Forthcoming tours

Sunday 22 August at 2.00pm

Booksellers, Authors and Literatti

Do you love curling up with a good book? Are you interested in Australia’s literary history? Come and hear about anarchy and rage; court cases, libel, snobbery and scandal. Who would have thought such exciting episodes existed in the world of writing and literature in C19 Victoria. Graves visited include some of Melbourne’s most famous and eccentric booksellers; early writers about the Port Phillip District; pioneer authors; historians; and much more.Tour Leader: Elizabeth Hore   

Online Bookings available at

http://www.trybooking.com/Booking/BookingEventSummary.aspx?eid=3665&bof=1

 

 

Saturday 25 September at 6.30pm

Night Tour

Wandering the world of eternal rest
The full moon in September sees Friends of St Kilda Cemetery creak open the cemetery gates and invite you to experience St Kilda Cemetery by torchlight. Their highly popular night tours allow you to choose from a selection of themed moonlight walks to hear the tales behind the tombstones. “You will be introduced to the famous and the infamous, the humble, the honourable and the horrible all lying side by side” suggests FOSKC committee member & tour leader Tina Phillips. “We have a colony of bats who often make an appearance as well as a family of foxes. Ghosts? No, no ghosts – we haven’t seen one for weeks!” BYO torch, woolly jacket and courage, lots of courage.

Tour leader: Tina Phillips

Cost: $15.00 (plus 30cent booking fee).

Online Bookings available at:

http://www.trybooking.com/GBA

 

Thursday 7 October at 10.00am

Seniors Week tour

Tour Leader: John Hulskamp

Online Bookings available at

http://www.trybooking.com/Booking/BookingEventSummary.aspx?eid=3679&bof=1


 

General tour details:


Unless otherwise indicated, all tours of St Kilda Cemetery leave from the main entrance gates on Dandenong Road, St Kilda East (Melways Map 58 – F9).


Tour cost: $10.00 for adults (except where indicated). Members of the Friends of St Kilda Cemetery and children (under 18 years) are free.


Bookings: Places are limited and pre-booking is essential by contacting 9531 6832, or use the online booking links attached to each tour.


Tours usually run for about 90 minutes.


Tours are offered in all weathers, so please dress appropriately for the conditions. There is little shelter or shade within the cemetery. Tours proceed at a leisurely pace, and keep to the safest paths, but those who may have difficulty walking on uneven ground should use their discretion.


Special tours:


Special tours may be arranged, on request, for schools, clubs, organisations and individuals. Contact the Secretary for further information.


Past tours


Past cemetery tours have included the following themes:


  • Alfred Deakin, Prime Minister and his colleagues.
  • Artists & photographers.
  • Baron Sir Ferdinand von Mueller and friends.
  • Barristers, bobbies & beaks – lawyers, judges and other people associated with the
    law including those associated with famous legal cases such as the trials of Ned
    Kelly, the Eureka miners and the notorious Frederick Deeming.
  • Epitaphs and Oddities – some of the more memorable gravestone inscriptions at St
    Kilda Cemetery as well as some of the more unusual and odd monuments and graves.
  • Eureka and Gold – graves of people associated with the Eureka rebellion and gold
    mining in Victoria.
  • Horticultural tour – gardeners, botanists and horticultural features of St Kilda
    Cemetery.
  • Jewish sections – Jewish funerary customs and notable graves.
  • Knights of the British Empire.
  • Madame Brussels’ Melbourne – the seamier side of Marvellous Melbourne in the late
    nineteenth century and the story of Madame Brussels.
  • Monuments and Monumental Masons – stone masons, monuments and their materials
    and the symbolism to be found on memorials.
  • Murder Most Foul and Other Tragic Tales – stories of murder, mayhem and other
    tragic tales.
  • Ned Kelly tour – people whose lives crossed that of Ned Kelly including lawyers
    connected with the Kelly trial.
  • Notable Malvern people.
  • Notable women.
  • Parliament, Premiers & Politicians – St Kilda Cemetery is the resting place of
    Prime Minister Alfred Deakin and a number of Victorian Premiers and other
    Federal, State and local politicians.
  • Scots at St Kilda – lives of people of Scottish descent buried at St Kilda.
  • Shipwrecks, sailors & the sea.
  • Sir Frederick Sargood, builder of Rippon Lea.
  • Sporting St Kilda – St Kilda’s sporting notables include Wimbledon champion Sir
    Norman Brookes and the extraordinary Joan Richmond, a leading racing car driver in
    the 1930s.
  • Steeplechases, Stallions and Steeds – graves with an equestrian theme including horse
    owners, racing officials and jockeys.