Cemeteries

Altona Memorial Park

Opened in January 1961, the park is beautifully landscaped, offering a floral lawn cemetery and extensive memorial gardens.

2-14 Dohertys Rd, Altona North

Former Morgue

While not technically a cemetery, the Williamstown Former Morgue is worth a mention. The Former Morgue was first built near Gem Pier and moved twice prior to positioning it on its present site in 1873. The original use of this building is reflected in the location of window openings, as they are set high above ground level, thus concealing the processes of the morgue from the external public. It was closed in 1925 due to poor sanitary facilities and occupational health concerns.

It is currently located in the depot of the Ports and Harbour (also cited as the Melbourne Harbour) Trust Yard in Ann Street.

Point Gellibrand Burial Ground

One of the earliest burial grounds in Victoria, Point Gellibrand was established with the arrival of a fever ship in 1842. The old burial ground served from at least 1842 until 1856 and had contained the graves of ships' fever victims, sailors, and other men of the sea as well as convicts, and local pioneers.

Its closure and removal created the largest mass grave in Australia, located at Williamstown Cemetery. In 1899 some 808 bodies were exhumed from Point Gellibrand and re-interred at Williamstown cemetery in a mass grave, with the surviving gravestones mounted on a vault built in 1901.

Point Gellibrand Coastal Heritage Park, Battery Road, Williamstown

Williamstown Cemetery

Established 1857, eventually expanded 1905, the gravestones at Williamstown Cemetery are significant for being among the state's earliest funerary artefacts. The Cemetery offers insight into burial practices, religious affiliations, values and tastes from the pre-gold rush years to the 20th century and the mid-19th century layout demonstrates prevailing picturesque ideas about cemetery design.

 

There are many fascinating stories contained within the Williamstown Cemetery. The first burial was on 22 March 1858, that of Captain Lawrence Lawson, a Master Mariner and long-term resident of Williamstown. A large number of its memorials are dedicated to lives lost at sea and to those connected with maritime services, reflecting Williamstown’s history as a busy port in the late 1800s. There is also a mass grave at Williamstown Cemetery. In 1899 some 808 bodies were exhumed from Point Gellibrand and re-interred at Williamstown cemetery in a mass grave, with the surviving gravestones mounted on a vault built in 1901.

 

There are many sites of significance at Williamstown Cemetery including The Victorian Navy monument, the Robert Ellery memorial honouring one of Victoria's earliest scientists, the Sarah Liley monument with its statue of a woman holding an anchor is one of the most prominent memorials in the cemetery and, of course, the Point Gellibrand Vault.

89 Champion Road, Williamstown North