Project Background

Background

Have you ever wandered past the Old Busselton Cemetery (Pioneer Cemetery) and wondered about its origins? Perhaps you have a relative buried there.

The Old Busselton is located between Marine Terrace and Adelaide Street and it is recorded that there were 250 headstones in 1996. It was planned as early as 1839 though the first burial may not have taken place until 1847 – though there are no official records of this. It was not formally proclaimed a cemetery until 1856 when a notice appeared in WA Government Gazette. The first recorded burial was in 1864, being Alfred Thomas Smith. Many of the shires prominent early families are represented on the gravestones. Burials ceased at the cemetery in the 1930’s.

By 1900 concern over the water table caused burials to be limited to ‘reunions’ and by 1933 it was decided to close the cemetery. It was transferred to the shire in 1944 as a disused burial ground. Proposals for relocating headstones and creating a park were considered.

Since 2009, significant progress has been made to conserve the cemetery in collaboration with the community. The grave sites have been cleared, overgrown vegetation removed and interpretive signage on the cemetery’s history installed. Some sites have additional information about individuals who are buried there. A map was also created to make it easier for visitors to identify where the gravesites are.

The next stage of the plan is to install new name tablets, as some of the current ones have incorrect dates and names misspelt.

Updating name tablets:

Over the last 2 years the City has been gathering names and information about the people who were buried in the Old Busselton Cemetery. Working with a group of volunteers and community groups, and state agencies, the number of people who have most likely been buried in the cemetery has grown. Initial records listed approximately 250 headstones (as listed in the State Heritage Register of Heritage Places Assessment Documentation). The list of burials was initially increased to 554 using records from the Faulkingham family who were funeral directors. With increased assistance from the Justice Departments: Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages and a register of burials from records of St Mary’s Anglican Church at the State Library, the number has grown to over 1,000.