Scattered Legacy

Keywords: burning towers, cemeteries / graves / headstones

A distinctive feature of many though by no means all Chinese sections of many cemeteries is what is generally referred to as a burning tower. They have on occasions been erroneously referred as "Joss Houses" or even ovens. An unknown number have been destroyed but many remain. It is unclear when such towers began to be built as most appear to date only from the late 19th century.

Certainly, it is standard Chinese funeral practice to burn paper offerings and set off fire crackers at funerals, as well as to roast pigs and other foods during festivals such as Ching Ming. Burning towers in China are usually associated with temples rather than cemeteries. While in southern China with its damp climate any burning of paper is commonly done in the open air, the dryer climate of Australia and California seems to have inspired a change. There are numerous reports of grass fires being set off as a result of Chinese funeral practices, including on at least one occasional a death as an onlooker's clothes (a young girl) caught fire. Certainly, this was the case at Avoca cemetery in 1879 when a Chinese celebration set off a fire. The following year it is reported that the magistrate - probably at the suggestion of the Chinese community - had order that a burning tower be built.

The common feature of most towers is that they are tall and allow a small opening for placing the items to be burned. Otherwise, the remaining towers vary greatly in design with pointed or rounded tops and sometimes coming in pairs.