b"Jericho CemeteryThe old mining townships ofJericho and Red Jacket are locat-ed off an unmade side road fromthe Woods Point to Matlock toAbelfeldy road.The cemetery is found on a hillsideabout 400 metres from the picnicarea at the Jordan River crossing.The Jericho Cemetery wasgazetted in 1870 and officiallyclosed in 1983. It is known thatthere were earlier burials before1870, with burial records believedto have been destroyed in a 1939Gippsland bushfire. In July, 1983 the HealthCommission of Victoria wasadvised by the MMBW (Melbourneand Metropolitan Board of Works)that the entire Red Jacket andJericho Cemeteries as well as aportion of the Aberfeldy Cemeterywere located in the Board'sThomson River Dam CatchmentArea and requested that thesethree cemeteries be closed inorder to preserve and maintain thewater quality of the streams in theRegion. This request was refusedand the status of these cemeteryreserves were retained. Following negotiations the MMBWaccepted the trusteeship of theRed Jacket and JerichoCemeteries for maintenance pur-poses and the Health Commissionagreed to close these two ceme-teries to all further burials and limitburials at the Aberfeldy Cemeteryto that portion of the cemeteryreserves that lies outside theCatchment area. The one remaining headstone leftintact in the Jericho Cemetery isthat of Charles Ferguson. Inmemory of Charles Ferguson died24th Feb 1868 aged 42 years.The actual number of burials in thecemetery are unknown.For several years the Toyota LandCruiser Club of Victoria, under theguidance of Dulcie Watts hasundertaken significantpreservation works on this andother nearby historical sites. TheClub keeps the black-berries atbay, maintains the Jerichocemetery grounds, trims the grassand looks after the signageamongst many other tasks.12 MARCH2021 TRACKWATCH"