Eadie Fraser Grave Site

In July 2022, I had the good fortune to be able to take a journey, which I had been planning for 30 years. I wanted to visit the grave of Malcolm John Eadie Fraser in Sydney, Australia. Of course, without the work of Andy Mitchell on the Scottish Sport History website here and here and Paul Nicholls I would have spent a fair amount of time wondering around, pointlessly. However, the football history community is it extensive and determined.

It was Paul Nicholls who first found the grave and wrote about it. Chronicler of the visit was Stuart Thomas in this excellent article.

As you can see, calling the site Eadie Fraser’s grave, is a bit of a stretch. A stand of trees and lots of grass is more accurate. Eadie lies in the group of trees behind Murray, in the hi-viz vest. If you want to be more specific, Eadie lies underneath this saplings on the right. How do I know? Murray’s GPS and a knowledge of the Presbyterian Area of the Cemetery. Presbyterian 6C Zone A 5344 It is likely a paupers’ grave, though more research needs to be done on that count.

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At this point I must extend my heartfelt thanks to Dee Bates and her colleagues at Rookwood Cemetery. When you are looking for a grave in the world’s largest Victorian necropolis, on a 286 hectare site, and you are 10,600 miles from home, you are gong to take all the help you are offered. In this case, I turned up mob-handed, with Paul Nicholls, Stuart Thomas and Trevor Thompson: historians keen to assist and be present at a historic occasion. The help Dee gave us, was above and beyond the normal service the Cemetery might provide to our little band of travellers. She called up her colleagues and drove us down there in a convoy of cars. Trust me, you are not going to be walking around that Cemetery unless you’ve done a load of Munros.

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I reckon I could find his grave site again. For those wishing to make the trip, here are a few pointers. The road curving round is Oliver Avenue. At the bottom of the image is Van Vorst Drive. Find that junction and you are staring at the thicket under which Eadie Fraser lies. This is the very eastern edge of the Cemetery. Out of picture is East St, which runs roughly north/south to Lidcombe Station. If you get lost, that extremely large green copper domed mausoleum is the thing to look for.

Aerial Shot Eadie Fraser Grave Site web

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

As Mao once said: ‘The Long March began with one step’. We have taken one pace, on the road to ensuring that Eadie Fraser is remembered forever. Watch this space.