetery Symbols: Shamrocks vs 4 Leaf Clovers.
Do you have something to share? If you have something cemetery-related to share, drop by Tui Snider's Cemetery News on Facebook. It's a friendly group where cemetery
enthusiasts can share links, photos, articles, questions, experiences, and other related info while having conversations and making friends. Even though I'm traveling, I still pop in as much as I can.
That's all for now! Until next time, if you have any questions or comments, hit reply or email me at [email protected] It's the easiest way to reach me. (I'm
currently behind on email replies, so if I owe you an email, I apologize! Feel free to send me a reminder.) Ciao for now! ~Tui p.s. It may take several days, but I answer every email I get from newsletter readers! If you think yours has slipped through the cracks, please send it again. Sometimes they get
lost, or I miss them.
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