The Dismal Trader: The Undertaker Business in Perth, 1860-1939 by Leonie B Liveris

Book Description

Secondhand. Good condition. Wear to book corners and edges, particularly to front cover right corners, now protected with book tape. Marks on front and back covers. Small tear to top edge f back cover is now protected by book tape.

In 1829, settlers from England arrived in the Swan River Colony to face the harsh reality of establishing a new settlement in Australia. During the early years, when the death occurred, the responsibility for burial lay most often with the family. Gradually over the ensuing decades, the provision of a plain wooden coffin by the local carpenter was later complemented by elaborate funeral furnishings as undertakers established their business and at cost, the responsibility for the ritual of "dignified' internment.

The Cemetery Act of 1897 created the Karrakatta and Frementale Cenetry Boards and made them responsible for the control, management, and maintenance of the new cemeteries. The granting of licences to undertakers at the Boards' discretion gave undertakers a strong impetus to seek respectability, public approval, and professional status.

Many undertaker companies were established in Perth during the late 19th century, but only a few survived the economic depressions and constant societal change. Local family undertaker firms lead the way and by the the outbreak of WWII were increasingly referred to a funeral directors. (back cover)