In a quiet corner on a dusty road lies the cemetery of Pinkerton Plains in rural South Australia. This plaque commemorating the St Benedict's Church which stood there from 1866 - 1919 is near the entrance to the cemetery. Here the Catholic community surrounding the area worshipped and buried their dead.
My family's first connection with the church and graveyard occurred when the Rev. John Smyth, Great-grandfather Edward Smyth's brother, laid the foundation stone for the church.
St. Benedict's Church, Light.—A correspondent sends the following:—"On Sunday, 24th instant, the foundation-stone of St Benedict's Church, near the junction of the Light and Gilbert, was laid by the Very Rev. John Smyth, assisted by the Rev. Frederick Byrne.
Four acres of land, on which the new church will be built, were presented and conveyed by Mr. Gerald Fitzgerald, of Salisbury, to the Trustees of the Catholic Church. From an early hour on Sunday morning persons on foot, on horseback, and in vehicles of various descriptions were arriving at the site of the proposed church, many of whom came from a considerable distance. At half-past 10 o'clock a.m. mass was celebrated in a spacious tent erected on the ground, after which the rev. gentle men proceeded to perform the ceremony of laying the first stone of a church in the manner prescribed by the Roman ritual. The Very Rev. John Smyth then preached the sermon, taking for his text 1 Esdras, 3rd chapter, 10th to 13th verses, at the conclusion of which the handsome sum of £104 4s. was laid on the stone.
Although the morning and the previous evening were rather boisterous, there could not have been fewer than 300 persons present. The church, which will be in the Gothic style, will be 50 feet by 25 in the clear, and 18 feet high from the floor line. There will be a handsome porch in front, and the vestry will be so situated as to be easily converted into a sanctuary whenever the present building may become too small for the congregation." 1.
In subsequent years, many appeals for funds appeared in the newspapers. Grand Bazaars and a Christmas Champetre (an outdoor festival with entertainment) and picnic days with sports were amongst the fundraising efforts.
The church is long gone having been replaced by the new Catholic church in Hamley Bridge.
When I visited the cemetery with my brother in 2017 to view the graves of relatives buried there, many old gravestones were crumbling and some were no longer to be seen. Further family history investigations since that time have revealed a great many relatives buried there.
While many burial records appear to have been lost, the Pinkerton Plains funeral records in Trove provide evidence of at least 162 burials dated from 1869 until 1954. The first burial mentioned in the newspapers of the day was that of David Barry in 1869. (2) Gerald Fitzgerald who donated the land was buried there a few years later in 1877 (3)
There are more recent burials too, but this post concentrates on those of relatives' burials recorded in Trove.
The surnames Smyth, O'Dea, and Kain occur repeatedly through these funeral records in Trove. There are no O'Dea headstones to be found in the cemetery so the position of their graves is unknown.
The Trove recorded Smyth family burials at Pinkerton Plains
1879 Mary Christina Smyth - 16 yr old daughter of Smyth gt grandparents
1901 Edward Smyth - gt -grandfather (paternal)
1907 Mrs Margaret Smyth (nee Byrne) gt-grandmother
1908 Thomas Smyth - brother of gt-grandfather
1919 John Smyth - son of James and Catherine
1920 James Smyth - brother of gt-grandfather
1923 Catherine Smyth - wife of James
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| Tombstone of Gt-grandparents Edward and Margaret Smyth and daughter Mary Christina Pinkerton Plains Cemetery |
The Trove recorded O'Dea family burials at Pinkerton Plains no headstones or markers
1922 John O'Dea - gt grandfather (maternal)
1929 Mrs Maria O'Dea - gt grandmother
1930 John O'Dea
A few of the Trove recorded related Kain family burials.
1897 Martin Kain - father of Colman
1928 Miss Maria (Queenie) Kain - daughter of Colman and Bridget
1932 Colman Kain - married to Bridget O'Dea (daughter of John and Maria)
Lists
- Pinkerton Plains funeral notices and obituaries in Trove 1869 -1954 compiled by CGalvin
- Pinkerton Plains R/C Cemetery Photos by Peter Applebee 2004 Data compiled by Julie N 2006
- Pinkerton Plains Cemetery Transcribed by Lorraine Larment from photographs taken by Marylin and Steve Jones
1. 1865 'PORT ADELAIDE: WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27.', Adelaide Observer (SA : 1843 - 1904), 30 September, p. 5. , http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article159498126
2. 1869 'Latest News.', Evening Journal (Adelaide, SA : 1869 - 1912), 8 February, p. 2. (LATE EDITION), http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article196724715
3. 1877 'HAMLEY BRIDGE, AUGUST 7.', The South Australian Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1858 - 1889), 11 August, p. 7. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article33752018
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