Lygon Street Arbor and Fence Works
Melbourne General Cemetery is an icon of the Melbourne cityscape. Not only a place of beauty with its manicured gardens and sweeping lawns, this 43-acre site features many notable interments. It is the final resting place of many prominent Melbournians – and from all walks of life.
It is our great privilege to be responsible for the care of this magnificent, heritage-listed cemetery. At times, this involves performing maintenance where required to ensure that all who visit have a safe and comfortable experience, both now and into the future. There is more information on our current Melbourne General Cemetery maintenance works below.
Maintaining the trees of Lygon Street
Last updated 8 September 2021
The Lygon Street boundary of Melbourne General Cemetery features an iconic array of mature, established trees. The health and amenity of these trees is paramount to the overall preservation of the cemetery, so arbor works are performed where required to ensure that Melbournians can continue to enjoy Lygon Street’s iconic, tree-lined vista.
Many of the Lygon Street trees have been scheduled to be replaced. However, any replacement trees must meet heritage requirements, so replacement will not be carried out until the appropriate trees become available.
Lygon Street fence rectification works
Last updated 8 September 2021
Some shifting stones at the base of the Lygon Street fencing were noticed by our team in August 2020. An SMCT arborist identified the cause: the roots of a tree growing adjacent to the fence, which had extended under the wall footing, causing the stones to move. Once the affected section of the fence had been secured and a temporary fence put in place, a plan was conceived to rectify the issue.
The tree in question sits outside the cemetery boundary on land managed by City of Melbourne, so removal of the errant root will be undertaken by the local council. This work was temporarily delayed due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19, but has recently been re-scheduled to occur within the next few weeks.
Once this has been carried out, SMCT will perform the remaining maintenance. We are currently collaborating with a heritage restoration contractor, engineer and heritage consultant to plan the rectification works in more detail, but anticipate that these works should be completed within three weeks of the tree root removal.
We apologise for any inconvenience while we undertake these works, but look forward to continuing to preserve and maintain this historic site and its rich legacy for generations to come.
We will update this page with further information as it comes to hand.
For any enquiries about these works – or other works carried out by SMCT – please contact us.
