Melbourne General Cemetery

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Melbourne General Cemetery

Aerial view of Melbourne General Cemetery, looking north

Details
Established| 1852
Location|

Carlton North, Victoria

Country| Australia
Coordinates| 37°47′20″S 144°57′55″E﻿ / ﻿37.78889°S 144.96528°E﻿ / -37.78889; 144.96528
Size| 43 hectares (110 acres)
Website| smct.org.au/our-locations/about-melbourne-general-cemetery
Find a Grave| Melbourne General Cemetery
Characteristic headstones and grave sites within the cemetery Cemetery gatehouse Chapel

The Melbourne General Cemetery is a large (43 hectare) necropolis located 3 km (1.9 mi) north of the city of Melbourne in the suburb of Carlton North.

The cemetery is notably the resting place of five Prime Ministers of Australia, more than any other necropolis within Australia. Former Prime Minister Harold Holt's headstone is a memorial, as his remains have never been discovered.

## History[edit]

Aerial panorama of Melbourne General Cemetery in Carlton. September 2023.

The cemetery was established in 1852 and opened on 1 June 1853, and the Old Melbourne Cemetery (on the site of what is now the Queen Victoria Market) was closed the next year.

The grounds feature several heritage buildings, many in bluestone, including a couple of chapels and a number of cast iron pavilions. The gatehouses are particularly notable.

## Notable interments[edit]

Main article: List of burials at Melbourne General Cemetery

### Prime Ministers Garden[edit]

Six Prime Ministers of Australia are memorialised at Melbourne General Cemetery. Four are interred in the cemetery's 'Prime Ministers Garden': Sir Robert Menzies (including Dame Pattie Menzies), Sir John Gorton, Malcolm Fraser and Bob Hawke (half of Hawkes ashes are at Melbourne, the other half are interred in Sydney). Harold Holt's (including his wife Dame Zara Bate) is a memorial, as his body was never recovered after he disappeared at sea. Dame Zara is buried at Sorrento Cemetery, the closest burial ground to where Holt disappeared.

James Scullin (including Sarah Scullin) is buried in the Catholic section of the cemetery.

* Garden entrance

* Grave of James and Sarah Scullin

* Grave of Sir Robert and Dame Pattie Menzies

* Grave of Sir John Gorton

* Memorial to Harold Holt and Dame Zara

* Grave of Malcolm Fraser

### State Premiers and Governors[edit]

There are eight Premiers of Victoria buried in the Melbourne General Cemetery, more than any other necropolis around the state. Premiers George Elmslie, James Francis, Duncan Gillies, Richard Heales, William Nicholson, Sir John O'Shanassy, Sir James Patterson, and James Service. Sir Robert Menzies served as Deputy Premier of Victoria between 1932 and 1934.

The first Premier of Tasmania is interred at Melbourne General Cemetery, William Champ.

There is two Governor of Victoria, Sir Charles Hotham, and Sir James Gobbo one Governor-General of Australia, Sir Isaac Isaacs, buried at Melbourne General Cemetery.

## War graves[edit]

The cemetery contains the war graves of 91 Commonwealth service personnel, more than 30 from World War I and more than 50 from World War II.[1]

## References[edit]

1. ^ Melbourne General Cemetery, Carlton CWGC Cemetery Report.

## External links[edit]

* The Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust: administrators of the Melbourne General Cemetery
* Melbourne General Cemetery: Melbourne General Cemetery website

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Melbourne General Cemetery.

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* United States