Connecting Through Forgotten Naval Graves

When Gary and Jenne Walters visit a new town, they like to explore the local cemetery. Jenne believes that the headstones tell a story about history that’s often forgotten.

This passion for visiting cemeteries grew when they discovered the Naval Graves Project (NGP). It’s a dedicated group of volunteers focused on researching and remembering the neglected graves of sailors across Australia.

Gary, who served in the navy for seven years, found a meaningful connection through the NGP. He rediscovered his navy roots through social media after encountering a post about the HMS Encounter, the ship where his wife’s grandfather served.

Jenne’s father was only three when his father passed away, so she had little information about him. She shared, “Different things I’ve heard, but just snippets.” The information she obtained from the NGP has pieced together those snippets into a clearer picture.

The NGP sent her grandfather’s naval history, revealing he was a skilled sailor tasked with a crucial duty during a tragedy in Sydney Harbour in 1909, where 15 sailors lost their lives in a collision with a steamboat.

Mark Fleming, the founder of the NGP, started this journey while researching his family tree in the late 1990s. He found many old naval graves without headstones and decided to collect data on them. This passion led him to establish the NGP in 2014.

Now, ten years later, the project has documented over 5,300 graves, many of which are not maintained by any organization. Mark explains, “Because navy families move around… someone will turn to me and say, ‘Hey, my dad’s in Rockwood, can you keep an eye on him?’”

He views cemeteries as places to celebrate lives lived, reuniting families with their loved ones’ histories across Australia and beyond.

For Helen Cook from Brisbane, connecting with NGP allowed her to finally visit her brother Harry’s grave. He was a victim of the HMAS Voyager disaster back in 1964, and she couldn’t attend his funeral.

Tony Bambury, keen to learn more about his great-grandfather Frederick Hewitt, joined the NGP after discovering that Mr. Hewitt also served in the navy. During a search for his great-grandfather’s grave, Tony was surprised to find it marked only by an empty spot without a headstone at Rockwood Cemetery.

Seeing the unmarked grave left Tony feeling a bit sad, realizing no one had paid tribute to this forgotten sailor. He hopes to change that by getting a headstone for his great-grandfather.