Letter from Sydney: Waverley Cemetery in Sydney's eastern suburbs must be one of the most magnificent graveyards in the world, writes Padraig Collins.
Not only is it very important to Australian history, it also has spectacular views of the Pacific.
Waverley has a powerful resonance for anyone interested in Irish history, too, as it features what is said to be the world's largest memorial to the 1798 Rising. Built mostly of white marble, it is nine metres wide and seven metres deep. Carved on the base of a cross which rises nine metres above the rear wall are the words: "In loving memory of all who dared and suffered in Ireland in 1798".
Interred in the vault below the monument are Michael Dwyer, one of the 1798 leaders, and his wife Mary. But while Dwyer did not arrive in Australia until 1806, and was treated as a free settler when he did, many of the foot soldiers from the rebellion were imprisoned in Sydney in 1800.
Some of those same men joined a mass break-out out from Castle Hill prison 200 years ago, on March 4th, 1804.
The resulting clash became know as the Battle of Vinegar Hill after its Co Wexford counterpart - a good thing seeing as Castle Hill is now famous only for its many car dealerships.
The Battle of Vinegar Hill was the first serious uprising on Australian soil. Several hundred convicts - most, but not all, Irish - some armed with guns, pitchforks and poles, but a greater number armed with nothing but a desire for freedom, broke out of Castle Hill prison. They had plans to storm the closest garrison, in Parramatta, and then march on Sydney, where boats would be seized and a daring escape made.
It was not to be though, and the Antipodean version of Vinegar Hill was considerably shorter than the original. The rebels never made it to the garrison. After 24 hours of confusion, lost paths and some drunkenness, the New South Wales governor's soldiers and a local militia confronted the escapees near what is now the new suburb of Kellyville.
Fifteen convicts were shot dead on the battlefield. Another nine were executed. Among those executed were names such as John Brannan and Phillip Cunningham.
The likes of John Griffin and Connor Dwyer avoided the ultimate penalty, but got 500 lashes and exile to the Coal River chain gang in Newcastle (115 km north of Sydney). David Morrison, Cornelius Lyons and Owen McDermot got a mere 200 lashes each and exile to Coal River.
The Irish Government, through Sydney Consul General Anne Webster, donated $10,600 (€6,500) to a re-enactment, in full period dress, of the break-out and the battle on Sunday, March 7th. A week-long programme of events also includes a concert, an exhibition called Death or Liberty and a parade of descendants of those who fought.
Ms Webster, who is from Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, said the funding was incidental, that the event itself is a measure of the Irish influence on Australia.
"When I took up this position in September 2002 the first thing I found on my desk was about Vinegar Hill. I come from there," she told The Irish Times.
"It's not something that will be a recurrent expense, it's a one-off and it's important. They did not ask me [for the funding], I volunteered it. This is absolutely essential to Irish people in Australia."
Ms Webster said that in Ireland people are not aware of the extent of the influence the 1798 Rebellion had on Australia. "In all of my other postings I have never had a more immediate connection than I've had with people here over Vinegar Hill," she said. "It is very important to support the links and affections people have for Ireland," Ms Webster said.
The Mayor of Blacktown, Mr Alan Pendleton, whose council is also helping fund the commemoration, says it is important to remember the Australian Battle of Vinegar Hill.
"It has contributed to the freedom and equality we as Australians have come to know today," he told a Sydney Irish paper. "The Australian spirit of mateship was born in the heroic stand at Vinegar Hill, based on the ideals of liberty and equality that resonated on the battlefield in 1804. These ideals have become the birthright of all Australians," Mr Pendleton said.