Dark Corner
Dark Corner Road,
The comparison between Dark Corner and Sunny Corner cemeteries could not be greater. Just 5 km apart, but in different local government council areas, Dark Corner is still in use and is maintained in tip top condition by the Greater Lithgow City Council. With its large, elevated site, Dark Corner can be described as a cemetery with a view as the headstones look out over beautiful rolling country and a park bench has been placed strategically to encourage visitors to pause a while and enjoy the vista.
Many of the district’s pioneers have been buried here. We found tombstones dating from 1872, just twelve years after the gold diggers first arrived at Mitchells Creek. Two of the old sandstone monuments are so eroded as to be difficult or impossible to read now but there is no sign of vandalism and almost all of the stones are standing straight.
Jean and I visited the cemetery on 6 January 2005 and made digital images and notes of every visible inscription. In compiling this list, we also consulted the NSW index of births, deaths and marriages and the World War 2 Nominal Roll to help determine some names and dates and for additional information.
Once known as West Mitchell, Dark Corner is a locality near Sunny Corner, a small historic village near Portland. From Lithgow, take the Great Western Highway towards Bathurst for 38km to the village of Meadow Flat and turn onto Sunny Corner Road. At Sunny Corner, take the Dark Corner Road for 8.4km. The cemetery is not signposted but is clearly visible on a rise to the left of the road.
The cemetery is administered by the City of Lithgow Council. Contact council at PO Box 19 Lithgow NSW 2790; phone: 02 6354 9999; email: council@lithgow.nsw.gov.au
6 Jan 2005