Church dig confirms property borders

Archaeological work conducted on land behind St Stephen’s Presbyterian Church at Jamberoo has found no evidence of burials outside the existing cemetery.

The dig, commissioned by the Committee of Management at Scott’s Presbyterian Church (owners of the Jamberoo church) was held in an effort to establish the border of the cemetery in response to inquiries from potential buyers.

The excavation work also hoped to solve a discrepancy on the regional burial registration list.

Records retrieved from Kiama Court House and the Family History Centre indicated there were 112 people on the Presbyterian register of burials from the time, but not enough headstones to account for the number.

Scott’s Presbyterian Church Management Committee member John Hanrahan now believes the discrepancy can be attributed to multiple family members being buried in one plot.

“There are a lot of family plots that have the potential to be multiple burial sites,” he said.

Archaeological and Heritage Solutions archaeologists Matthew Kelly and Bernadette Allen conducted a five-day excavation, creating six trenches – two within the cemetery and four in the eastern grassed area.

Mr Hanrahan said the management committee was now considering its options for development of the land.

“We’re going to test the market and see what is available,” he said.