Almost Forgotten

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙖 𝘽𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙧, 𝙖 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙙𝙤𝙜, 𝙖 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙒𝙖𝙧 𝙄 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙖𝙘 𝙇𝙞𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙤𝙣?

They all emerged while researching the life of one woman whose burial record had been lost.
History has a wonderful habit of taking you down unexpected paths.
This week we've been writing the story of 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗔𝗻𝗻 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗲, who arrived in Victoria during the gold rush and established herself as a dressmaker in Ballarat. She later reminded customers that she was the same woman who had worked from the famous "𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗼𝘄" in the early days of the goldfields—a remarkable entrepreneur.
When Mary Ann later moved to Colac, another story began to unfold. Her only son, Frederick, married into one of Colac's pioneer families, and following the lives of their descendants uncovered some extraordinary discoveries—including a World War I soldier, a Victorian Cabinet Minister, and even a faithful dog whose remarkable journey made headlines across the state.
But perhaps the greatest irony is this.
Although Mary Ann's death certificate clearly records that she was buried in the Colac Cemetery in 1888, the official record of her burial was eventually lost. Without the Almost Forgotten project, she might have remained just that.
Her story will soon be added to the Remembered app, ensuring that although her exact resting place is no longer known, 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗔𝗻𝗻 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗯𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐲 "𝐄𝐦𝐦𝐚" 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞, 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐬.

Emma was just 35 years old when she died, leaving behind her husband James and their young children. Yet in her short life she also became part of Australia's history, signing the 1891 Women's Suffrage Petition while expecting her fourth child.

She was remembered by those who knew her as a woman "esteemed by all".

Emma is one of the first 100 stories now available through the Remembered app. Download the app. and listen to or read her story. You will also discover the other lives behind the headstones through stories, photographs and audio. The app is free and available from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store: just search for Remembered App.

Over the next few years, more than 1,700 stories will be added, ensuring that the pioneers, families and ordinary people who helped shape our district are not forgotten.

𝑫𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒄 𝑪𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 1900? We'd love to hear from you. If you can't find their story in the app, please get in contact. With your family's knowledge, photographs and memories, we may be able to fast-track their story and help preserve it for future generations.

This remarkable project has been created in partnership with 𝑮𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝑪𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝑻𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕 and 𝑨𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒘 𝑩𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒛𝒆, with the research, writing and storytelling undertaken by the volunteers of the 𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒄 & 𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒕 𝑭𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝑯𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝑮𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒑 𝑰𝒏𝒄.

Everyone is warmly invited to the launch of the Virtual Memorialisation Project on Wednesday 24 June at COPACC.

For the past ten years, volunteers from the Colac & District Family History Group have been researching the lives of people buried in the Colac Cemetery before 1900. Many of these men, women and children were pioneers, farmers, tradespeople, mothers, fathers and community members whose stories have largely been forgotten.

Through an exciting partnership with the Geelong Cemeteries Trust and Arrow Bronze, those stories are now being brought back to life. At the pilot stage, up to 200 cemetery burials will feature a short history, Images and in time,an audio recording that visitors can access while standing in the cemetery.

This is a first for our district and one of the most significant heritage projects undertaken in Colac. Whether you have family connections to the cemetery, an interest in local history, or simply enjoy discovering the stories of ordinary people who helped build our community, we would love to see you there.

Please feel free to share this invitation with family and friends. Everyone is welcome.

We warmly invite you to the launch of the Virtual Memorialisation Pilot Project in Colac, a collaboration between Geelong Cemeteries Trust, Colac & District Family History Group Inc. and Arrow Bronze Pty Ltd.

Join us as we celebrate this exciting initiative, preserving and sharing local stories, history and legacy through innovative digital memorialisation.

Registrations are required. For the event program and RSVP link, click here: https://gct.net.au/resource/virtual-memorialisation-pilot-launch/

Please respond by Wednesday 10 June 2026.

We look forward to welcoming you to this meaningful event.