Almost Forgotten

01/06/2026

Everyone is warmly invited to the launch of the Virtual Memorialisation Project on Wednesday 24 June at COPACC.

For the past ten years, volunteers from the Colac & District Family History Group have been researching the lives of people buried in the Colac Cemetery before 1900. Many of these men, women and children were pioneers, farmers, tradespeople, mothers, fathers and community members whose stories have largely been forgotten.

Through an exciting partnership with the Geelong Cemeteries Trust and Arrow Bronze, those stories are now being brought back to life. At the pilot stage, up to 200 cemetery burials will feature a short history, Images and in time,an audio recording that visitors can access while standing in the cemetery.

This is a first for our district and one of the most significant heritage projects undertaken in Colac. Whether you have family connections to the cemetery, an interest in local history, or simply enjoy discovering the stories of ordinary people who helped build our community, we would love to see you there.

Please feel free to share this invitation with family and friends. Everyone is welcome.

We warmly invite you to the launch of the Virtual Memorialisation Pilot Project in Colac, a collaboration between Geelong Cemeteries Trust, Colac & District Family History Group Inc. and Arrow Bronze Pty Ltd.

Join us as we celebrate this exciting initiative, preserving and sharing local stories, history and legacy through innovative digital memorialisation.

Registrations are required. For the event program and RSVP link, click here: https://gct.net.au/resource/virtual-memorialisation-pilot-launch/

Please respond by Wednesday 10 June 2026.

We look forward to welcoming you to this meaningful event.

22/05/2026

03/05/2026

04/02/2026

Behind every headstone is a story. For ten years, those stories have been carefully uncovered and preserved — more than a thousand so far.
Soon, in partnership with the Geelong Cemeteries Trust and Arrow Bronze the first two hundred will be digitally connected to their burial places at Colac Cemetery, offering visitors a deeper understanding of the lives once lived.
We are proud to share this next chapter in remembrance

Geelong Cemeteries Trust (GCT) is set to launch an engaging virtual memorialisation experience at Colac Cemetery that brings together history, legacy and community. Developed in collaboration with Arrow Bronze and the Colac & District Family History Group (CDFHG), the Virtual Memorialisation Pilot p...

19/11/2025

“𝑺𝒘𝒂𝒈𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝑷𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒔: 𝑺𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝑴𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒄, 𝑵𝒐𝒕 𝑮𝒂𝒐𝒍!”
When Samuel Fryer left London in 1843, he may have hoped for a better life in Australia. Instead, his years here tell a very different story.

Arriving in South Australia on the Tyne, Samuel spent the next five decades moving from place to place, his life marked by petty crimes, arrests and repeated gaol time. He died in the Colac Hospital in 1895 and was laid to rest in the Colac Cemetery.

Thanks to Nicole’s excellent research, we can now trace Samuel’s 52 years in Australia. Sadly, it seems the final two months he spent in the Colac Hospital — with a warm bed, shelter and regular meals — may have been the most comfortable of his life.

Geelong Advertiser 1894

04/11/2025

A Ball for the Newlyweds – The Wilmore Story
When John Bedford Wilmore returned to Cressy in 1876 with his new bride, teacher Julia Richardson, the community celebrated in style — a ball was held in their honour, full of good wishes and anticipation for a bright and happy future together.
John had travelled to his home state of Tasmania to marry Julia at the charming St Anne’s Church on Constitution Hill, Hobart.
Over the next eight years, Julia gave birth to seven children, though heartbreak came early — two were stillborn and two died as infants. Their first-born, baby Florence, was buried in Colac. Of the three surviving daughters, Florence (named after her late sister) became a music teacher, and Rosina and Juliet were nurses. Juliet was the only one to marry, and there were no descendants.
By 1892, John and Julia were living apart. John moved through western Victoria buying and selling properties, while Julia made her life in Geelong, working compassionately as superintendent of the Austin Cottages, a refuge for poor women.
John died in Horsham in 1910, leaving everything to “my wife Julia, of Geelong.” Julia later bought her own cottage, where she lived with daughter Florence until her death in 1917.
Though there are no surviving descendants, the Wilmore family’s story is scattered across Victoria — with burials in Horsham, Geelong West, Ballarat, Rokewood, and ashes at Springvale. Only their first child, little Florence, lies in the Colac Cemetery, a tender link to where the couple’s story of hope and heartache began.

Photos: St Anne's, Constitution Hill - source - churchesoftasmania.com.
The poignant newspaper notices tell the story of the children who died, including a birth and death notice that appeared on the same day in The Australasian.

22/10/2025

Alexander and Elizabeth Billings (nee Selwood) were both born in Colac, where they built their life and raised a family. Alexander ran the Federal Coffee Palace in Gellibrand Street — a busy boarding house that became a familiar stop for locals and travellers.

Heartbreak came in 1891 when their little daughter Annie died at just 22 months. The following year, a tender In Memoriam notice appeared in the Colac Herald, showing how deeply she was missed. More sorrow followed with the birth of a stillborn baby in 1895.

Through all this, Alexander remained active in town life, He was a member of the Gun Club and held cribbage games at his establishment. He often raised issues around footpaths and roads with council, even complaining about “stray cattle taking up their abode under his verandah” - an inconvenience to travellers arriving on the late train.

The couple endured further trials — a tornado tore the roof from Alexander’s shop and a fire destroyed his hay — but they stayed in Colac, close to the community they helped build.

Alexander and Elizabeth are buried in Colac Cemetery – reunited with little Annie and their stillborn baby.

13/09/2025

🚨 From Horse Thief to Constable – The Remarkable Story of John Self (alias William Hainsworth)

John Self was living in Surrey, England, married with one child, when he stole a horse – an act that changed his life forever.

Standing nearly 5’8” with a brown complexion, hair, eyes and beard, John worked as a ploughman before being sentenced to death – later commuted to transportation for life.

He arrived in Van Diemen’s Land on the Larkins in 1831, became a constable (though not always on his best behaviour!), received a Ticket-of-Leave in 1840 and a conditional pardon in 1843, later extended to allow him to live anywhere in the Australian Colonies or New Zealand.

By 1849 John was in Colac, briefly serving as a Petty Constable before resigning. Around 1853, he married Ann Cassidy (though no record has been found). They became lifelong friends with neighbours Joseph and Mary Paatch.

When Ann died in 1877, John wrote his Will, leaving his watch to Joseph Paatch’s son. He passed away four years later, cared for by the Paatch family.

John and Ann are buried in the Colac Cemetery in an unknown location.

It is unknown what became of his first wife and child in England – and there may be descendants today who have no idea their ancestor is buried in Colac, where he spent half his life.

💬 Do you have a Hainsworth or Self connection in your family tree?
We’d love to hear from you – you might hold the missing piece of this remarkable story!

02/09/2025

We have trained some new volunteers for our Almost Forgotten research team and already a mystery has been solved. Well done ladies! Kerrie was given Thomas Cribb and Lynne was given John Hargrieve to research. This is the outcome...

When the name John HARGRIEVE, buried 29 December 1896, appeared in the cemetery database, there seemed to be no obvious Colac connection. A search of Births, Deaths and Marriages revealed a surprising match — a two-day-old baby, John HARGREAVES, who had died in Essendon nearly 100 miles away.
Thanks to the purchase of his death certificate and the excellent research of Kerrie and Lynne, a family story spanning four generations has come to light.
👶 John Hargreaves was born on Christmas Day 1896, the first child of John Simon William Hargreaves and Ellen Ann (née Gillard). Proudly named after his father, little John lived for just two days.
He was part of the wider Cribb family, who have featured in a recent post. John was the great-grandson of Thomas Cribb and the grandson of Bertha Hill Cribb. On 29 December 1896 he was laid to rest in the Church of England section of Colac Cemetery, in a grave beside his great-grandfather Thomas, who had died eleven years earlier.
Six years later, John’s grandmother Bertha Gillard passed away in Collingwood, and she too was brought home to Colac to rest with her family.
Another moving reminder of the many connections woven into our community’s history.

21/08/2025

In our research, we discovered the story of little Ada Armstrong — a child whose short life was never entered into the official cemetery records.
Her parents, John James Armstrong and Kate Francis Mary Hyland, came from two well-known Western District families and spent only a brief time at Pirron Yallock before moving to Coongoola Station near Cunnamulla, Queensland.
In August 1878, their baby daughter Ada became unwell. Despite the care of Dr Thomas Rae, she passed away on 15 August, just weeks after her birth.
Ada was laid to rest in Colac Cemetery, with the service conducted by Father Michael Nelan, who had baptised her only two weeks earlier. No headstone was placed, and her name was never recorded in the cemetery register.
Thanks to research, Ada’s story is now brought back into memory. Though her grave is unmarked, her place in Colac’s history is no longer lost. 💐
It is stories like Ada’s that inspire our Almost Forgotten project — ensuring that every life, no matter how brief, is remembered.

Newspaper cuttings:
Ada's father's obituary shows the respect and admiration he earned in Queensland. At one time her parents hosted the Governor for a luncheon at their home.