Rogers & Geyers: Old Tintinallogy Cemetery

Old Tintinallogy Burials

One objective of this project is to see the dead who are buried at Old Tintinallogy properly commemorated. When we have a complete list of burials we are keen to arrange for the graveyard to be tidied, fenced, and a memorial erected to mark the graves.

The Old Tintinallogy settlement was in existence for a little over seven decades (roughly 1850-1925). In that time, about 25 people passed away and were buried there - on average that is about one every three years. This reflects the harshness of the times and the environment.

Although appearing in records as 'The Old Tintinallogy Hotel cemetery', the settlement at Old Tintinallogy is believed to have had two burial areas. Information to hand suggests there were 5 burials behind the hotel, and a further 19 people buried on the sand hill.1. Thomas Galloway in his diary notes the 'old people' (William Thompson and Elizabeth ROGERS) 'were buried on the riverbank, just near the kitchen'.2 No sign now remains of these burials behind the site of the Hotel. The cemetery on the sand hill is in a dilapidated state. No headstones are visible, and the broken remains of the picket fence are scattered amongst the pepper trees.

Two further burials are known to have occured nearby. A Mrs Murdoch is buried upstream of the site of the market garden. Although once surrounded by a high picket fence, little sign now remains of the grave.3 No death details have yet been matched to Mrs Murdoch. Down stream at Deadman's point, a man named Thomas Young is believed to have committed suicide by strychnine poisoning on November 21, 1920.4 He was buried at the site the next day on what was then Henley station

Those known to be buried at Old Tintinallogy are:

UNKNOWN male (?-c.1852).
Killed by Aborigine(s). Found buried near old stockyard in 1920s. Skeleton apparently showed signs of a spear wound. Buried in cemetery on sandhill. 5
Robert ROGERS (1871-1871).
Buried May 24, 1871. Infant son of Selena GULLIDGE (birth certificate lists him as Robert GULLIDGE). Aged 11 days. No minister was present. William ROGERS was the undertaker, and he witnessed the burial along with Samuel MEREDITH. 6
William Thompson ROGERS (c.1828-1876).
Buried Sep 13, 1876. Aged 48 years. No minister was present. Samuel MEREDITH was the undertaker, with Alexander ROGERS and Allen CAMERON witnessing the burial. 7
Elizabeth Irvin ROGERS, nee WHITE (c.1830-1880)
Buried Jan 9, 1880. No minister was present. Samuel MEREDITH was the undertaker, with W.J.FOULD J.P. and A. ROGERS (probably her son Alexander who was the informant for the death certificate) witnessing the burial. 8
Hilda GEYER (1883-1886)
Daughter of Henry and Margaret GEYER who drowned Dec 24, 1886, aged 3yrs 7 mths. Buried Dec 29, 1886. No minister was present. William ROGERS was the undertaker, with John ROGERS and Joseph ZINNER witnessing the burial.9
John GEYER (1897-1897)
Buried Sep 9, 1897. Infant son of Henry and Margaret GEYER. Aged 19 days. No minister was present. Alexander ROGERS was the undertaker, with John D. BEGG and Elizabeth M. CHISHOLM witnessing the burial. 10
Samuel AGNEW (c.1831-1899)
Died Feb 9, 1899. Thomas Galloway's diary records that "Sam Agnew worked on Terywynia for years and in 1898, he was living on very bad well water. He became ill and came into Old Tintinollogy and died." The death certificate as cause of death "probable heart disease, and general debility" with the illness lasting "10 years". Local J.P. Nicholas Sadleir determined no Magisterial inquiry was necessary. Buried Feb 11, 1899. No minister was present. Alexander ROGERS was the undertaker, with F.C. McMillan and W. GEYER witnessing the burial.11
William Lindsay ROGERS (1902-1902)
Infant son of Alexander and Isabella ROGERS, aged 6weeks and 4 days. Buried Aug 24, 1902. No minister was present. Henry GEYER was the undertaker, with Samuel KLEMM and Francis KLEMM witnessing the burial. The place of birth and place of death are given as Woodstock, a name applied to the wider selection on which Old Tintinallogy lies.12
Henry Frederick Christian GEYER (1851-1905)
Buried Jun 11, 1905. Aged 54 years, Service read by Charles ARCHER. George DAVIS was the undertaker, with S.McARTHY and G.FULLERTON witnessing the burial. 13
Margaret GEYER, nee ROGERS (1859-1907)
Buried Nov 24, 1907. Aged 48 years. Service read by J.Freeman. George PETERSEN was the undertaker, with William WATT and W.T. ROGERS (probably her son William Thompson Jnr) witnessing the burial. 14
William McINNES (1908-1908)
Infant son of Alexander and Edith McINNES, died of influenza aged 9 days. Buried Aug 1, 1908. No minister was present. H. KIRCHMAN was the undertaker, with John RYAN and Hilda GEYER witnessing the burial.15
Mary McINNES (1910-1910)
Infant daughter of Alexander and Edith McINNES, died aged 1 month. Buried Dec 2, 1910. No minister was present. William GEYER was the undertaker, with Hilda GEYER and John CARROLL witnessing the burial. 16
John McINNES (1912-1912)
Infant son of Alexander and Edith McINNES, died aged 7 days. Buried Apr 18, 1912. No minister was present. William GEYER was the undertaker, with Hilda GEYER and Alex McINNES witnessing the burial. 17
Maisie UNDERWOOD (1919-1919)
Infant daughter of Percival and Hilda UNDERWOOD, died of whooping cough aged 2 months. Buried Dec 7, 1919. No minister was present. Alex McINNES was the undertaker, with Edith McINNES and Florence McINNES witnessing the burial. 18

Compiling this list has been one of the most difficult aspects of the Old Tintinallogy research. No formal record is known to have been kept for the cemeteries. An initial list of names was obtained from Mary Wilson from information from Hughie McInnes. This was extended by Doug Burt with a list he recorded from Kitty Clifton. Details were then checked against the NSW Deaths registry. Further potential burials have been compiled by searching the NSW index for names in the right date range and eliminating those known to be buried elsewhere. This process is ongoing.