First gardener buried in oldest grave

If you wanted to find one of the oldest European graves in Australia, it would surely belong to Henry Edward Dodd, buried in St John's cemetery at Parramatta.

The grave itself is just a slab of stone with the inscription 'H E Dodd 1791'. Henry was actually the butler to Governor Phillip and arrived in the convict settlement on the First Fleet. His grave is also famous for the fact it was the site of the first public funeral held in the colony.

Henry Edward Dodd's grave in Parramatta. Courtesy Findagrave Ann Gordon.

Henry Edward Dodd was born around 1752 and, after arriving in Port Jackson, was found to be the only free man who could organise the cultivation of land in Farm Cove in preparation for growing food. He managed to get a few acres of land cleared and hoed and growing corn shortly after their arrival.

Dodd was a keen gardener and despite the lack of success of the Farm Cove crops, Governor Phillip soon sent him to Rose Hill, near Parramatta, to supervise the convicts who were to grow vegetables for the colony on the government farms. Dodd knew the right amount of labour needed and what a farmer's labourer could perform. His knowledge paid off. A few days before Christmas in 1789 the produce was described as 'plentiful and luxuriant' and he even sent a 26 pound (11.8kg) cabbage back to Government House.

By November 1790 Dodd advised that 88 of 200 acres had been cleared and prepared for a number of crops. His first harvest included 200 bushels of wheat, 60 bushels of barley and small quantities of corn and oats.

The inscription plate on Henry Edward Dodd's grave. Courtesy Findagrave.

His dedication to his garden was such that it is rumoured it could have caused his death.

In early 1791 Dodd fell ill, some believing it was 'accelerated by exposing himself in his shirt for three or four hours during the night, in search after some thieves who were plundering his garden.' He died on 28 January, 1791.

He was buried in the corner of a stock reserve that would later become the burial ground for St John's, Parramatta.

And while James Ruse is credited with being the first to cultivate his own plot of land, it seems Dodd will always hold the title of being NSW's first farmer.

References

• 'The History of some of Sydney's oldest cemeteries', safewill.com, accessed 4th January, 2025, Final Resting Places: Sydney's Oldest Cemeteries | Safewill | Safewill

• A. J. Gray, 'Dodd, Henry Edward (c. 1752–1791)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/dodd-henry-edward-1984/text2411, published first in hardcopy 1966, accessed online 4 January 2025.

• 'Our First Farmer', Nepean Times, Saturday, 21 January 1933, Page 5

• 'Henry Edward Dodd appointed Superintendant of Convicts at Rose Hill, in Marcy, 1789', The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, Wednesday, 6 September, 1899, Page 4