Prior to the early 1900s, burials took place on local properties, where records were poorly or privately maintained. For example despite much effort, we have never found the burial place of my great great grandfather Edmund Markham (1802-1866), who apparently died on his property at the junction of Milburn Creek and the Lachlan River in April 1866. Many burials in the very early 1900s, including that of my grandfather, Francis Conyngham Murray (1861-1909), were carried out in Cowra. The Darbys Falls Cemetery was set out in 1913. My Great Grandfather, James Markham (1836-1913) was the first burial, when the Cowra Free Press recorded on 24 June 1913 that
“It becomes our painful duty to chronicle the death of yet another of our old residents, in the person of the late Mr James Markham, of Darby’s Falls. Deceased, who had reached the patriarchal age of 77 had resided in this district all of his life time, and had seen it grow from a very sparsely populated locality into the progressive centre it now is. The late Mr Markham leaves a widow and large grown up family to mourn their loss, viz., Edward, Thomas, James, Patrick, Nicholas, William, Mesdames John Ward and Murray, besides a large number of grandchildren and other relatives in this and surrounding district. Deceased was born at Milburn Creek Station at the time of the discovery of the famous copper mine there.
The funeral took place at Darby’s Falls on Wednesday, it being fitting that such an old resident should be the first interred in the new cemetery there.
The plaque (picture number four below) was added to the Monument some years later. Though James’ father Edmund was in the Colony from 1822, assigned to John McHenry, JP, in Nepean (Penrith), and could have temporarily visited the district, there is no real evidence that he was there before 1830. See this story of Edmund Markham and Nicholas Jordan first squatting in the area.
The series of photographs is not comprehensive. I may update in future when I visit, but for now I have concentrated on the Markhams and those related, near and far, by marriage. To identify the headstone, run the cursor on to the photo. To see it in full detail, double click.
