This History Sign is beside the Berry's Pyramid Tomb, in the Rest Park, and details how looking around the park will show names, and occupations of some of those that had been buried here. The transcript is as follows:
#2 People, Places, & Professions
Is the person your street or suburb is named after buried here?
St. Thomas' contains the graves of many of North Sydney's pioneering families. Numerous north shore suburbs and landmarks owe their origins to the families buried here. As you walk around the Rest Park you will see many familiar names such as Pymble, Lavender, Blue, Milson, Wollstonecraft and Berry.
North Sydney was neither a particularly rich nor a particularly poor suburb and there were a great variety of occupations. The Cemetery's burial register reveals the most often listed occupation to be 'tradesman', followed by 'businessman'. Most women worked in their homes.
Berry's Tomb
Shaped to resemble an Egyptian pyramid, Berry's Tomb is the focal point of the Rest Park. The tomb houses Alexander Berry, his wife Elizabeth, and Edward Wollstonecraft (brother of Elizabeth), who was reinterred here from the Sydney burial ground.
Alexander Berry was originally a ship's surgeon. He settled in Sydney in 1819, and started a business with Edward Wollstonecraft as general merchants. He was also involved in the development of the timber industry on the Shoalhaven River; the town of Berry bears the family name.
[Blues Point Road - the scene of much of the early business activity on the lower north shore c.1860]
Other Occupants
A brief exploration of this area will uncover the monuments and gravestones of many individuals and families who had interesting professions. To your right (as you face Berry's Tomb) is the tomb of the pioneering Pymble family. Robert Pymble was an orchadist and timber supplier, he was also a policeman and a pound-keeper for Lane Cove. On the far side of Berry's Tomb is the grave of John Blue, grandson of William (Billy) Blue. Billy Blue was granted 80 acres of land at Blues Point in 1817; he began the first ferry service to Sydney town using rowing boats.
As you search for these particular headstones and monuments, see how many other familiar names you can discover along the way.
Visited: 0846, Saturday, 2 December, 2017
The link below is the Council website, for the Park - it may come up as BLOCKED, depending on your browser settings.