All graves at Badgerys Creek Uniting Church and St John’s Anglican Church cemeteries will be exhumed. Picture: Melvyn Knipe
GRAVES in two cemeteries dating back to the late 1800s will be dug up to make way for Badgerys Creek airport.
Headstones are all that will remain at Badgerys Creek Uniting Church and St John’s Anglican Church.
Both sites have been closed to new burials since the 1990s when the Federal Government acquired the land with a view to develop a second Sydney airport.
Elements that may be included in the precinct are the Howe family graves and the slab construction farm cottage complex in Gardiner Rd.
The original school building may also be included.
The final decision on where the bodies are ¬relocated to is being managed in consultation with relatives, churches and state authorities, to ensure work is done in a sensitive and respectful manner.
“Every effort is being made to contact relative’s before any work begins,” a Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development spokesman said.
The department is responsible for the planning of Badgerys Creek, including the airport.
Relocation works will not commence until after the environmental impact statement is finalised. It is on public exhibition until ¬December 18. Both fall within stage one of the airport development. Prior to airport construction, a decision has to be made on where the graves will be moved.
There is a recommendation in the airport’s environmental impact statement, currently on public exhibition, to create a heritage precinct in the north-eastern part of the site.