Living Above the Dead: A History of the Redevelopment of Six Launceston Urban Burial Places, 1931-1963

Living Above the Dead, is an historical analysis of the redevelopment of the intramural burial places of Launceston, Tasmania, Australia, between 1931 an 1963. The thesis draws on the multitude of historiography that has emerged over recent decades, addressing the changing cultural beliefs and practices relating to the disposal of the dead. The thesis attempts to explain the process by which, and the reasons why, the burial places within the city were so drastically erased during the stated period. There is a discussion of global trends relating to topic and similar activity in London, Sydney and Hobart. The manner in which the meaning, purpose and practicality of burial places altered over time is outlined by virtue of detailing the individual histories of the development of the six intramural burial grounds of Launceston. This is followed by a discussion of how cultural attitudes to death and burial places in general changed in Launceston and how they echoed wider global trends. Another chapter details how the redevelopments were executed, relating the methods and the motivation back to the aforementioned cultural trends. Considerable photographic material is provided using a comparative method in order to emphasize the cultural loss the redevelopment inflicted on the city over a short, thirty year period. Essentially the thesis is a modest attempt to move the debate on cultural attitudes and beliefs related to death and burial forward within an Australian context by using the city of Launceston as a case study.