**** Trigger Warning: murder, sexual assault, violence against children ****

As a local and frequent visitor to Camperdown Memorial Rest Park, a treasured community space in the heart of Newtown, Sydney on the lands of the Gadigal and Wangal people of the Eora Nation, I am starting this petition with hope that our community can come together to ensure that the memory of Joan Norma Ginn is not forgotten. As planning for the future of Camperdown Memorial Rest Park is currently underway it seems like the perfect time.

There is currently no memorial for Joan in the park and her story is not widely known. Joan lived with her mother, stepfather and five siblings at the rear of a shop on Enmore Road in Newtown. In 1946, when she was 11 years old, Joan left home to buy a loaf of bread. The next morning her body was found in Camperdown Cemetery. Tragically, she had been murdered and sexually assaulted in a crime that sent shockwaves through the community and has never been solved.

Had it not been for Joan’s murder and the public response, what is now Camperdown Memorial Rest Park may not have been created. Newspapers reported that Camperdown Cemetery was in a state of ruin and the community wanted action. Newtown Council put in an urgent request to the Premier to section off a large portion of the graveyard and turn it into a park and playground. The plan was quickly greenlit, and most of the land became what is now the much-loved Camperdown Memorial Rest Park.

This petition asks that Inner West Council, in its planning activities for Camperdown Memorial Rest Park, create a memorial to Joan in the hope that she won’t be forgotten and will be able to rest in peace.

References:

Fiendish murder of young girl in cemetery​

‘Your girl never knew’: ‘Chilling’ note child killer sent to victim’s mum