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Traversing time: Take the new Melbourne General Cemetery walking tour

13 August 2024

A young woman with her back to the camera walks along one of the avenues of Melbourne General Cemetery with large trees and graves flanked on either side of the road.

We’re pleased to announce that after a successful trial period over June-July 2024, our new digital walking tour of Melbourne General Cemetery will continue to be available to visitors of the cemetery for the foreseeable future.

Access the tour

The tour takes in the history of Melbourne General Cemetery from its opening in 1863, exploring the stories of some of the notable people now at eternal rest in the grounds, such as philanthropist Lady Janet Clarke, disability activist Anne McDonald, Men at Work musician Greg Ham, and restaurateur Mietta O’Donnell.

The Melbourne General Cemetery gatehouse surrounded by autumnal trees.

Also featured on the tour are monuments of historical or architectural significance, such as the Burke & Wills memorial and billiards champion Walter Lindrum’s billiards table-shaped gravestone.

With spring approaching and the weather warming up, it’s the perfect time to put on your walking shoes and explore not only the history of Melbourne General Cemetery but its environmental wonders. The tour also features key information on Project Cultivate, a pilot horticultural program that seeks to uplift the biodiversity of the cemetery through the planting of plants and grasses that are locally native to the Carlton area.

A section of Melbourne General Cemetery that has been part of Project Cultivate, with graves now surrounded by native grasses local to the area.

We would also love your feedback after you take the tour! Complete our walking tour survey, which will help us further refine the information within the tour and help us develop further tours in the future.

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