eHive Object Details

Name/TitleJohn and Catherine Cowell : Old Melbourne Cemetery, c. 1920

About this objectPhotograph of the memorial placed over the remains of three people; John Cowell, Catherine Cowell, and their daughter Alicia Berry.

In his "Memorial History of Melbourne" (p.397, ref.394), Selby describes this as a "simple but expensive tomb of classic beauty." The image shows a large chest tomb on a stepped base atop a high rectangular plinth. A well constructed iron railing surrounds the monument. The inscription is in a recessed square on one of the long sides of the chest. A cross is carved on the two shorter ends. A tree frames the image on the right.

The inscription reads:
In Affectionate
Remembrance of the
Deceased, this Monument
Is Erected by his
Afflicted Widow
Catherine Cowell

According to Selby, the inscription on the other side of the memorial reads:
John William Cowell, 6th November, 1850, 44 years
Catherine, 2nd January, 1853, aged 28 years
Alicia M. Berry, 12th May, 1885

A notice in the Melbourne Daily News of November, 1850, states that John William Cowell was "late of Turin Villa, South Yarra." A Heritage Victoria report notes that Turinville is the oldest house in Kew, and is one of the oldest in Victoria. The report also states that Cowell was a wealthy hotelier, with the Royal Hotel in Collins Street being one of his properties.

Alicia Maria Berry was the couple's daughter. According to a report in The Herald of February, 1882, a curious case presented to the Equity Court concerned the will of a Rev. George Vincent Barry of Melbourne, and the will of George Chester Berry of California, sheep farmer. Both wills stated that the deceased left all his property to his wife, Alicia M. Cowell or Berry. The property included land at Kew to the value of £8000.

This image is attributed to Everard Studley Miller who photographed many graves and tombstones in the Old Melbourne Cemetery (established in 1837) around 1920 as part of a project led by Isaac Selby to record and commemorate all aspects of Melbourne's second cemetery (the first being at Flagstaff Hill). The RHSV holds original glass negatives and albums of the photographs from this project.

One of the many glass slides purchased from retailers or specifically made for illustrated lectures given by Isaac Selby between c. 1930 and c. 1955 to raise money for the Old Pioneers Memorial Fund.

For more information about this image contact Royal Historical Society of Victoria.

MakerMiller, Everard Studley, 1886-1956.

Maker RolePhotographer

Measurements8.2 x 8.2 cm

Period1910-1920

Object TypePhotograph

Subject and Association KeywordsSelby, Isaac, 1859-1956

Subject and Association KeywordsMiller, Everard Studley, 1886-1956.

Subject and Association KeywordsOld Melbourne Cemetery (Melbourne)

Subject and Association KeywordsRoyal Hotel (Essendon, Vic.)

Subject and Association KeywordsMonuments and memorials

Named CollectionImages collection

Object numberGS-TM-18

Copyright LicenceAll rights reserved