Burials at St. John’s – The Balfour Vault

Although it is fairly plain to see that no burials have taken place in the grounds of St John’s Church, one person was buried there in 1825. The lady was Mrs Charlotte Balfour, wife of the Civil Commandant at the time, Colonel William Balfour. Until 2024, the location of the vault had been uncertain, and was thought to be outside the eastern wall of the original church. The location would have been confirmed in 1938 per photo caption below, but the passing of generations since then meant the location was again uncertain. In 2024, building works associated with the redevelopment of the church building revealed the vault, just inside the original east wall, its eastern end aligning with the massive arch that separates the nave from the dome area, and a little to the north of the south ambulatory, the arches of which encase the original south wall of the building, but not under the centre aisle, as was once thought.

The ashes of a few parishioners have been interred in the walls and Garden of Remembrance in recent years but there have been no burials since Charlotte Balfour in spite of the fact that Burial Registers state ‘Buried at St John’s Church’.

After the formation of All Saints Anglican Network in 2019, and with the sale of St. David’s Church, Riverside, the columbarium at St. David’s had to be vacated, and parishioners were given the opportunity to have the ashes of their loved ones reinterred in a new columbarium at St. John’s, north of the memorial garden on the Elizabeth St. side of the church building. This columbarium has further capacity, so the interring of ashes at St. John’s will continue into the future.

Examiner photo