00:02St John's Cemetery in Parramatta might look neglected, but that's just the way historians like it.
00:08It's really not a lawn cemetery. It's a heritage burial ground. It never would have been mown.
00:14There are a lot of people buried here who have given names to Sydney suburbs and a very large percentage
00:22of the streets in the area.
00:23Amongst the wild grass are some equally wild stories that tappophiles like Judith Dunne have spent their lives uncovering.
00:31It's someone that really has a deep interest in cemeteries. I've now written five books on cemeteries.
00:37I don't know how she got that big headstone. She was only here six years as a convict and she
00:43gets this beautiful, beautiful thought.
00:49I think she must have made a sugar daddy.
00:51Now, although this place is a historical gold mine, it's also dead broke.
00:56In fact, it hasn't made any kind of income for more than a hundred years.
00:59That's why every month volunteers with grave concerns about the future of the cemetery step in to help.
01:05The dedicated team of tombstone tourists mostly use hand tools to avoid damaging the ancient graves.
01:12Sometimes volunteers uncover some nasty modern surprises.
01:16There's no public toilets down this end of Parramatta. We do get people that come in here and take advantage
01:23of the loneliness, I guess, of the place to relieve themselves.
01:28Rubbish is another big problem.
01:30Somebody from one of the home units around here has had a cat cage.
01:34Migrant parishioners from the St John's Anglican Church are always close to lend a hand.
01:39We enjoy the special environment and a lot of ancient stuff around.
01:44And also we can meet the people from different cultures and congregations.
01:49It's quite not only the gardening job, but also the community.
01:53Leaving legends protecting the past.
01:55Leaving legends protecting the past.
01:56With Bloop
01:58delavier
01:58Telling
01:58You
