eHive Object Details

Name/TitleJohn Charles King and family : Old Melbourne Cemetery, c. 1920

About this objectPhotograph of a simple, Gothic pointed top, upright tombstone marking the burial place of John Charles King, town clerk and politician, his parents, sister and daughter.

The stone sits on a small plinth and is enclosed by a railing with a quatrefoil design.

The inscription reads: (40 in Selby's grave index p. 390, OPMHoM)

SACRED (Gothic Script)
In Memory Of
HENRY KING
Who Died 30th October, 1840
Aged 47 Years
--------
Of His Daughter
MARY KING
Who Died 3rd May, 1842
Aged 26 Years
--------
And Of His Wife
MARTHA JANE KING
Who Died 11th August, 1860
Aged 70 Years
--------
And Of His Son
JOHN CHARLES KING
Who Died 26th January, 1870
Aged 52 Years
--------
Also Of
ANNIE JANE HADDON
Daughter of the Above and Wife of
FREDERICK WILLIAM HADDON
Who Died 31st December, 1877
Aged 37 years

According to Selby, John Charles King died on board the "Southern Cross" four years after he ruptured a blood vessel putting him in bad health. The funeral procession moved from his residence at the "Argus" office, and he was buried in the south-eastern corner of the Old Cemetery, and around the grave "stood the representative men of Melbourne." (p. 410, OPMHoM)

John Charles King, born in County Down, Ireland, first sailed to Sydney in 1838. Hearing good things about Port Phillip, he sailed back to Ireland, married, and returned to Australia in 1841 with his wife, parents and other family members, setting up business in Elizabeth Street, Melbourne. He was appointed the first town clerk in 1842.
(Australian Dictionary of Biography)

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. Selby numbered this slide #57.

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 KeywordsKing, John Charles, 1817-1870

Subject and Association KeywordsIrish community

Subject and Association KeywordsMonuments and memorials

Named CollectionImages collection

Object numberGS-TM-33

Copyright LicenceAll rights reserved