[1] During the second half of the nineteenth century the expansion of settlement in North Queensland caused increasing problems with the carriage of freight to and from southern supply centres.
In response to this problem, in 1859 the New South Wales Government offered a reward for the discovery of a suitable harbour north of Port Curtis (Gladstone) that could be more easily accessed by northern settlers.
This mission was undertaken by Captain Henry Daniel Sinclair, owner of the Santa Barbara, who in August 1859 departed Sydney in order to locate such a suitable harbour.
Much confusion currently exists concerning the history of Bowen's cemeteries due to the limited nature of relevant historic literature.
In response to this problem, a board of Trustees was appointed, and on 13 July 1867 the Port Denison Times printed rules and regulations of the cemetery in the hope of improving its condition.
Shortly after this period, public and governmental dissatisfaction arose not only in response to the poor state of the existing graves, but also for the cemetery's inappropriate location for future burials.
The site and dimensions of the reserve for the second cemetery, on Portion Numbers 95 and 96, were published in the Queensland Government Gazette on 21 December 1878.
[1] Current evidence suggests this is the site of the Flemington Road Cemetery, identified in early maps of the area as Portion Numbers 95 and 96.
Initial application by the Trustees proposed that a new site should be used alternatively with the old, depending on the preference of the deceased's family or representatives.
[1] More recent inclusions to the site's history occurred in 1993, when public concern was raised regarding the issue of encroachment on to the reserve by the bordering landowners.
Descendants and relatives of those buried in the Flemington Road Cemetery met this notice with severe disapproval, and no council action would appear to have been taken.
[1] Officially, the Flemington Road Cemetery is located on a roughly rectangular block of level alluvial river flat, encompassing 8094 square-meters, defined as Portion number 95, Reserve 54.
[1] The cemetery is currently unfenced, although physical evidence on site suggests that several fencing efforts have been previously undertaken to protect particular family plots.
The oldest inscription, referring to the death of Jessie B. Scott on 10 May 1863, presents something of a mystery, considering the site began operating as a cemetery only after 1878.
As such, the Flemington Road Cemetery is important in demonstrating the evolution and pattern of Queensland's history in being tangible evidence of the settlement.
The cemetery is also important as it provides evidence of the history and demography of the Bowen area, and demonstrates architectural trends in monument design during the latter half of the nineteenth and earlier twentieth century.
Existing headstones on site clearly indicate the family names of many notable figures from Bowen's early history, such as Betzel, Darwen, Sinclair, Bull, Jensen and Brecht.