Avoca Cemetery

Directions to your first story point: From Avoca drive north along the Sunraysia Highway, B220, for 2.2 kilometres. Look for the Avoca Cemetery on the left. Pause this video, tap the screen twice, park the car and respectfully enter the cemetery.

To the right rear you will see an unusual burial design. Play the video to learn more. The most common feature of overseas Chinese burials is the burner. These brick or masonry structures serve as a safe place for the ritualised burning of spiritual tributes that serve the deceased in the afterlife. Burning these items passes them to the spirit realm.

Whenever possible, the bones of the deceased were exhumed and sent back to China to reside in the ancestral burial grounds. It was common practice for those who could not go back to China. It was also common practice for those who could afford the journey to return to China to die. Further along the trail we will reveal the significant contribution made by the Chinese people to the region.