Uncovering stories at Tara Cemetery

Tara Cemetery, located north of the township of Tara, was first established in 1911. Today, the cemetery features columbarium walls, a lawn section and a monumental section, with a variety of headstone styles throughout. The cemetery also contains a large number of timber crosses predominantly identifying unmarked gravesites.

The Tara Cemetery Project was launched by Linda Davis Petersen, with the support of the Tara Futures Group and local volunteers, in order to reveal the lives and stories of those buried in the unmarked graves. To provide a strong, locally researched resource for the Tara community, funding from the Regional Arts Development Fund Program was utilised to build the Tara Cemetery website.

The website format will allow this project to grow into the future, with the eventual inclusion of stories from newspaper clippings, photos and other memorabilia from families. The group has further ensured the longevity of the project by working with the State Library of Queensland to archive a record of the website, so that these stories remain accessible for future generations.

Through their extensive research, they have explored the vast wealth of local history and gained knowledge into how the town has developed since its conception and how certain people's lives have impacted and shaped the community.

 

RADF invests in local arts and cultural priorities, as determined by local communities, across Queensland. RADF is a flexible fund, enabling local councils to tailor RADF programs to suit the needs of their communities.