Parish of Cook's River [3/5]

The church of St Peters was consecrated in November 1839, but the attached graveyard was not consecrated until the December of 1840. However, never letting the niceties of officialdom get in the way, the first body to be interred was that of John Benfield in March 1839. The last interment was Sarah Ann Sargent in 1896. Two thirds of the burials were of children under the age of 10. As with nearly every cemetery around Sydney, so many og those in the graveyard lie in unmarked graves.

The influence of the nearby brickyards can be sensed throughout the graveyard. Look at this tumbling down example of a final resting place, festooned with samples of the brickmaker's art, the structure beneath the ediface resembles the hearth of a brick kiln.

And here is Richard Puckeridge (1811-1881), native born son of Joseph, and father to Mary Ann, of whom I spoke yesterday. Joseph was a brickmaker under James Bloodworth. Richard was a fisherman until his older brother, William, returned from Moreton Bay in 1834. From when Richard married until his death, he made bricks in and around Glebe. In 1863, he was a brickmaker in Harris St. In 1865, he was a brickmaker of 265 Harris St which is close to the infamous Hellhole Quarry on Fig St. In 1880, he was operating out of "Puckeridge's Brickyards" this time in Quarry St.