Canberra website’s photo story

Peter Ellis’ photo of the old Methodist cemetery at “Weetangera”, in the north-west of the ACT, features on the website of the Canberra Region Presbytery.

A church operated on the site from the 1870s until it closed in the mid-1950s.

The last grave dates into the 1960s, however.

The plot of land has the distinction of being the last parcel of “private” land that became part of the Australian Capital Territory. That happened when the Uniting Church handed it over two decades ago.

“Weetangera” was operated by the Shumack family and their employees, who included the Southwell and Kilby clans.

The nearby ACT suburb of Weetangera has Shumack Street and Southwell Street as major roads and photographer Peter Ellis’ children attended the primary school on Southwell Street.

No Shumacks seem to have been buried in the churchyard, so they may have been Church of England (Anglican).

The Kilby family has had some notables, too, including father/son duo David and Jodie Kilby, who were/are announcers on ABC 666 Local Radio (666kHz) in Canberra.

For the full story see the forthcoming edition of the Presbytery News.