Gone But Not Forgotten NSW | Forgotten Burials & Heritage Research

Community Memory

Exploring how local memories, archives, and Country keep New South Wales’ burial histories alive.

A detailed overhead view of a researcher’s wooden worktable displaying an organized spread of archival materials about historic New South Wales cemeteries: folded parish maps, sepia-toned survey plans, neatly labeled manila folders, a magnifying glass, and a modern tablet showing a georeferenced digital map with faint cemetery outlines. Soft studio lighting from the upper left creates gentle, directional highlights on the crisp paper edges and tablet screen while leaving muted shadows in the corners. The composition uses a flat-lay, photographic realism style with sharp focus across the entire frame, conveying a meticulous, professional atmosphere of careful archaeological and historical investigation without showing any people.
A close-up, oblique view of an old, hand-drawn parish map of coastal New South Wales spread out on a dark archival table, showing delicately inked cemetery symbols, winding roads, and shaded topography. Transparent tracing paper overlays part of the map, bearing modern, color-coded annotations that highlight “burial reserve” and “unmarked graves” areas. A metal archival ruler aligns with the map’s scale bar. Warm directional light from a desk lamp creates gentle highlights on the slightly wavy paper texture and pronounced shadows under the ruler. Photographic realism with a shallow depth of field keeps the map’s central annotated area razor sharp, while edges fall into a soft blur, suggesting focused, analytical heritage research.

Working Together To Remember Country

Our research begins with listening. We work alongside Aboriginal custodians, Elders, and local families across NSW, recording oral histories, walking Country together, and sharing findings through workshops, maps, and online stories that honour community knowledge and care for burial places.

Share stories

Stories

Read collaborative research, interviews, and oral histories from communities.

Contribute

Share memories, photographs, maps, or questions about forgotten burial places; our team will respond respectfully and confidentially.

Based in the Hunter Region

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A partially sunken, unmarked grave depression in dry, yellowed grass on the outskirts of a small rural New South Wales town, its subtle oval hollow barely visible except for a faint stone border and scattered wildflowers. Rusted wire fencing and distant gum trees frame the background under soft late-afternoon golden light, which rakes across the uneven ground, emphasizing texture and contour. Captured from a slightly elevated angle in photographic realism, with shallow depth of field that keeps the depression sharply defined while the town’s edge fades into a warm, hazy blur, evoking a quiet, contemplative mood about forgotten burials in the Australian landscape.