Pearce Family Cemetery

Item details


Name of item:	Pearce Family Cemetery
Other name/s:	Pearce Cemetery
Type of item:	Complex / Group
Group/Collection:	Cemeteries and Burial Sites
Category:	Cemetery/Graveyard/Burial Ground
Location:	Lat: -33.7570826287 Long: 150.9561497440
Primary address:	Seven Hills Road, Baulkham Hills, NSW 2153
Local govt. area:	The Hills
Local Aboriginal Land Council:	Deerubbin

Property description

Lot/Volume Code	Lot/Volume Number	Section Number	Plan/Folio Code	Plan/Folio Number
LOT	100		DP	707538

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
Seven Hills Road	Baulkham Hills	The Hills			Primary Address
Old Windsor Road	Baulkham Hills	The Hills			Alternate Address

Owner/s

Organisation Name	Owner Category	Date Ownership Updated
Estate of the late M W Pearce	Private	24 Mar 99

Statement of significance:


	A small family burial ground, historically important because it contains the remains of Matthew Pearce, the district's first settler, and the graves of his descendants. (Pike 1980). The cemetery has associations with the Pearce family, who also owned nearby Bella Vista Farm, Seven Hills (SHR 754) (Stuart Read, 2001). The location of the cemetery on the Old Windsor Road indicates the important role of the road for communications between the local settlers and the rest of the colony, especially the markets for their produce, and of the importance of the family who displayed their genealogical relationships and sense of place in such a publicly prominent mode. (HO)
	Date significance updated: 19 Apr 05
	Note: The State Heritage Inventory provides information about heritage items listed by local and State government agencies. The State Heritage Inventory is continually being updated by local and State agencies as new information becomes available. Read the Department of Premier and Cabinet copyright and disclaimer.

Description


Construction years:	1795-1888
Physical description:	The Pearce Family Cemetery is situated on a rise almost at the highest point of the land on Seven Hills Road North and is surrounded by paddocks. It is a small cemetery of 464.5m2 (0.046ha). There are no traditional cemetery trees here. The largest tree is a conifer and this is outside the fencing and there are three more conifers inside the fence. There are two jacarandas, three natives and three other small trees. There is a wooden post and rail fence completely surrounding the cemetery but this is not the original fence, nor is the iron gate original. The posts at the side of the gate are painted, as is the gate. The central feature is the large family vault surmounted by a stone sarcophagus dedicated to those of the Pearce family who died in the 1870s and the adjacent granite obelisk dedicated to members of the Archdall family) is a most prominent landmark. There is much conjecture as to whether bodies were moved from St John's, Parramatta to this cemetery, whether just the headstones were moved or whether other headstones were placed here. The vault is clearly large enough to hold twenty coffins. It is approximately 10 metres x 4 metres. There are three single brick-edged rectangles on western side of the vault. These mark the three separate entrances into the vault. The remaining graves, plaques and headstones are against the fences. These are mainly simple upright sandstone slabs with sandstone edging and some have concrete on top but they are mostly too overgrown to state this for sure. There are some granite headstones on a sandstone backing. There is one open-book headstone and one white marble headstone with some carving of flowers. There are no footstones. Only on one grave can the name of a monumental mason (Murphy) be seen. There are apparently many more burials in the cemetery than there are markers. It is enclosed by a post and rail fence with iron gate and solid wooden gate posts. (Sinclair 1999)
Physical condition and/or Archaeological potential:	Physical Condition - Fair. There has been natural deterioration of the monuments as well as some vandalism. However the cemetery has been reasonably well maintained by the Pearce family (the Trustees). (Sinclair 1999)
	Date condition updated:15 Dec 99
Modifications and dates:	Repair to graves and replacement of stolen gates and fencing appear to have been undertaken in the 1990s. (Pearce 1992)


Current use:	Cemetery
Former use:	Farming Land

History

Historical notes:

The land on which the cemetery is located consists of - on the east - a small part of Matthew Pearce's grant dated 1795 [Reg. 1 No. 169(3)] (portion 209 of 160 acres) and a larger part of Matthew Woodward Pearce's grant dated 1835 [Bk. P p.7] (portion 209 of 40 acres).

Matthew Pearce arrived as a free settler on the 'Surprize' in 1794 and was granted land that he called 'King's Langley' (from which the nearby suburb takes its name). Pearce was a well-known landholder in the district and was a member of the Grand Jury in Parramatta in 1825.

Ownership of the land on which the cemetery stands, switched branches within the Pearce family. Matthew Pearce died in 1831 and his lands were left to his widow Martha for life, and then to his two sons Matthew Woodward Pearce and William Thomas Pearce. In 1835 the Commissioner of Claims reported that Matthew Woodward Pearce was entitled to the land surrounding and including the cemetery. In a Deed of Partition, Schedule B, [Bk. N No. 588] dated 1838, it was stated that this land was left to William Thomas Pearce. His will leaves the land to his widow Eliza until her death, then to their youngest son Phillip Augustus Pearce.

In 1895 Phillip Augustus Pearce mortgaged the land for (Pounds)1000. The mortgage document does not mention the cemetery, but it clearly includes all of portion 209 and a large part of portion 208 on both sides of Seven Hills Road. He remortgaged the land in 1904 to Henry Dawson of Dulwich Hill. [Book 771 No. 586] The map attached to this mortgage marks the cemetery, but the cemetery is not referred to as an exclusion within the detailed list of lands. The mortgage was discharged in 1906.

In 1905 when Phillip Augustus Pearce initiated proceedings to bring all the land under the Real Property Act, Edward Henry Pearce (of "Bellavista" - second son of William Thomas Pearce) was the trustee. Title of the land surrounding the cemetery was issued to him. [CT Vol. 1960 fol. 52]. The cemetery was specifically excluded and has never been brought under the Real Property Act. Phillip Augustus died in 1919 and according to his death certificate, he is buried in the family cemetery but there is no monumental inscription to be seen.

In 1984 a DP was lodged for resumption of the cemetery land (DP 707538). In March 1985 Baulkham Hills Shire Council reversed its decision to resume the cemetery land, and a PCO [No. 593] was placed on the cemetery by the Heritage Council. In 1988 a DP was lodged for acquisition by the RTA for all the land surrounding, but excluding, the cemetery (DP 773517).

The original pioneers Matthew Pearce (died 1831) and his wife Martha (died 1843) have monumental inscriptions in this cemetery as have many of their descendants. However it is not possible to say for certain when the first burial took place on this land. There are monumental inscriptions for three children of Matthew Woodward Pearce - George Henry (died 1847 aged 5 years), another George Henry (also died 1847 aged 5 days) and Matilda Susannah (died 1850 aged 2 years). In 1865 William Thomas Pearce died and was buried at St Bartholomew's, Prospect. His wife Eliza died in 1878, and there are monumental inscriptions for this couple at the cemetery. In 1876 Mary Anne Pearce (wife of Matthew Woodward Pearce and mother of the three children already mentioned) died, and her husband Matthew Woodward Pearce, the (original) landowner died in 1878. His death certificate shows he was buried at St John's, Parramatta, yet there are monumental inscriptions to this couple at the family cemetery.

The first documentary proof of a burial is on the death certificate of Henrietta Fletcher (second daughter of William Thomas Pearce) who was buried there in December 1888.

(1999) The land has been continually owned by the Pearce family for over two hundred years. (Sinclair 1999)

Historic themes

Australian theme (abbrev)	New South Wales theme	Local theme
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Agriculture-Activities relating to the cultivation and rearing of plant and animal species, usually for commercial purposes, can include aquaculture	Orcharding-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life	Birth and Death-Activities associated with the initial stages of human life and the bearing of children, and with the final stages of human life and disposal of the dead.	Remembering the deceased-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life	Birth and Death-Activities associated with the initial stages of human life and the bearing of children, and with the final stages of human life and disposal of the dead.	Operating and maintaining private family burial grounds-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life	Birth and Death-Activities associated with the initial stages of human life and the bearing of children, and with the final stages of human life and disposal of the dead.	Disintering and reburying the dead-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life	Birth and Death-Activities associated with the initial stages of human life and the bearing of children, and with the final stages of human life and disposal of the dead.	Burying and remembering notable persons-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life	Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups	Associations with Matthew Pearce, free settler-

Recommended management:


	Conservation Area supporting Bella Vista Farm SHR item should include Pearce Family Cemetery and any archaeology in the area relating to Bella Vista Farm (Morris & Britton, 2001).

Recommendations

Management Category	Description	Date Updated
Recommended Management	Produce a Conservation Management Plan (CMP)
Recommended Management	Prepare a maintenance schedule or guidelines
Recommended Management	Carry out interpretation, promotion and/or education

Procedures /Exemptions

Section of act	Description	Title	Comments	Action date
57(2)	Exemption to allow work	Heritage Act	Maint. monument & garden to Nat Trust Order Under Section 57(2) to exempt the following activities from Section 57(1): (1) The maintenance of existing monuments and surrounds in accordance with the guidelines of the National Trust of Australia, such works to be carried out only after consultation with and the agreement of the Manager, Heritage and Conservation Branch. (2) Garden maintenance including cultivation, weed control, the repair and maintenance of existing fences, gates and garden walls, pruning and tree surgery, but not including extensive lopping;	May 2 1986
57(2)	Exemption to allow work	Heritage Act	See File For Schedule Order Under Section 57(2) to exempt the following activities from Section 57(1): (1) Manual clearingof paths and drains. (2) Hand weeding of grave plots. (3) Mowing of lawns and paths in a manner that doesn't damage edging material. (4) Any work in accordance with the current management program or Conservation Plan, or other as approved from time to time by the Manager, Heritage and Conservation Branch. (5) Poisoning of weeds by spot application of a herbicide (eg. Roundup, Zero) not affecting ornamental or symbolic plantings and remnant native vegetation. (6) Remedial tree surgery by current proffessional horticultural practitioners. (7) Removal of dead branches or trees in cases of public safety hazard. (8) Sympathetic repair and maintenance of existing roads, paths, signs and drains. (9) Continued use of existing family vaults. (10) Interments, including placement of ashes, where no new memorial is required, except as listed below. (11) Erection of standard memorials in any area used by religious orders or the Armed Services. (12) Erection of memorials in family plots remaining in use provided memorials are in keeping with those existing. (13) Addition of inscriptions by means on keeping with existing lettering. (14) Attachment of bronze / stainless steel plaques to existing monuments by fixing unobtrusively to plinths, pedestals or rear of stelae. (15) Suppression of bush fire or domestic fire in cases of threat to public safety or property. (16) Bush fire hazard reduction by means approved by the Manager, Heritage and Conservation Branch. (17) Maintenance of safety clearances around overhead power lines in accordance with guidelines issued by te Energy Authority of NSW (1986).	Aug 12 1988
57(2)	Exemption to allow work	Standard Exemptions	HERITAGE ACT 1977 ORDER UNDER SECTION 57(2) TO GRANT STANDARD EXEMPTIONS FROM APPROVAL I, Penny Sharpe, the Minister for Heritage, on the recommendation of the Heritage Council of New South Wales and under section 57(2) of the Heritage Act 1977: revoke the order made on 2 June 2022 and published in the Government Gazette Number 262 of 17 June 2022; and grant an exemption from section 57(1) of the Act in respect of the engaging in or carrying out the class of activities described in clause 2 Schedule A in such circumstances specified by the relevant standards in clause 2 Schedule A and General Conditions in clause 3 Schedule A. This Order takes effect on the date it is published in the NSW Government Gazette. Dated this 29th day of October 2025 The Hon Penny Sharpe MLC Minister for Heritage For more information on standard exemptions click on the link below.	Nov 7 2025

Standard exemptions for engaging in or carrying out activities / works otherwise prohibited by section 57(1) of the Heritage Act 1977

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Number	Gazette Date	Gazette Number	Gazette Page
Heritage Act - State Heritage Register	00593	02 Apr 99	27	1546
Heritage Act - Permanent Conservation Order - former	00593	12 Aug 88	132	4282
State Environmental Planning Policy		30 Jun 89
Local Environmental Plan		01 Mar 91
Local Environmental Plan		01 Sep 89

Study details

Title	Year	Number	Author	Inspected by	Guidelines used
Colonial Landscapes of the Cumberland Plain and Camden, NSW	2000		Morris, C., & Britton, G./NSW National Trust (for the Heritage Council of NSW)		Yes

References, internet links & images

Type	Author	Year	Title
Written	K.Pearce	1992	Letter: Pearce Family Cemetery, Seven Hills Road Baulkham Hills
Written	P.Pike		National Trust Listing Card - Pearce Family Graves
Written	Sinclair, C	1999	Information supplied through State Heritage Inventory From

Note: internet links may be to web pages, documents or images.

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Data source


The information for this entry comes from the following source:
Name:	Heritage NSW
Database number:	5044968
File number:	S90/06067

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