Free walking tour of Waverley Cemetery (Sydney, NSW)

The Australasian Society for Historical Archaeology (ASHA) is delighted to announce that we will be offering a free walking tour of Waverley Cemetery as part of National Archaeology Week (NAW) 2024. The tour will be led by Archaeologist and President of ASHA, Dr Siobhan Lavelle OAM, from 10:30am to 1pm on Sunday 26 May 2024 (AEST)

About Waverley Cemetery:
Waverley Cemetery is positioned on an elevated urban site overlooking the Tasman Sea (Pacific Ocean). With over 100,000 burials and inurnments, the cemetery fully occupies its 16 ha. With its spectacular coastal setting, its magnificent monuments, its wealth of genealogical, historical, architectural and artistic information, Waverley Cemetery ranks among the distinctive and picturesque cemeteries of the world.

Waverley Cemetery opened on 1 August 1877 with sections for Church of England 3 acres, Roman Catholic 2 acres and all other denominations (General) 5 acres. It reached its present size in 1895. The site retains much of its Victorian layout, the cemetery being divided into twenty numbered sections. Grave plots are laid out in a grid pattern with structures mainly of white marble with some granite and sandstone. Many tall monuments such as columns, broken columns, pedestals with urns and obelisks create a strong vertical emphasis.

Major monuments prominent in the landscape include the 1798 Irish Monument; the Governor Duff monument; the Henry Kendall monument; the Johnston family vault; the Greek Revival monument to Sir James Martin; and the Chowder Bay Monument. The Stuart family vault dating from 1914-1916, is a surviving work from the architectural partnership of Chicago-trained Walter Burley Griffin, Marion Mahony Griffin and J. Burcham Clamp, a Sydney architect. Several of these will be shown on the tour, which will also visit some unique individual headstones and monuments within the cemetery.

About the tour leader: The tour will be led by Dr Siobhan Lavelle OAM. Siobhan has particular interest and expertise in cemetery conservation.

When: 10:30am to 1:00pm, Sunday 26 May 2024 (AEST).

Where: Meet at the main entrance, corner of St Thomas St & Trafalgar St, Bronte NSW 2024

Buses travelling to Waverley (Route 379 to Bronte) depart from Bondi Junction Railway Station. The closest stop is at Macpherson St cnr St Thomas Street which is a 5 minute walk to the main cemetery gates.

What to bring: Snacks, water, sun and rain protection, and good sturdy walking shoes.

A photograph of Waverley Cemetery (Source: Siobhan Lavelle)

A photograph of Kate Reynolds Fiaschi's headstone in Waverley Cemetery.