Where first we come in sorrow we often return again for something else. We discover that places of eternal rest have many moods and designs, from the peaceful, almost romantic air of Père-Lachaise Cemetery in Paris with its cobbled avenues that have their own street names, to the fields of infinite sacrifice at Arlington National Cemetery. Yet in whichever idiosyncratic precinct we linger awhile, we sense the dead watching and taking our measure as well, keeping us company as much as we are keeping company with them. People today have become too transient, unsentimental, agnostic and forgetful to spend much time in graveyards, which is a shame as a visit can put them back touch with history, back in touch with their ancestors. It can be reflective, restorative, even rejuvenating.
With views to die for, Waverley Cemetery is perched on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, surrounded on three sides by some of the most expensive real estate in Sydney. It is the last resting place of several important Australian literary and political figures from the 19th and 20th centuries.