Pioneer park
| Place type: | Site |
|---|---|
| Site type: | Land section |
| Town or Locality: | Gawler |
Pioneer Park which is located at the North end of Murray Street is a much utilised and well-maintained park. Originally it was the local cemetery which was planned by Colonel William Light. The first burial was recorded in 1847 and the cemetery was used up to 1864 when there were health issues brought up due to the proximity of the growing town. The St George's Anglican cemetery (42 Cheek Avenue) was opened in 1861 and that was used for interments. Gawler's Town Council cemetery was opened in 1866 in Dawkins Avenue, Willaston. As the Pioneer Park cemetery was no longer in use after 1870 it was being neglected and had become overgrown. In 1933 with most of the headstones removed, the park was dedicated as parklands. A dedicatory service was held in October 1936, and the old cemetery was renamed Pioneer Place. The Pioneer Park headstones were taken to the Willaston cemetery and a display of headstones was created at the entrance.
There have been many events held at Pioneer Park over the years.
Click here for some photos of various occasions and note the changing face of Pioneer Park.
click here for other past events
Click here for records of the then Gawler Town Cemetery.
Please click here to read reference to Pioneer Park on page 2 in Gawler's Cemeteries, researched by Anne Richards. [In 3/2019 this link has failed and we understand that such Council links to Council publications will be remediated shortly.]
In November 2018, Gawler Council and RSL members jointly unveiled "The Hand" created by Robert Hannaford from Riverton. Its photograph is shown below, as is Robert Hannaford's explanation relative to its symbolism. Click Here to read the Bunyip article
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click here to see the video of the installation of "THE HAND" in Pioneer Park on 11.11.2018
Please <click here> to download a searchable PDf document of a list of burials at Pioneer Park.
References
Memories of Pioneer park
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