Cairns War Cemetery

In 1942 the Directorate of Graves Registration acquired a portion of land within the Martyn Street Cemetery, Cairns. At that time, the plot was at the edge of the cemetery and was to become the war cemetery for members of the Commonwealth Armed Forces who died of injury or illness during the conflict of World War II.      

This is the final resting place 118 Australian and Dutch members of the Armed Forces.  There are, in total, 99 Australians; 71 Army, 10 Navy and 18 R.A.A.F. personnel.  The Dutch have 19 personnel; 4 Navy, 2 Army, 11 Air Force and 2 civilians. 

The Cairns Post reported in 1942: “One hundred and thirty war cemeteries have been provided in Australia by the Directorate of Graves Registration for the interment of members of the Navy, Army and Air Force who die while on duty. 

Temporary memorials are placed over all graves – a cross, in the case of Christians, a wooden Star of David in the case of Jewish personnel, and triangle for those whose records show they professed no religious beliefs. A photograph of each grave is taken after the interment. One copy goes into the records, and a copy is supplied free of charge to the next of kin. 

With the acquiescence of all chaplains-general, there are no denominational divisions in service cemeteries and no distinction is made between members of the forces. Deceased members are buried side by side, irrespective of denomination, rank or the service in which they were enlisted. 

The Directorate of Graves Registration has been charged with the responsibility of maintaining all Australian war cemeteries in the best possible condition. It is proposed that all such cemeteries should be grassed, and that the temporary memorials should be replaced later by headstones. Next of kin are given the opportunity of nominating inscriptions or texts to be engraved on the headstones. The staff of the directorate consists of men returned from active service or men who, for medical reasons, are not available for active service.” 

The Office of Australian War Graves (OAWG), who acts as an agent for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), maintains the Cairns War Cemetery. Before they took on this maintenance, the Cairns City Council received a subsidy towards maintaining all war graves, not just those in the War Cemetery.   

In July 1948 the Imperial War Grave Commission advertised for “tenders for provision and erection of Cross of Sacrifice in freestone, at War Cemetery at Cairns”.  

The Cross of Sacrifice is carved from Piles Creek Cream Sandstone from the Gosford Quarries.   

A Cross of Sacrifice is erected in a War Cemetery that has 40 or more burials. On each Cross is a downward-facing bronze sword that symbolises that the battle has been fought and those that gave their lives are now mourned.  

By the late 1950’s the simple wooden markers on the graves were replaced with permanent headstones, usually made from Portland Stone, and a photograph of the new headstone was sent to the next-of-kin

Each headstone is engraved at the top with their regimental badge or sometimes their national emblem (as has Korporal Robert Davids); followed by their service number, rank, name, and military decorations; their regiment is under that, then their date of death and age. A symbol of their religious belief is engraved, if none there is a blank space; at the bottom is a personal message or reading usually chosen by the family. 

 As well as the single headstones, there is a memorial dedicated to the 20 casualties of a Dakota plane crash of 1944, only discovered in 1989. 

The Cairns War Cemetery of today is now surrounded by the graves of past community residents. It is enclosed by a hedge, grassed ground, rows of white headstones with the Cross of Sacrifice standing proud over them.  Within the plot there is a stone-built bench facing the Cross of Sacrifice and a large, grassed area, without any graves, which hopefully means there were less deaths than expected.  

The sounds of an ANZAC Day dawn service, which are still held at the War Cemetery, echo throughout the Martyn Street Cemetery and settle around the graves that are in the general cemetery portion, of those who also served and survived the Great War, World War II and other veterans of conflict. 

Further information can be found here https://www.cwgc.org/visit-us/find-cemeteries-memorials/cemetery-details/13712/cairns-war-cemetery/

Research by: Cynthia Edwards and Dell Deed