The Prime' Ministers' Garden at the entrance. John Gorton's and Bob Menzies' ashes are interred here
Melbourne General Cemetery
Cemeteries may be sombre places, but they are also rich with historical references. The Melbourne General Cemetery, proclaimed in 1852, features the headstones of 19th-century, Anglo-Celtic citizens alongside memorials to a diversity of European and Asian immigrants. Among the more notable interments are Robert Burke and William Wills (Burke and Wills), Redmond Barry, John Pascoe Fawkner, Peter Lalor and Robert Menzies.Before the Melbourne General Cemetery, the city's deceased were laid to rest at the site of the Queen Victoria Market. But commercial growth forced the closure of this original cemetery and the remains were relocated to the existing site in Carlton. Architect Albert Purchas and botanist Baron Ferdinand von Mueller were responsible for the labyrinthine layout of the cemetery and its Indigenous and exotic flora. Borrowing ideas from Britain and North America, their design gave Australia its first truly modern cemetery.
With the sudden urban sprawl fuelled by Victoria s gold rush, expansion occurred from 1858 to 1860, giving the cemetery a total coverage of 40 hectares. Another 2.4 hectares were allocated in 1933. The heritage-listed gatehouse, Chinese funerary oven, Jewish Metahar Chapel and Elvis Presley Memorial are just a few of the enduring emblems of our city s past.
Location: College Crescent, Carlton
