They've been called the goats of Christmas past and they could end up being the ghosts of this Hannukah cometh.
Rookwood Necropolis is home to one million dead, 350 species of animals and plants, some rare and endangered, but it is the mystery surrounding four goats which have evaded authorities that has become a running joke.
Few realise that the cemetery's 300 hectares is greater Sydney's largest greenspace, attracting foxes, rabbits, snakes and birds.
This week the Government announced its vision to expand the cemetery's capacity for the dead of the future while turning it into a major tourist destination for the living.
The new masterplan will reposition the cemetery, the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, as Australia's version of the historic Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris or Arlington National Cemetery near Washington DC.
David Harley, the architect of the masterplan to reform NSW cemeteries and crematoria, said Rookwood was a "veritable botanical garden". Admitting to an emotional and intellectual relationship with all aspects of the cemetery, he said the plan would take Rookwood into the future. It included plans to build a series of raised walkways and cycle paths to allow the public to view and explore the cemetery's treasures, history and flora and fauna. Signs would be erected to provide more background on the tourist attractions along each route.
As well as foxes and rabbits, the cemetery is also home to four threatened species, including threatened green and golden bell frogs, the grey headed flying fox, the common bent wing bat and the regent honeyeater. It also has endangered ecological communities, including an ironbark forest.
Red-bellied black snakes and spiders love the rocks and cracks near the graves so much that cemetery staff recently did a day-long awareness program, which included prevention and treatment of snake and spider bites. Fiona Heslop, the general cemetery's chief executive officer, said some staff had been surprised by snakes taking in the sun on top of graves including areas where new burials occur frequently.
The RSPCA and Auburn Council have been asked to help remove the white Boer goats but they seem to disappear as quickly as they appeared, she said. "I have looked out of my office on numerous occasions to see the goats leaning against headstones, only to look back a moment later to find they are no longer there."
Richard Sutton of Berala was cycling home through the cemetery when he spotted two of the goats on graves in the Jewish section. Sutton's sister joked that they were the "goats of Christmas past".
They've becoming a running joke at the cemetery, said Ms Heslop. "They are not doing any harm at this stage, but they do show up in the strangest places at the strangest times."
The plans also include six elevated walkways, which will provide short and long walks. One walk may meander along the Victorian Serpentine Canal built in the early 20th century, another may visit the paupers' graves where the poor were once buried without any ceremony or identification, while another may focus on one of the conservation areas. More detail would also be provided on where the famous are buried. These include the famous clown, Roy (Mo) Rene; David Jones of department store fame; David Scott Mitchell, whose collection created the Mitchell Library; Bee Miles, a famous Sydney personality in post war Sydney; and Louisa Lawson, Henry Lawson's mother and suffragette.
Other capital works include $12 million in new roads and infrastructure, the Minister for Primary Industries Katrina Hodgkinson announced this week. She said Rookwood's plan provided for continued sustainable use of Rookwood for burials and cremations, ensuring that the environment and heritage values of the site would be maintained.
