Frenchs Forest Bushland Cemetery, Davidson, NSW

Brief History The Frenchs Forest Bushland Cemetery occupies an area of 22 hectares (54 acres) of typical Hawkesbury Sandstone Bushland. On the 23rd January 1932, the Metropolitan Lands Department gazetted the site and officially dedicated it on the 8th October 1937 with the first burial taking place on the 24th April 1940. The Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Most Reverend HWK Mowll, consecrated the Cemetery on the 20th February 1955. Up to 1990 the Cemetery was known as The Frenchs Forest General Cemetery, the change to the present name being adopted to reflect the Bushland theme. The Management's aim was to design for and utilise the existing native vegetation to reinforce the unique bushland character of the Cemetery. Up until 2012, Frenchs Forest Bushland Cemetery was administered by a panel of voluntary Trustees appointed by the Lands Department pursuant to the provisions of the Crown Lands Act 1989. Members of the Trust Board were appointed for a term of five years and were responsible for the care, control and management of the Cemetery in compliance with the above Act and with the Crown Lands (General Reserves) By-Law 2001. On April 2, 2012, the Minister for Primary Industries, Ms Katrina Hodgkinson announced significant reforms to the cemetery management in NSW. On June 29, 2012, the trusts established to manage the Crown cemeteries in northern metropolitan Sydney were dissolved and amalgamated to form the Northern Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust (NMCT). These Crown cemeteries include Macquarie Park Cemetery and Crematorium at North Ryde, Field of Mars Cemetery at Ryde, Gore Hill Memorial Cemetery at St Leonards and Frenchs Forest Bushland Cemetery at Davidson. The Northern Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust recognize that the cemeteries are primarily a place for the living, a tranquil environment where current and future generations can share cherished memories, pay their respects and celebrate the lives and acheivements of those who have gone before.