Filled with rich history and fascinating stories, Fremantle Cemetery contains some of Western Australia’s earliest gravestones and is the final resting place for many who have helped shape our colourful port city and beyond.
The first burial took place at Fremantle Cemetery on 2 July 1899. For its first six decades, the cemetery was used only for burials, until a crematorium and adjoining chapel were constructed in 1959. Since its opening, over 42,000 burials and 66,000 cremations have taken place at Fremantle Cemetery.
The Fremantle Cemetery Heritage Walk Trail encapsulates a sample of Fremantle’s history, passing by the gravesites of notable and notorious Western Australians who all, in their own way, contributed to the rich heritage of Fremantle. We invite you to follow the trail and experience a fascinating journey through the past.
The trail is easy to walk and takes approximately one and a half hours to complete. A map of the walk trail is available from the Administration building near the entrance to Fremantle Cemetery or can be downloaded below.
Signs located at each point of interest contain unique QR codes which can be scanned via smart phone or tablet devices, allowing you access to further information.
For more information, please view
Fremantle Cemetery Historical Walk Trail One – Points of Interest
Fremantle Historical Walk Trail One – Map
Additions to Historical/Heritage Walk Trails – Submissions
The MCB currently has three walk trails (two at Karrakatta and one at Fremantle) with locations sequentially numbered and marked with physical signage. These are designed to offer visitors a logical route of travel as they move from one location to the next. Whilst there are no current plans to create additional trails or to modify the existing trails, we recognise that the locations featured on the existing trails are by no means exhaustive of the countless sites of historical import within our cemeteries.
We occasionally receive requests and applications from members of the public to have graves or memorial locations added to the trails and, whilst we can’t accommodate these requests as it would require a re-numbering of all existing trail locations, we do maintain an active file of requests should the time come when we can consider additional trails or need to replace the physical signage infrastructure on the existing trails.
If you would like to make a submission for consideration, we would ask that you email us at mcb@mcb.wa.gov.au with Heritage Trails Submission in the subject line and include submission documentation as part of your message.
When compiling a submission, please consider the following broad guidelines:
- Outline your relationship to the location in question (e.g., relative, researcher).
- Outline why you think the location should be included. This could be the role the person held when alive, their fame or infamy, their contribution to Western Australia or just a collection of interesting facts related to the individual.
- If you have images or documents (published or personal research papers, articles etc.), please provide them in digital form and include a notation related to the source. If imagery is being provided from personal family collections, please confirm that we (the Metropolitan Cemeteries Board) have your permission, as a family representative, to use the images.
By building an active file of potential locations it will make the task of developing new trails or modifying the existing trails much easier when the time comes. We appreciate and willingly receive submissions.
Features of Fremantle
