By Dr. Michaela Ann Cameron
Founder, Director and Editor of St. John’s Cemetery Project
Spelling & Punctuation
Original spelling, grammar and punctuation have been retained throughout St. John’s Cemetery Project. The Latin adverb [sic], which is short for sic erat scriptum (“thus was it written”) to identify what might otherwise have been interpreted by the reader as an error in transcription. The adverb [sic] is positioned either at the end of a quoted passage from a primary source or at the end of the sentence in which the quotation appears rather than immediately after each instance of incorrect, archaic or otherwise non-standard spelling or punctuation. Whilst this policy means some readers may struggle to identify exactly what the [sic] applies to in a specific quotation, this presentation was considered the most practical, due to the fact that there are often numerous erroneous and archaic spellings etc. in the primary sources transcribed in full as well as selectively quoted throughout this project, and multiple occurrences of [sic] in close proximity would have been too distracting to the reader.
Dual Naming Policy
To acknowledge the original Aboriginal custodians of the lands now known collectively as ‘Australia,’ whilst also being inclusive and respectful to the newcomers, a dual-naming policy has been adopted in St. John’s Cemetery Project as a Reconciliation initiative. As a mark of respect and to audiate, that is “mentally sound” Language, Aboriginal endonyms have not only been included when using placenames in this project wherever possible, they have also been given precedence over European imposed exonyms, which have been subordinated by appearing after the Aboriginal endonyms and in closed brackets: for example, Warrane (Sydney Cove), Cadi (Sydney), Kamay (Botany Bay). Where specific placenames are unknown, the Country is identified with the greatest specificity possible: e.g. Gadigal Country, Toogagal Country, Wallumettagal Country, etc. For the same reasons, the specific endonym for each Aboriginal clan or larger group is preferred and used when known, otherwise when speaking generally of more than one group or an unidentified group, the terms Aboriginal People or First Peoples are used, with the word ‘People’ capitalised as a mark of respect. For a lengthier discussion of this policy, read Name-Calling: A Dual Naming Policy.
Sensitivity Notice
Members of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are advised that this project contains names and images of deceased First Peoples. Individual essays that do contain such content will have a notice clearly displayed at the top of the essay.
All users of the website should also be aware that certain words, terms or descriptions may be culturally sensitive and may be considered inappropriate today, but may have reflected the author’s/creator’s attitude or that of the period in which they were written.
St. John's 