Two Sundays in April

Sunday 27 April: The social context of Rookwood's landscape

On Sunday 27 April 2005, I joined various seniors groups on a Walking Tour of Rookwood Necropolis - in Greek the word nekropolis, literally means city of the dead.

Rookwood is located 18 km from the heart of Sydney. Its 284 hectares (699 acres) is one of Australia's outstanding places of cultural and environmental heritage. As a genealogical resource, its size makes it unique as a single source of knowledge. Headstones and monuments range from colonial times as early as 1798 and provide a wealth of information about the history and development of the nation. Each inscription marking a grave is an individual thread in the rich tapestry of our history, stretching across all sections of Australian society. Since 1867, some well-known citizens of Sydney have found their final resting place at the Rookwood cemetery, to name a few:

Since its establishment in 1868 and especially after World War II, the predominantly Christian Anglo-Celtic demographic culture of the cemetery has extended significantly to reflect the nation's cultural and religious diversity. The area looks like a picturesque park: radiating circles, serpentine paths, and scenic locations. The choice of plantings demonstrates 19th century funerary customs by way of plant symbolism. Roses represent the Victorian times for their symbolic values of love and virtue. The Victoria Street Gateway on the Lidcombe side offers a religious and cultural interface.

Far from being a city of the dead, it is a garden teeming with life where almost 400 species of plants and trees provide a natural habitat for birds and animals. Volunteer groups assist with archaeological investigation, landscape maintenance, conducting tours and other activities aimed at restoring the historic fabric of Rookwood Necropolis.

Sunday 24 April: The Bathurst Regional Eats & Drinks (BRE&D)

The weekend of 23-24 April 2005, took me to the fifth anniversary of Bathurst Regional Eats & Drinks (BRE&D) - a community-based non-profit organisation - which was established in September 2001.

The aim of Bre&d is to increase consumer awareness of partnerships to show case local agricultural produce and food-associated industries. The objective is to promote the local produce and services to both visitors and residents and to forge new partnerships that stimulate local economy of the Bathurst Region.

A Bathurst Regional Farmers' Market is held on the fourth Saturday of every month.

Bre&d has an active membership of approximately 30 core volunteers, 38 business houses and general members, and these numbers are ever growing as interest increases in community participation year after year.

The weekend feature

The weekend celebrations started in the early hours of Saturday morning with a Farmers' Market at Lions Berry Park. While the Market Carnivale swings into gear, the Bre&d Breakfast Toast serve a multi-course gourmet breakfast on the historic Denison Bridge. Saturday evening was colourful and exciting with wine tasting, music, dining, and a selection of performances - all enjoyed under the evening stars. Again, the Sunday luncheon was an elegant tradition of Bathurst's array of locally produced eats and drinks.

The success of the Bre&d weekend is largely due to its volunteers.

And, the weather was kind throughout!

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