Maitland Jewish Cemetery on the State Heritage Register
The NSW Heritage Council has plans on the table to list the Maitland Jewish Cemetery.
The Jewish Cemetery in Maitland Pic: Sach Killam
The Council has declared the location as having historical importance as it is “the earliest and largest dedicated Jewish cemetery in NSW”.
There have been 53 burials mostly between 1849 and 1909 and 46 of the original headstones are still standing.
The Heritage Council states: “It is a rare surviving example that demonstrates the traditions and rituals of life and death in the Jewish community. The location of the cemetery, the positioning of the grave sites and the form, design and style of the monuments demonstrate the community’s adherence to their faith and the importance of observing traditions when laying their dead to rest. The cemetery is a physical record of the Jewish community in the region and its survival demonstrates the ongoing public interest and connection to the place.
Plans are now at the submission stage which has a September 17 deadline.
Gary Luke for Friends of the Maitland Jewish Cemetery told J-Wire: “This will be the first exclusively Jewish cemetery in NSW to receive recognition as a significant State heritage site. The only other regional Jewish sites with similar status are the Synagogues at Maitland and Broken Hill.”
