Naval Graves Project finds lost burial sites of Australian and allied sailors
Isabella Michie and Suzanne Hill of 702 ABC Sydney caught up with Mark Fleming about the Naval Graves Project…
Gary and Jenne Walters make a habit of visiting cemeteries when they travel, inspired by their involvement with the Naval Graves Project (NGP) — a volunteer group dedicated to researching, recording and remembering forgotten naval graves across Australia.
The couple became connected to the project after Gary, a former navy serviceman, reconnected with his naval community online. Through the NGP, Jenne discovered detailed information about her grandfather, Charles Richard Holt, who served in the Royal Navy and helped recover the bodies of fellow sailors after the 1909 HMS Encounter disaster in Sydney Harbour — then the worst maritime tragedy at Port Jackson. The discovery helped fill gaps in her family history and gave her a deeper understanding of the kind of man he was.
The NGP was founded in 2014 by former navy member Mark Fleming, who began documenting neglected naval graves while researching his own family history. Over the past decade, the group has recorded more than 5,300 graves. Many of these sites are unmarked and not maintained, often because naval families moved frequently and descendants live far away.
Beyond documentation, the project has helped reconnect families with lost relatives. In one case, Helen Cook was able to visit her brother’s grave for the first time decades after he died in the HMAS Voyager disaster. In another, Tony Bambury discovered his great-grandfather’s unmarked grave at Rookwood Cemetery and now hopes to secure a headstone in his honour.
Founder Mark Fleming says he sees cemeteries not as places of sadness, but as places where lives are remembered — and where forgotten service can finally be acknowledged.