Waverley Cemetery
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A celebrated cemetery on the coast in a south-eastern suburb of Sydney, Australia. Its clifftop location makes it one of the few cemeteries with a killer view from it, although the permanent residents of the cemetery can no longer enjoy it, of course.
More background info: The cemetery was established in 1877, just 18 years after Waverley Municipal Council was proclaimed, and the first funeral took place there on 4 August 1877. It quickly became popular and developed into a picture-book Victorian cemetery with many grand monuments, often made from white Carrara marble (this practice even continues to this day – see below). The costs for creating the cemetery were recouped within the first year of operation.
In 1898 a large memorial service was held on the centenary of the 1798 Irish Rebellion, and one revolution leader, Michael Dwyer, and his wife were reinterred here. A large monument to the Irish Rebellion was erected at the site that today is the biggest in the entire cemetery (see below).
In the 20th century the cemetery was further expanded. The styles of graves began to shift away from Victorian grandeur and pompousness to more humble styles. Cremation services were also introduced, reflecting a change in public attitudes towards burial.
In 2016 the cemetery was listed on the ‘State Heritage Register’ of New South Wales.
Today the cemetery is the final resting place for some 100,000 people. Amongst these are said to be many notable names – but to me as a non-Australian they mostly mean nothing.
Apparently, the cemetery has repeatedly been used as a film set, too, for several movies and TV series.
What there is to see: The cemetery lies in a shallow valley with slopes going up on the side, thus amplifying the impression of a large space. This space is filled with countless gravestones and monuments, including several rather grand ones.
The very grandest is the 1798 Monument. This commemorates the Irish Rebellion of that year and is also the tomb of Michael Dwyer, one of the Irish revolutionary movement’s leaders. The monument includes graphic bas-reliefs of scenes of fighting and murder and the front bronze gate includes metal axes and swords. Patriotic slogans complete the the rather martial picture. Allegedly this is the world’s largest memorial to the 1798 Rebellion. It is crowned by an almost 30 foot (9.1m) high Celtic cross.
There are several further Celtic crosses to be found in this cemetery and also a number of war graves. For me, the most remarkable works of sepulchral art, however, are the Victorian-era white-marble angels that adorn a few of the more elaborate graves – see photos below. A couple of more squat family mausoleums are also quite striking. One towards the seafront edge has a touching poem of sorts on it …
In some places I found gravesides that were cordoned off by red-and-white tape and that obviously for safety reasons because of damage to the tomb or the ground subsiding, especially towards to seafront area of the cemetery. Maybe this glorious location also comes with its downsides. And indeed I later read that coastal storms in 2016 led to some damage to the cliff front and saltwater spray from the sea causes corrosion.
The most wow-factor white-marble monument I found turned out to be quite recent. It’s for a women who died in September 2022 and features a super-elaborate sculpture of a luxuriously clad lady wearing pearl necklaces, a sculpted hairdo also featuring pearls and a floor-length intricate gown with a high collar. One hand is resting on the back of a chair and her head is bowed towards the ground. It’s only mock-Victorian in style, but to me the most striking of all the tombs in this cemetery. It's located near the clifftop-side exit of the cemetery.
But the main feature that distinguishes Waverley Cemetery from the vast majority of cemeteries is its location on the clifftop of the Pacific coast. It’s sometimes sarcastically joked that this is a “killer view” or “a view to die for” and that’s precisely what you have to do in order to get it … except, of course, those interred here can’t actually see it any more, only those visiting. And it is that view, from this unique location, that sets Waverley Cemetery apart.
Waverley Cemetery is often listed as one of the most beautiful and significant cemeteries in the world (I mention it myself in my book, namely in the list of 14 noteworthy cemeteries in the box text underneath the entry for Père Lachaise). The location is certainly world-class and the sea views sublime. However, in terms of quality of the sepulchral works of art or for overall atmosphere, I do not think it can really be considered on a par with Père Lachaise in Paris, Highgate Cemetery in London or Cimitero Monumentale in Milan. Still, it’s absolutely worth a look.
Location: on the coast just north of the suburb of Clovelly in the south-east of Sydney, between Boundary Street and Trafalgar Street.
Google Maps locator: [-33.9092, 151.2677]
Access and costs: out in the suburbs, but reachable by bus; free.
Details: to get to cemetery you can take a bus. Line 360 passes directly along the southern side of the cemetery, but unfortunately this does not provide a useful connection to the city centre and ends at Bondi Junction. However, bus line 339 that does depart from the centre (e.g. Central Station) also gets you close to the cemetery. It’s a long ride (24 stops in approximately as many minutes) but partially scenic; get out at the stop called Clovelly Road at Keith Street (don’t forget to tap your Opal card when getting off the bus – see under Sydney). From there it is a ca. ten-minute walk, first along Keith Street, then turn right onto Boundary Street and a few houses on you’re at the south-western corner of the cemetery.
The cemetery is freely accessible at all times, but only in daylight hours makes sense, really.
Time required: depends on to what degree you want to explore and inspect the graves. I spent just under an hour at the site. Others may want substantially longer.
Combinations with other dark destinations: nothing else in the vicinity – but see under Sydney in general.
Combinations with non-dark destinations: The coastal path that runs along the seafront edge of the cemetery continues north and south. To the south it’s not far to Clovelly Beach, in a sheltered cove. The beach as such is small and at the shallow end of the cove. But further towards the sea you can go swimming from the rocks and the quayside and it’s quite safe. There’s also a pool on the southern side of the cove, but that looked a bit grimy to me. From the bus terminus between the Seasalt Cafe and the car park you can get bus 339 back to the city centre.
To the north from Waverley Cemetery is Bronte Beach, the perhaps second-best-known of Sydney’s beaches, after the (in)famous Bondi Beach further north still.
See also under Sydney in general.
