The Local Area

The earliest references to the district around what is now Rookwood Necropolis, occur in 1793 when the first land grants to free settlers in the New South Wales colony were made nearby. This land was passed through numerous generations until it became the property of Edward Cohen in the late 1840's. In 1861, Cohen’s brother and agent, offered the land to the government for a cemetery.

In 1855 the railway between Sydney and Parramatta had opened and, four years later, a station was opened at Haslem’s Creek (misspelt from Haslam). Once the site was chosen by the government for a cemetery, the settlement around Haslem’s Creek grew as people who worked in jobs connected with the cemetery moved nearby. 

These residents, however, didn’t like the name of their village being associated with the cemetery at Haslem’s Creek, and so lobbied politicians to change the name of the settlement to Rookwood. In 1879 they were successful but, unfortunately for them, the cemetery then became known as Rookwood Necropolis. Another new name was sought for the settlement and in 1913 it was named Lidcombe.

Haslem's Creek Cemetery Station