The official unveiling of the memorial was held on Saturday morning with around 90 people attending, one from as far away as the Gold Coast. The unveiling was followed by a luncheon at the Club.
The Hon. Wal Fife, the former Member for Hume, with family links to the Charleyong area, had instigated the memorial in 1999, and at the unveiling Mr Fife acknowledge the Hon. Bob Debus for his decision back then to get the ball rolling with the Sydney Catchment Authority (SCA). As the old Charleyong cemetery is on land owned by the SCA it is not open to the public and would be flooded if the Welcome reef dam is ever built.
In 2002 the SCA agreed to fund the memorial if a suitable site could be found and in 2007 Palerang Council agreed to the Braidwood Cemetery site.
The memorial includes plaques with burial and historical information, and is situated on a slight rise.
Information has also been verified from the NSW Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages and the Attorney Generals office. Construction of the wall was completed on Christmas Eve and the plaques attached in recent weeks.
Mr Ross Wallis, SCA Manager of Catchment Operations, and Mr George Dodds, General manager of Catchment Operations, were in attendance and thanked Mr Fife for his perseverance, Palerang Council staff, especially Kristy Moyle for her efforts, Ros Maddrell and Margaret Royds for their organisation and Pat Grimshaw for research work. The SCA paid $17,000 to build the Memorial.
Mr Ron Hush of Wagga Wagga, who recently published a book on the Hush Family in the district also spoke at the unveiling. He was one of 11 direct descendants attending of Joseph John Hush of Charleyong who was made one of the three original custodians of the cemetery in 1869.
The inscription on one of the brass plaques reads; Charleyong, originally known as Taylor's village, was a flourishing alluvial mining and agricultural settlement from about 1854 until the early years of the twentieth century.
William Taylor's store at the heart of the settlement, sold general provisions and diggers equipment. There was a butcher next door. In March 1871 the storekeeper also became the Postmaster. The store and Post Office survived until the late 1890's when, the gold being worked out, miners and their families were leaving the district.
The Charleyong Union Chapel and its surrounding cemetery were for the use of the Church of England, Presbyterian, Baptist and Wesleyan/Methodist denominations. Ministers came from Braidwood usually once a month to lead services. The chapel was a wooden building which accommodated 100 or more people. It was used for some years as a school on weekdays.
The site of Charleyong village and cemetery is situated within lands now owned by the Sydney Catchment Authority.
There are 51 burials dated between 1864 and 1904 recorded at Charleyong.
Another plaque records the names, date of death and ages of those who were buried at Charleyong, while another has a map of the area.
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