The Waverley Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery on top of the cliffs at Bronte in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Opened in 1877 and built by R. Watkins (cemetery lodge, 1878) and P. Beddie (cemetery office, 1915), the cemetery is noted for its largely intact Victorian and Edwardian monuments. It is regularly cited as being one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the world. The cemetery contains the graves of many significant Australians including the poet Henry Lawson. Also known as General Cemetery Waverley, it was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 28 October 2016.

The cemetery is owned by Waverley Council and is self-funded, deriving its income from interments – including burial, cremation, memorials and mausolea – of which there has been over 86,000. Waverley Cemetery was used during the filming of the 1979 Mel Gibson film Tim and in 2021 the film Long Story Short. The cemetery was designed to function along similar lines to Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris and Kensal Green Cemetery in London.

Funerals are conducted Monday to Saturday.

History

Indigenous history

The land on which Waverley Cemetery is located is traditionally the land of the Cadigal people of the Eora nation. As with most Aboriginal groups in Australia prior to European colonisation, the Cadigal people lived a traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyle that utilised the natural resources available in their environment to achieve the physical and spiritual nourishment to sustain their way of life. Evidence of the areas occupation by the Cadigal people is demonstrated in both archaeological (rock shelters, art sites, middens) and non-archaeological forms (creation sites, ceremonial places). Today, the Waverley area is a densely populated and urban environment and, although Waverley Cemetery is not known to contain identified Aboriginal sites (to date), its cliff top environment is regarded as archaeologically sensitive as it is considered likely to contain sites of Aboriginal significance. It also saw the construction of a number of built elements on the site including the Caretaker's House, Cemetery Lodge, Waiting Room, Cemetery Gates, shelters, external fencing, sandstone walling and grounds terracing.

Waverley Cemetery continues to be an operational burial facility today (2015). Its naturally picturesque and urban location has made it a particularly sought after and desirable cemetery and it now contains more than 100,000 burials and interments.

Description

thumb|Graves at Waverley Cemetery

Waverley Cemetery is uniquely positioned on an elevated urban site overlooking the Tasman Sea to the east and the Waverley townscape to the west. Spanning some 16 hectares, Waverley Cemetery retains much of its Victorian layout and geometric grid-like pattern of burials (north–south axis). (one of Australia's most famous poets), Jules Archibald, founder of The Bulletin and benefactor of the Archibald Prize, nineteenth century writer Louis Becke, nineteenth century Australian boxing champion Larry Foley, nineteenth century poet Henry Kendall, the American actor William E. Sheridan, poet and author Dorothea Mackellar, and author Ethel Pedley. Other significant figures include aeronautical pioneer Lawrence Hargrave, Olympic swimmer Fanny Durack,

The cemetery contains over 200 war graves from various past conflicts, of which there are 132 registered and maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (over 100 from World War I and nearly 20 from World War II). The front gates are a memorial to the residents of the area who died during World War I and World War II . In addition, the cemetery is home to the Irish memorial, the final resting place of Michael Dwyer (1798 Rebellion), and a memorial to all those who died in that rebellion. There is also a memorial stone commemorating the 1981 Hunger Strikers. As well as nationally famous figures the cemetery contains the graves of notable Sydney identities including Robert ('Nosey Bob') Howard, the state executioner who served until 1904, rugby player Peter Burge and Sydney crime figure George Freeman.

Heritage listing

Waverley Cemetery is listed as a heritage item in the Waverley Council Local Environment Plan. In 2015 local resident action group Residents for Waverley Cemetery nominated the cemetery for inclusion on the State Heritage Register. The nomination was recommended by the Heritage Council and after receiving Ministerial approval was gazetted on 28 October 2016. In 2016 Waverley Council nominated Waverley Cemetery for inclusion on the National Heritage list.

As at 13 August 2015, Waverley Cemetery is of state heritage significance as a general public Victorian-era cemetery that is the final resting place for more than 100,000 people. Sited in an urban setting, against a dramatic natural landscape of the Pacific Ocean with its steep cliffs and the endless horizon, Waverley Cemetery is a picturesque urban burial ground that contains a collection of highly intact funerary monuments and furniture dating from 1877. with individual graves maintained for a fee. Where families no longer wish to maintain their ancestor's graves this has led to some significant memorials (such as those belonging to Jules Archibald and Victor Trumper) falling into disrepair. In 2002, the Waverley Council as owners of the business looked for alternative sources of revenue. and a proposed crematorium. Lawrence Hargrave's through the Royal Aeronautical Society, The community opposition led to the plan being cancelled in 2004. A two million dollar boardwalk designed to move joggers and others passersby away from the graves is now a popular part of the Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk.

In late 2007, the National Trust ran an online competition to determine the distribution of $185,000 in funding. Of the nine finalists, the Waverley Cemetery's ceremonial gates proved to be the most popular, winning the majority of the votes. Unfortunately, the amount voted to the project was only a little over 25% of the total restoration costs. Waverley Council has committed to funding the balance and work on this project is commencing in 2016.

Cultural influences

The earliest known motion picture filmed at the cemetery was the 1977 Italian production 'La Ragazza dal pigiama giallo', also known as 'The Pyjama Girl Case', a murder story based on the true story of Linda Agostini, the Pyjama Girl. In 1972 the cemetery was featured in filming for Spyforce where Colonel Cato played by Redmond Phillips was supposedly buried. In 1978 the cemetery was a location in filming of the movie Newsfront starring Bill Hunter and Bryan Brown. In 1979 the cemetery was a location in filming of the movie Tim starring Mel Gibson. Baywatch used the cemetery while filming its Australian movie length episode, and the Australian soap opera Home and Away buried one of their characters at Waverley in 2004. In 1996, scenes from the season one final of Australian TV show Water Rats were filmed at the cemetery. Notable recent films include Dirty Deeds. It was also pictured in the Bollywood Blockbuster Dil Chahta Hai in a musical sequence.

The cemetery has been a place of inspiration for many artists, Henry Lawson who ultimately ended up there was fond of using the location in his stories, either as direct reference or indirectly.

thumb|center|850px|A panorama of the cemetery.

South Head Cemetery

South Head Cemetery is situated at the junction of New South Head Road and Old South Head Road, Vaucluse. It is administered by Waverley Council and is a companion cemetery to Waverley Cemetery.

The cemetery was established to cater for the needs of the population in the growing Vaucluse area; its first interment was in 1868. It was run for some time by a private trust, but management was transferred to Waverley Council in 1941. It covers an expanse of and contains the graves of 6,000 people as of 2008. South Head General Cemetery contains the graves of many notable people, including: Australia's first Prime Minister, Edmund Barton (1920); NSW Governors Sir Walter Davidson (1923) and Sir Roden Cutler (2002); NSW Premiers Sir John Robertson (1891), Sir William Lyne (1913), Sir Charles Wade (1922) and Sir Joseph Carruthers (1932); Queensland Premier and Federal Treasurer "Red Ted" Theodore (1950); members of the Packer, Fairfax and Norton newspaper dynasties; members of the Street family legal dynasty including two Chief Justices, Sir Philip Whistler Street (1938) and Sir Kenneth Whistler Street (1972); Anglican Archbishop of Sydney John Charles Wright (1933); the Foy retailing family (including a monument to the disappeared Foy heiress Juanita Nielsen); architects Mortimer Lewis (1879), Thomas Rowe (1899), John Horbury Hunt (1904), Robin Dods (1920), Howard Joseland (1930), John Burcham Clamp (1931) and Neville Gruzman (2005); artist George Washington Lambert (1930); writers Jack Moses (1945) and Frank Clune (1971); entertainer Gladys Moncrieff (1976) and founder of the acting dynasty Roy Redgrave (1922); cricketer Warwick Armstrong; and Edmund Resch junior of the Resch's brewing family (1963).

The cemetery contains the graves of 22 of the 40 victims of the 1927 Greycliffe ferry disaster. There are also Commonwealth war graves of 18 Australian service personnel, 5 of World War I and 13 of World War II, in various parts of the cemetery.

<gallery>

Image:Robertson.JPG|Grave of Sir John Robertson

Image:Horbury Hunt grave 1.jpg|Grave of John Horbury Hunt

Image:Packers.JPG|Packer family mausoleum

Image:Fairfax.JPG|Fairfax family plot

Image:JuanitaNielsen1.JPG|Memorial of Juanita Nielsen, Mark Foy family mausoleum

Image:Davidson.JPG|Grave of Sir Walter Edward Davidson

Grave_of_Sir_Edmund_Barton_2018.jpg| Grave of Sir Edmund and Lady Barton

Grave_of_Sir_Roden_Cutler_VC_2018.jpg|Grave of Sir Roden and Lady Cutler

Street_family_grave_2018.jpg|Grave of Sir Philip and Sir Kenneth Street

</gallery>

See also

  • South Head General Cemetery
  • Burials at Waverley Cemetery

References

Bibliography

  • Murray, Lisa (2016). Sydney Cemeteries: A Field Guide. Sydney: NewSouth Publishing.

Attribution

  • Waverley Cemetery website
  • Peace of Mind – Archive
  • Waverley Cemetery Who's Who: Pen & Paper
  • Corry, Marion (1995) Who's Who in Waverley Cemetery: Encore