eHive Object Details

Name/TitleSon and wife of Skene Craig : Old Melbourne Cemetery, c. 1920

About this objectColourised photograph of the headstone placed over the remains of the wife of Skene Craig, Mary, and his son, Frederick William. Selby writes in his "Memorial History of Melbourne" that, "Garryowen tells us that John Smith, a shepherd, was the first interred in the Old Cemetery, and that the second was Frederick William, the son of Skene Craig." (p.5)

The image shows that the stone has leaned backwards in its grassy bed over the years. The stone has a Gothic pointed top and indented sides. The inset text panel has a wave pattern at the top which encloses a carving of a rose with stem, leaves and hip.

The inscription reads:

In Memory of
Frederick William
Son of
SKENE CRAIG MERCHANT
Melbourne
Died March 1837
Aged 18 Months.
Also
Mary wife of the said
SKENE CRAIG
Died 20th November 1852,
Aged 40 Years

In his book Selby tells us that, "Craig came over with Lonsdale as a contractor to the Commissariat, and while not properly a civil servant, yet he derived an income from the service... [Skene ran the Post Office out of] his house in Collins Street, which is situated where the Rialto is today... Mr. Craig gave the letters out in his store... In the early fifties he carried on the whole of the Government contract for provisioning the goals, police hospitals and kindred institutions." (p. 86)

Skene Craig returned to England and was buried in Cornwell in 1879.

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 KeywordsCraig, Skene, c. 1802-1879

Subject and Association KeywordsPostal service

Subject and Association KeywordsMonuments and memorials

Subject and Association KeywordsCraig, Mary, 1812-1852

Subject and Association KeywordsWomen

Subject and Association KeywordsChildren

Named CollectionImages collection

Object numberGS-TM-19

Copyright LicenceAll rights reserved