Waverley Cemetery in the suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia is consistently ranked as one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the world.[1]
Founded in 1877, the gorgeous Waverley Cemetery in New South Wales, Australia sits on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. More than 100,000 people have been buried at this stunning 16-hectare (40-acre) site.
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Description
Most of the monuments at Waverley were created in the mid to late 1800s and were sculpted from white Carrara marble. The white gleaming angels, columns, and human figures stand out against the brilliant turquoise background of the sky and sea. In more recent years, gravestones made of rose and black granite have been added.
Waverley Cemetery includes a caretaker's house, cemetery lodge, waiting room, shelters, external fencing, sandstone walls, and natural terracing.
History of Waverley Cemetery
Indigenous beginnings
The grounds on which Waverley Cemetery is located originally belonged to the Cadigal people of the Eora nation. These Aboriginal people lived a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Archeological evidence of the Cadigal people include rock shelters, art, and shell middens.
Colonial rule
In the early 19th century, Europeans began to explore the coastal region of eastern Sydney. A military outpost was established at South Head, along with a road to the South Head Lighthouse, which gave colonial settlers easy access to the coast. Land grants brought even more prominent settlers to the region.
By 1868, the Waverley Municipal Council determined that a cemetery was needed to service the eastern suburbs of Sydney so four hectares (ten acres) of land were purchased.
Like many other cultures around the world in the mid to late 1800s, the public wanted beautiful park-like spaces where families could visit, honor, and commemorate their deceased loved ones. So Waverley Cemetery was designed with these ideals in mind.
Grand opening and expansions
After adding an additional 4.9 hectares (12 acres), Waverley Cemetery was officially opened on August 1, 1877. On that very day, Ruth Allen, aged 85, was the first interment.
From its foundation, Waverley Cemetery was intended to showcase the prosperity and social elitism of the Waverley community. The first manager, William Thomas, established strict bylaws for style, layout, and colors of gravesites and headstones.
White Italian Carrara marble gravestones in Victorian style made Waverley Cemetery look cohesive. Later, Edwardian style monuments were allowed. The combination of this unified style and the breathtaking natural elements made Waverley Cemetery very popular. Consequently, the costs of establishing the cemetery were recovered within the first year.
Steam tramway
In 1890, a steam tramway was built to transport visitors to Waverley Cemetery and the grounds were expanded by another 7.3 hectares (18 acres). The tramway was an effective way to transport coffins from the city of Sydney to the coast. It also provided a means for family members to travel to Waverley Cemetery for memorials and picnics in the years following a death.
By 1894, the cemetery expanded to its present size of 17 hectares (41 acres).
Cremation
As the cemetery spaces began to fill in and public preferences leaned toward cremation, Waverley Cemetery evolved again. Cremation services were offered and an ash garden was installed.
Notable burials
Some of the region’s earliest entrepreneurs are buried at Waverley Cemetery – shoe shop owners, candle and soap makers, dairy farmers, meat pie bakers, theater owners, booksellers, and even emu ranchers.[2]
- Lawrence Hargrave (1850 - 1915), aeronautical pioneer
- Sarah "Fanny" Durack Olympic swimmer, "Fanny" Durack was the first woman swimmer to win an Olympic Gold Medal in Stockholm 1912. She held every world freestyle record from 100 yards to one mile.
- Sir James Martin (1820 - 1886), New South Wales Premier
- Jules Archibald (1856 -1919), founder of Australia’s longest-running magazine The Bulletin and benefactor of the Archibald Prize
- Louis Becke (1855 - 1913), 19th-century writer
- Dorothea Mackellar (1885 - 1968), poet and author; the "Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards", is a nationwide poetry competition for Australian school students
- Peter Burge (1884 - 1956), rugby player and coach
Explore more about famous cemeteries
- Cemetery Records Worldwide, BillionGraves record collection at MyHeritage
- Documenting Cemeteries with BillionGraves webinar at Legacy Family Tree Webinars
- Stories in Stone webinar at Legacy Family Tree Webinars
- The Seven Largest Cemeteries in the World, BillionGraves Blog
- Three Amazing Cemeteries, BillionGraves Blog
- 10 Cemeteries to See Before You Die, BillionGraves Blog
- 10 of the World's Most Beautiful Cemeteries, BillionGraves Blog
- Cemeteries by the Sea, BillionGraves Blog