Stirling Cemetery is located at Strathalbyn Road, Bridgewater. It is situated on 7.54 hectares of land and was established in 1879.

The cemetery is comprised of two sections known as the General Section and the Catholic Section. Adjacent to the Catholic section is The David Whibley Memorial Garden and the District of Stirling Probus Club Garden for interments of cremated remains in a niche wall or garden setting.

CHAPTER 26: CARPENTERS, FUNERAL DIRECTORS AND CEMETERIES (Chardon, C. (2011) Stirling: A Personal View: A History of the First 150 Years. 2nd ed. Stirling, S. Aust.: Chris Chardon.

The Stirling District Cemetery

It has been a source of puzzlement to many to understand why the Stirling Cemetery is in Aldgate. The Chronicle edition dated 7^th June 1879 noted that the same deputation of officials and supporters as reported in Chapter 8 of this book who sought ground for an oval waited on the Commissioner of Crown Lands (Hon. T. Playford) to ask that land be set aside for a cemetery for the district of Stirling East.

A cemetery trust was formed on 19^th July 1879, and consisted of nine members. They were William Lewis (Chairman), William Milford (Secretary), Frederick Knight (Treasurer) and Robert Bowes, John Halliday, William Measday, George Brown and Richard Burnett. The Cemetery was to be known as the Stirling East. The site consisted of 19¾ acres.

The South Australian Government Gazette of 4^th September 1879 announced “Now, therefore, I, the Governor do hereby proclaim that the Crown lands described in the Schedule hereto, shall, from the date hereof, be reserved for the interment of the dead, and to be called Stirling Cemetery”.

However the name seemed to change. A report in the Courier of 4^th February 1898 noted “Bushfires have been very numerous around here lately. On Sunday week a large volume of smoke was seen in the direction of the Stirling East cemetery....”

The Courier of 7^th August 1985 announced “Stirling Council to Take Over Cemetery”. “Stirling Council is to officially take over running of the Stirling Cemetery. District Engineer, Mr. W. Nicol, said the property transfer was going through at the present time. Once this was done, council will have discussions with Mr. John Stoddard, funeral director of Stirling who took over running of the cemetery after the Cemetery Trust was wound up about two years ago”. In October 1985 proprietorship transferred from the Cemetery Trust to the District Council of Stirling.

It seems that the separate Catholic section developed later than the main section. The Couriers of 17^th October and the 7^th and 14^th November 1902 refers to the deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Kain, Catholics of Bridgewater “The couple were buried at the Mount Barker Catholic Cemetery, there as yet being no Catholic Cemetery in the Stirling district”.

In fact the first to be interred there was Harry McCaffrey in January 1906."