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PENNYWEIGHT FLAT CEMETERY
1 COLLES ROAD MOONLIGHT FLAT, MOUNT ALEXANDER SHIRE

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Victorian Heritage Register
PENNYWEIGHT FLAT CEMETERY SOHE 2008
PENNYWEIGHT FLAT CEMETERY SOHE 2008
PENNYWEIGHT FLAT CEMETERY SOHE 2008
1 pennyweight flat cemetery colles road castlemaine top view may1997
pennyweight flat cemetery colles road castlemaine plan
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Statement of Significance

The Cemetery's origins are linked to the Mount Alexander alluvial gold rush of 1851-54. The first interment took place in 1852 and the cemetery was used until 1857. In the intervening years, between 150 and 200 burials had taken place. The cemetery is situated on a small rocky hill overlooking Pennyweight Flat, one of the richest gold spots on the goldfield. The gold seekers chose a patch of ground where gold was unlikely to be found, but one which was totally unsuitable for digging graves and for good hygiene. The rocky nature of the ground meant that the burials were very shallow (about two feet deep), necessitating the construction of above-ground stone mounds, which a local press report in 1860 described as 'tumuli, erected without mortar on pieces of sandstone broken from the surrounding rock'. Another report mentions complaints about the stench coming from the cemetery.

The Pennyweight Cemetery is of historical and archaeological importance to the State of Victoria.

The Pennyweight Cemetery is historically important due to its association with a key event in Victoria's history and a defining moment in the development of Australia's character and culture.

The Pennyweight Cemetery is historically and archaeological important as a very rare artefact of Victoria's greatest gold rush. The ephemeral nature of structures and technology employed in the early gold-rush days means there is very little physical evidence of the intensity of technical and social activity sustained by the area during the gold rush years. The significance of this site is also derived from its setting: the cemetery overlooking the formerly gold-bearing flat and the large town that grew around the diggings.

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    • Permit Exemptions

      PENNYWEIGHT FLAT CEMETERY - Permit Exemptions

      General Exemptions:

      General exemptions apply to all places and objects included in the Victorian Heritage Register (VHR). General exemptions have been designed to allow everyday activities, maintenance and changes to your property, which don’t harm its cultural heritage significance, to proceed without the need to obtain approvals under the Heritage Act 2017.

      Places of worship: In some circumstances, you can alter a place of worship to accommodate religious practices without a permit, but you must notify the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria before you start the works or activities at least 20 business days before the works or activities are to commence.

      Subdivision/consolidation: Permit exemptions exist for some subdivisions and consolidations. If the subdivision or consolidation is in accordance with a planning permit granted under Part 4 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and the application for the planning permit was referred to the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria as a determining referral authority, a permit is not required.

      Specific exemptions may also apply to your registered place or object. If applicable, these are listed below. Specific exemptions are tailored to the conservation and management needs of an individual registered place or object and set out works and activities that are exempt from the requirements of a permit. Specific exemptions prevail if they conflict with general exemptions.

      Find out more about heritage permit exemptions here.

      Specific Exemptions:

      EXEMPTIONS FROM PERMITS:
      (Classes of works or activities which may be undertaken without a permit under
      Part 4 of the Heritage Act 1995)

      General Conditions:
      1. All exempted alterations are to be planned and carried out in a manner whic
      h prevents damage to the fabric of the registered place or object.
      2. Should it become apparent during further inspection or the carrying out of
      alterations that original or previously hidden or inaccessible details of the
      place or object are revealed which relate to the significance of the place or
      object, then the exemption covering such alteration shall cease and the Execut
      ive Director shall be notified as soon as possible.
      3. If there is a conservation policy and plan approved by the Executive Direct
      or, all works shall be in accordance with it.
      4. Nothing in this declaration prevents the Executive Director from amending o
      r rescinding all or any of the permit exemptions.
      5. Nothing in this declaration exempts owners or their agents from the respons
      ibility to seek relevant planning or building permits from the responsible aut
      hority where applicable.

      General
      *
      * Emergency and safety works
      * Works undertaken in accordance with Australian Standard, Headstones and Ceme
      tery Monuments AS 4204
      * Conservation works in accordance with The Burra Charter (ICOMOS Charter for
      the conservation of cultural significance, revised 1988) and the Australian Co
      uncil of National Trust, National Guidelines for the Conservation of Cemeterie
      s, 1996

      Layout
      * Repairs, conservation and maintenance to monuments, structures, roads and pa
      ths, fences and gates, and drainage systems
      * Maintenance of gravel paths, and gutters to retain their existing form

      Landscape
      * The process of gardening and maintenance to care for the cemetery landscape,
      and removal of dead trees
      * Management of plants in accordance with Australian Standard, Pruning of amen
      ity trees AS 4373
      * Removal of trees and vegetation to maintain fire safety and to protect monum
      ents and structures
      * Removal of plants listed as State Prohibited and Regionally Controlled Weeds
      in the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994
      * Replanting to retain the landscape themes and character
      * Revegetation and erosion control, and works required as a condition of the g
      razing lease to land outside L-2,

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